Sensory friendly paw patrol film for (almost) 3 and4 year olds? Yes? No?

May 25, 2019 12:20 PM

My older boy (nearly 4) SAYS he wants to see a movie in the cinema. (He doesn’t know what the cinema is though, it’s just a big building and he doesn’t know more than that- his friends haven’t been yet I don’t think) He has sensory issues and so does his little brother (almost 3)... tomorrow at 12 there is a sensory friendly showing of the paw patrol film. A big part of me thinks it’s better to leave the cinema until it’s no longer avoidable. Another part of me knows that paw patrol is playing tomorrow and they would like it. Should I take them?

I’m kind of afraid that they will demand to go to the cinema after this EVERY DAY FOREVER. I don’t know. Anyone with a neurotypical experience also welcome to suggest if they wish they’d waited to take preschoolers to the cinema.

posted by catspajammies to Human Relations (21 answers total)

If the showing is specifically sensory friendly it seems a good opportunity with few drawbacks
posted by evilmonk at 12:31 PM on May 25, 2019 [2 favorites]

This seems like a great opportunity! And you can always leave early if you need to.
posted by jillithd at 12:42 PM on May 25, 2019

Response by poster: So nobody thinks that 4 years old or 3 years old is too young for the cinema experience? Will it make them detest the tininess of our own living room television in comparison to the majesty of the cinematic experience?
posted by catspajammies at 12:47 PM on May 25, 2019 [1 favorite]

Nah, it's not too young. Going to the movie theater can be a pretty great experience for a kiddo that age. YMMV of course but my older child has some sensory issues, and she did okay as a preschooler going to the movies. Nor did she dislike watching things in the comfort of her own living room after. Every kid is different, but this seems like a good opportunity to try it out and if it doesn't go well for whatever reason, you can wait to go again until they're older.
posted by DTMFA at 12:57 PM on May 25, 2019

I mean, my kids are always like „I want to go to a restaurant EVERY DAY, mommy!“ when they enjoyed the experience.
And I take it as a sincere expression of how much they loved it. They know they can‘t have everything they want and I shut down any serious whining, so there‘s never been any repercussions. I figure that teaching them that we „can‘t have everything we want“ and how to appreciate perks is part of my job, right?
Also, I assume you take them shopping sometimes and they sometimes get treats snd sometimes not and you‘ve found a way to handle that, too, right? This is similar.
posted by Omnomnom at 1:01 PM on May 25, 2019 [7 favorites]

I took my kids to NBA games semi-frequently when they were roughly that age. They loved the spectacle of it. They loved the popcorn and getting to be up late and the hype team and the dance cam and everything was SO. EXCITING. And they are not ruined for watching basketball on our tv without all the add-ons.

I think that you have the perfect storm here of things that are right for your kids. I’m pretty sure they will still love Paw Patrol on the tv. If you want to take them, you should.
posted by Night_owl at 1:13 PM on May 25, 2019 [1 favorite]

FWIW, my dad took my brother and I to see Beauty and the Beast in the cinema when we were 3 and 5. I have no idea if my brother remembers it at all, but I primarily remember being scared of the Beast and that the whole experience was kind of overwhelming. I think we both cried. I think the sensory-friendly screening (the ones near me turn the sound down and the lights up a bit according to the website, though I've never been) would help, as would familiar characters (I have no idea if the average kid was familiar with the Beauty and the Beast story before the film came out, but I certainly wasn't).
posted by hoyland at 1:17 PM on May 25, 2019 [1 favorite]

My sister in law took her 3 year old and 4 year old to see the recent live action Dumbo and they apparently loved it. I think the tricky thing is to find something that’s not too long. Like 90 mins or less.
posted by like_neon at 1:23 PM on May 25, 2019

Both times I took a neurotypical 3 year old to the cinema for the first time they got bored half way through so we left.
posted by EndsOfInvention at 1:47 PM on May 25, 2019

Do you have noise muffling headphones for them? I would bring those just in case. My child with sensory issues would probably have been overwhelmed with even a sensory friendly movie theater experience and having the option to block out some of the sound as needed would have helped.
posted by JenMarie at 1:48 PM on May 25, 2019

My 3.5yo sensory kid went to IMAX and while yeah it was loud, he liked it well enough.
posted by St. Peepsburg at 2:43 PM on May 25, 2019

I don’t think my kid has sensory issues, but I found she likes having ear muffs on for the high volume. She went to the cinema at age 2 or 2.5. She’s 5 now and has been to plays, operas, concerts, Disney on ice, etc. as someone upthread said, they’re honestly apt to get bored!
posted by Admiral Haddock at 3:27 PM on May 25, 2019

If you can, take another adult in case one kid loves it and one kid hates it.
posted by artychoke at 4:05 PM on May 25, 2019 [5 favorites]

My kid is neurotypical, and also all kids are different, so YMMV, but we took her to one movie in January at ~3.5 yrs and she liked it fine, but it has definitely not ruined her for smaller screens. Still wants to watch youtube on my phone all the time, and has only brought up the idea of going to another movie like twice.
posted by juliapangolin at 5:24 PM on May 25, 2019

It doesn’t sound like your question really has much to do with the sensory issues, so I’m answering as a neurotypical. Feel free to ignore if not helpful.

Eh, my brother couldn’t really afford sitters, so they always brought their kids to the theatre when they went. Like, as infants. These kids could sleep through anything, though, and didn’t disturb people. They were always still happy to watch stuff at home, and they didn’t even have cable or Netflix or anything there - just an old vhs and DVD player. (You’d think I’m taking about the 90’s, but I’m really not. Like 10 years ago.)

Anyway, yeah, they may like it and want to go back. But that’s true of anything. Maybe institute a reward system where they get to see a movie at the cinema when they exhibit good behavior enough times or something, so they don’t view it as an everyday occurrence, but as a treat?
posted by greermahoney at 5:46 PM on May 25, 2019

My neurotypical kid will be 5 this week and hasn’t been to a cinema yet. She gets pretty emotionally overwrought when she watches a movie at home and she also hates loud noises. A sensory friendly show would probably work better for her - I’ll have to keep an eye out when the new Frozen movie comes out this fall. She’s already asked to see that in a theater.
posted by Kriesa at 5:51 PM on May 25, 2019

They won’t want to go every day. And they will probably be bored half way though the movie and want to get up and walk around. My kids didn’t get into movies until they could sit and enjoy the plot line, so probably around 7.
posted by katypickle at 6:44 PM on May 25, 2019

The biggest issue I had with that age is sometimes the kiddo takes an impromptu nap (dark room being the likely culprit). Otherwise, it’s been a solid experience.
posted by childofTethys at 7:46 PM on May 25, 2019

I remember my first trip to the theater, the closest one about 20 miles away. I was four or five at the time. We saw “Dumbo” and a preview show about Lobo, the wolf which I actually liked better. It was clear to me that my folks went only because they thought I’d enjoy it - and I did. Their attempts to entertain me were hit and miss - I was having none of Santa ever. My aunt had taken me to Washington DC earlier and I travelled well. I just assumed the movie it was a special “just-because” “try-it-and-see” fun outing.

I liked it a lot. We did not go see a lot of movies when I was a kid, but I really appreciated the outing.

We went out for banana split sundaes a lot more - and that was fine too. Only 8 miles away.
posted by rw at 8:54 PM on May 25, 2019

Go.

Afterwards, ask him what he liked about it and what he didn't like about it.
posted by clawsoon at 5:41 AM on May 26, 2019

My 4-year-old grandson is *not* neuraltypical and he started going to movies last here. He is not your son of course and probably has different wiring. In any case, shorter movies are better. Last film he when to included his 2-year-old sister, his mom, and grandpa. The sister happily sat through the entire film but he needed to take a break with grandpa for maybe 10 minutes halfway through and then went back in.

So if you are taking two kids, two adults is a good idea. My grandson tends to ask loud questions but in a theater full of other kids that’s not a big deal. He still loves watching shows at home. He cannot yet be trusted to hold his own bag of popcorn. That’s all I can tell you. Hope you go and hope you have fun.
posted by Bella Donna at 6:00 AM on May 26, 2019