Special screening for baby

Having a baby doesn’t have to be the end of cinema-going – parent and baby screenings are now being offered across the country

GOING TO the cinema is one of life’s great pleasures but it is one that is typically off limits for the parents of very small babies. Why? Well, getting a baby-sitter so that you can go to the cinema turns it into a very expensive outing indeed and of course you’re unlikely to leave the baby at home with your significant other and go to the cinema alone.

You could bring the baby with you, but then he/she could start bawling and fellow cinema-goers would be throwing dagger looks and complaining and so most parents feel it’s just not worth the hassle.

Hats off then to a number of cinema operators around the country that have introduced parent-and-baby cinema screenings. The idea is that the movie is typically shown in the morning and, because all the other customers are also parents with their babies, nobody is going to complain if there are tears from your little one.

“The cinema is the one place you really wouldn’t dare bring a baby, particularly if you have a difficult baby,” says Mariam Ryan from Killeagh who is a regular attendee at the charmingly named “Big Scream” parent-and-baby screening in the Omniplex in Mahon Point in Cork.

“With these screenings people aren’t ‘tutting’ if your baby is crying. It’s a really novel idea.”

Ryan has been to The Big Screamwith her seven-month-old Kym several times and says she feels relaxed there, even if Kym starts to cry. "You can do whatever it takes to calm her down. You can stand up and walk around or wheel the buggy around at the back of the cinema. Imagine trying to do that at a regular screening? Some of the mothers put their children asleep in a buggy at the back and it's perfectly safe to do so. The back of the cinema is crammed with buggies!"

Making the parents feel safe is vital, according to Stephen Moroney who is general manager of Omniplex Cork. “The cinema is not open to the public at that hour of the day. We let the shutters up to let the parents in and then close them again afterwards. There is no one else in the building apart from the manager. The screenings have slightly quieter sound than usual and the lights in the auditorium are a little brighter, creating a more calming environment for the babies. We also leave the lights on for the first 10 or 15 minutes so that everyone can get settled.”

Customers also have the opportunity to influence the films chosen. The company has a mailing list of regulars and they e-mail them to find out what films they would like to see. “It’s very much a customer-led service,” says Moroney.

In keeping with the allowances made for parents and because very few people want to be eating popcorn at 10 o’clock in the morning, parents are allowed to bring in their own snacks. “In most cinemas you can’t bring in any food that you haven’t bought in the cinema,” says Ryan. “But of course it’s different here because there are mothers feeding their babies porridge and there are bottles, boobs and spoon feeds going on. I bring in a cup of tea and a scone or muffin for myself which is brilliant when watching a movie!”

Though the screenings are aimed at parents of both genders, the vast majority of customers are women. Most of the films chosen for the screenings are therefore of the “chickflick” genre. “I’ve been about six or seven times since Kym was born,” says Ryan, “and I think I have seen two dads at it. My husband says he would go if he was off work, but I am not so sure!”

Being able to get out to the cinema is an important social outlet for the parents of very young babies, according to Ryan.

“I think for first-time mothers it can be very difficult to be stuck at home all day with a baby and it’s really important to be able to get out and about. There is a great camaraderie between the women here. People will help you with your buggy and the mothers are all admiring each other’s babies. I go to a lot of mother and baby activities like baby massage, baby yoga, music and play classes and so on. This is the only activity I know of that’s aimed purely at the mother.”

Having customers in the cinema at a time when it is generally closed is a win-win situation for theatre operators, according to Graham Spurling who is a director of the company that operates cinemas in Swords, Dundrum Town Centre, Stillorgan, Ennis, Dungarvan and Castlebar. “We have to try and maximise the number of hours that we have customers in the building,” he says.

“These screenings create an audience because these are people who may well have been out of the loop in terms of going to the cinema so the customer is being brought back and retained where they might otherwise have been lost.”

The Spurling family lay claim to having pioneered the idea of parent and baby screenings in Ireland.

“My sister Ruth introduced the idea of the ‘Reel Parents’ screenings in the cinema in Greystones about four years ago,” he says. “It started off with three or four mothers and basically grew from there almost completely by word of mouth. This is about putting on movies that adults want to see and allowing them to catch up with whatever movie is on that week. Ultimately, we are entertainers and this is about us, as theatre owners, opening our minds to what our customers want.”

• mkelly@irishtimes.com

• For information on "Reel Parents" screenings at Dundrum Town Centre, Swords and Stillorgan see www.movies-at.ie or call 1520 880 333

• For information on The Big Scream at the Omniplex in Cork see www.omniplex.ie or call 0818 719 719