Since turning three, Carmen discovered that watching movies can be fun.  It all started with Tangled and continued to Finding Nemo and so on and so forth.  I was friggin’ pumped, because there is only so much Dora the Explorer, Go Diego Go, Wonder Pets and Fresh Beat Band  I could take.  Don’t get me wrong, they are good shows for children, but when you are watching them back-to-back-to-back through Netflix, well, let’s just say Dora Fatigue Syndrome tends to rear its ugly head.

So, we started to DVR movies we’d see on Cartoon Network or Nickelodeon, etc. and just not delete them.  I regularly check the dollar bins at the retail stores and keep a look out at secondhand stores for DVD deals.  I’m a digital media guy, but DVDs still provide the cheapest options.  Since it lost its deal with Starz, the selection of children’s movies on Netflix has been pretty slim.

We’ve seen the trailers for Brave lately and Carmen appears intrigued.  She loves princess movies, but she loves seeing a heroine exhibit qualities of bad-assery more than anything.  I’d rather she look up to women kicking tail and taking names than some helpless broad waiting for her prince to swoop in and save the day.  From the trailer, it looks like Brave might fit that bill.  Plus, it doesn’t hurt that the main character, Princess Merida, has fiery red hair like her mama does and a fear-nothing attitude to boot. 

So, this begs to question – Is she old enough to go to the movies? 

I scoured the web (Google) for advice and was met with mostly Yahoo Answers style results.  Most of the answers stated they started taking their children to the movies around 2 1/2 years of age.  Almost all of the answers simply said it depends on your child.  I don’t disagree with that sentiment, but it does seem like a bit of a non-answer.

I feel like 2 1/2 might be a bit young for the theater.  I, personally, was trying to hold out until she was 4 years old, but I really feel like she would enjoy this movie.  Even though she has never been to a movie theater, she has an idea of what a movie theater is and what the experience is like.

She can sit through a movie here at home.  We will sit on the couch to a big bowl of grapes or sliced fruit and enjoy the show without even needing a potty break.  If it’s a movie she’s seen before, she might wander off on occasion to her toy corner to play with her dollhouse while the movie plays in the background.

I think she is ready for the movie theater experience.  The wife and I discussed it and think she’s ready.  We might serve it as a present if she cleans up her toys each day for a week or goes into daycare without breaking down.  We are still working out the kinks in our strategy.

One thing for sure is that we will not go opening weekend.  That would be a recipe for disaster.  Another thing is that this won’t be a regular thing, because it feels like you need to take a home equity loan every time you go to the movies!  OMGz … soooooo expensive! 

So, what age do you feel is appropriate for a child to start going to the movies?  I’d love to read your thoughts in the comments.