Mom and popcorn

By Rosalind Gibb

Last updated 18:42, Sunday, 25 May 2008

Not so long ago, a trip to the cinema was a treat new parents could wave goodbye to, along with lie-ins and reading the Sunday papers.

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Mum Sue Savage and six month old baby Grace take their seats

But over the last few years, parent and baby screenings have become a popular fixture in cinemas across the country. The innovative idea allows mums and dads to catch a film without having to arrange a babysitter. Instead, they can bring their little one, sit them in their laps, and ignore normal cinema rules because at these screenings, it doesn’t matter how much noise is made.

This week, parents from the Workington area were among the first in Cumbria to attend a parent and baby screening at the Plaza cinema, and another one is planned for May. More than two dozen parents, some accompanied by friends, enjoyed romantic comedy 27 Dresses yesterday morning. The sound was turned down to a lower level than normal and the lighting was turned up to make the screening as comfortable as possible for both parents and babies.

The event was the brainchild of local mum Toni Hill, from Egremont, who has a 22-month-old baby, Jake. She and a group of friends from her ante-natal class wanted to go to the pictures, but found it wasn’t easy to arrange, as she explains. “We had all read the book P.S I Love You, and when the film came out we really wanted to see it. We wanted to go with each other, rather than with our husbands because it wasn’t their kind of film. But there were practicalities that made it difficult, for example two of us were breast feeding but not expressing milk so couldn’t leave the babies with their dads. I wondered if the cinema would let us take our babies in.

“There is plenty to do with babies round here, for example I go to baby yoga and a sing-along group with Jake. But they’re all focused on the babies, which is fantastic but there’s nothing where we can treat ourselves.”

She spoke to the cinema and in January, they ran a baby and parent screening of P.S I Love You. Toni and around 20 other mums attended. “It was great. Babies seem to be kept entertained by the telly anyway, and Jake sat through the whole thing quite happily.”

For this first, official test screening, Toni has spent the last few weeks on a publicity drive, distributing posters and contacting local papers.

Cinema bosses will now decide whether to schedule screenings on a frequent basis. Marketing manager at the cinema Charlotte Kennedy says: “We were pleased to be able to offer a parent and baby screening at the Plaza as we understand how difficult it can be for new parents to enjoy the cinema, and it’s a first in the area.

“Measures were put in place to ensure both parents and babies were comfortable during the show. Parents were given a card to fill in with their feedback, and suggestions of what films they would like to see in the future. We will be running another one next month and then decide about future screenings.”

Cinema manager Adam Johnston is also positive about the idea. He adds: “A lot of parents can’t go to the cinema, but at these screenings not only can they go, their babies can scream or be taken to be changed, and so on. I think it’s a great idea, but whether we run them long term does depend on numbers.”

Toni is hopeful the screenings will continue. She adds: “I was speaking to a health visitor who was saying she thought it was a fantastic thing for mums with post-natal depression. They can go to the pictures and just sit and watch the film and leave again. They don’t have to feel under pressure and talk to people if they don’t want to, but the event gives them something to do.

“And even if just one person gets something out of it, for me it will have been worth it.”

The next Parent and Baby screening will be held at the Plaza cinema, Dunmail Park, in May. For more information visit www.workington-plaza.co.uk