We Take Our 6 Kids to the Movies Every Month—Here’s How We Actually Enjoy It

Taking six kids to a movie theater sounds like it should be the opposite of relaxing.

But it's actually one of our favorite family outings—and we try to go about once a month.

We've been taking our kids to the movies since they were tiny, so we've learned a few things along the way that make it surprisingly easy.

And our biggest secret?

We only go to movie theaters that serve actual food and bring it directly to your seat.

Hear me out.

The kids are sitting down. Someone else brings everyone dinner. Nobody is asking me for anything. Nobody can go anywhere. And my husband and I sit next to each other for two hours without having to entertain anyone.

It's basically a date night.

In silence.

With six tiny chaperones.

Here are the things that have made family movie nights work for us from the newborn stage through elementary school.

1. We Reserve the Back Row

This is probably our most important rule.

With six kids, we're taking up a decent chunk of a row anyway, so we always reserve seats in the back row.

If someone needs to stand up, needs help, or has to go to the bathroom, we aren't climbing over people or blocking anyone's view.

It also means I don't have to spend the entire movie worrying that one of my kids is sitting up too high or moving around and annoying the person behind them.

And when you've got little necks looking at a giant screen for two hours, I'd much rather have them looking straight ahead than craning their heads upward from the front of the theater.

Back row forever.

2. We Start With Popcorn

Everyone gets their own little bowl or container of popcorn at the beginning.

There is something magical about popcorn buying you a surprisingly peaceful first stretch of a movie. 😂

Nobody is sharing one giant bucket and arguing over who is holding it. Everyone has their own, everyone is settled, and the movie gets started on a calm note.

Quick safety note: Eating in a dark movie theater requires extra supervision, especially with younger children. We keep little ones right beside an adult where we can closely supervise them while they're eating, and only offer foods we're comfortable with them eating in that setting. Use your own judgment based on your child's age and eating abilities.

3. Dinner Comes to Our Seats

THIS is the game changer.

We specifically choose theaters where we can order a real meal and have it delivered directly to our seats.

No feeding everyone before we leave.

No sitting through a movie and then taking six hungry children to a restaurant afterward.

The movie is dinner.

The kids are happily watching something, their food shows up in front of them, and Austin and I get to order dinner too.

Which is how taking six children to the movies somehow becomes...

a date night in silence.

We're sitting next to each other. Someone else cooked our dinner. Someone else brings it to us. Our children are entertained for two hours.

I'll take it.

And again, we're intentional about where younger kids sit while eating. A dark, noisy theater isn't a place where you'd want a small child eating several seats away from you where you couldn't easily see or hear if they needed help.

4. We Use Nap Time to Our Advantage

When we had babies and toddlers, we didn't necessarily plan movie times around keeping everyone awake.

Quite the opposite.

If you can get your youngest child accustomed to sleeping on you when necessary, a movie can be a great opportunity for a contact nap while the older kids enjoy themselves.

Obviously every baby is different, but we've had plenty of movies where a little one slept through a huge chunk of it curled up on one of us.

Baby sleeps.

Big kids watch the movie.

Parents sit down.

Everybody wins.

5. Give Toddlers Jobs

Toddlers want to be involved in EVERYTHING.

So use it.

Passing out popcorn or candy to their siblings can occupy them for an almost comical amount of time.

Give them little jobs. Let them help. Let them feel important.

Sometimes keeping a toddler happy isn't about bringing another toy or activity.

It's just giving them something useful to do.

6. Don't Make Everyone Suffer

If one of our kids gets really noisy or restless, one of us takes that child out of the theater.

We walk a few laps.

We reset.

Then we try again.

We don't expect a toddler to sit perfectly still for two hours just because we bought a ticket—but we also don't expect an entire theater full of people to listen to our toddler melt down.

And we don't make the other five kids leave a movie they're enjoying because one child needs a break.

Divide and conquer.

And Finally... Let Them Be Kids

We teach our kids to be respectful in a movie theater.

But they're also kids.

They're going to laugh loudly at something funny. They're going to whisper something to you. They're going to get excited.

And when the credits roll?

Sometimes they're going to clap.

Loudly.

And you may experience the universal parenting sensation of simultaneously thinking:

That is adorable.

and

Please stop immediately.

😂

Let them have fun. Teach them how to behave in shared spaces, but don't spend the entire movie so worried about bothering someone that nobody enjoys being there.

The Biggest Thing We've Learned

Kids get better at doing things by doing them.

If the first movie is a disaster, that doesn't necessarily mean your child "can't go to the movies."

They might just need practice.

Start with a kid-friendly movie. Pick a time that works with their schedule. Sit somewhere you can easily get out. Bring another adult when you can. Take breaks when someone needs one.

And lower your expectations a little.

We've been doing this since our kids were babies, and now going to the movies with all six of them genuinely feels easy.

They know what to expect.

They know how we behave in a theater.

And they know that if they can survive the popcorn, dinner, movie and Dad embarrassing them by clapping at the end...

We'll probably be back again next month.

And Mom and Dad will happily take another two-hour date night in silence.