Leigh, this was my first thought when I heard a six-year-old had been killed. Who in their right mind would take a little child to something so scary and violent? I remember being in the theater for "Witches," a Roald Dahl-based movie about, well, witches who ate children. Good for adults. But not for the little boy who literally screamed the house down--they had to stop the movie and tell his mother to take him out. She was just going to let him scream. I know people want to "go out and have fun," but when you have infants and little children, you find other ways to have fun without subjecting them to violence and violent noise. At least, I hope so.Heck, the flying monkeys in the Wizard of Oz still scare me.....

I think being scared is a thrill that people naturally seek out - look at roller coasters. But normal people seek it in safe environments, movie theatres, theme parks, etc. I'm torn between the desire to have a more peaceful society and the amount I enjoy the Batman movies.

I can think of many reasons I would not have taken my young daughter and son to the theater that night, but it wasn't my choice. A movie theater is usually and should be a safe place for everyone, as should a mall (I don't take my kids there much either) or any other public place. Who knows why the mom did it. Maybe she was at a point of really needing to get out, maybe the sitter cancelled at the last minute. We've all made selfish parenting decisions at one time or another. Nobody could reasonably have been prepared for that, though sneaking in the back exit has long been a theater trick and one I would think they could have solved by now.

This was a hard article to write but I think that it's a topic worth discussing. My heart hurts for the Veronica's mother and if she were in front of me, I would give her a big hug and cry with her. What's done is done and only the shooter is to blame. I'm not about blaming the victims. I was hoping to start a respectful discussion about the choices YOU make as a parent. Not to pass judgement on the parents of the victims.

It doesn't matter why a parent took their child to see the movie. This wouldn't be a discussion at all had that man not come in and shot them. As you stated in the article parents thought their children would sleep thru it. Had I not had to work that night(for a police dept) I would have taken my 6 and 10 year olds to the midnight showing. It is something special and different to be able to stay up that late for them and it's not like they had school the next day. We as a society don't need to hibernate with our children inside our homes because of the crazies out there. Our children should be able to watch any kind of movie there is and as a parent it is our duty to teach them the difference in right and wrong.

I have viewed PG 13 movies with my children because I had done research or pre-viewed and knew we could discuss any "sensitive" situations; however, I personally wouldn't take young children to a midnight movie. My sister-in-law, an educator of deaf children, also told me that the decible levels in that type of movie do damage to infant/toddler's hearing within 5 minutes! Like you, my heart goes out to everyone in that theater and those surrounding. May justice be done.

It took some guts to publish this article so soon after the tragedy. I would not take my kids to a PG-13 film or even a midnight screening. My kids would be scared and miserable. Every kid is different, though. The fact that this maniac did what he did is unthinkable. I don't think that early exposure to a super hero movie is the problem though, I think that the fact that he had such easy access to the weapons and ammunition is the big problem. The best we can do as parents is not let this whack job change how we live our lives. We take our kids where we want and be vigilant. I think that you handled this topic very sensitively and have given us all something to think about. So sad, so terribly sad.

I live in Aurora, Co. I have faith that the community will heal but it will be a long painful journey. My heart too aches most for Veronica, her own mother is in the hospital with a gunshot would to her neck. She didn't know about her daughters passing until recently. Painful. My grandmother told me the year my mom passed "there is nothing worse than burying your child" and Lord knows I believe it. It is easy for us to forget that children & families are all different. Economically, physically and emotionally different. There is no way for us to know each of these families circumstances. Are they the biggest Batman fans ever? Did they lose a babysitter at the last minute? is there six year old prepared for PG-13. The nightly news can be more severe than PG-13 movies. School is out for most but the long gone innocence of summer no longer exists, especially in Aurora. Thanks for posting, Leigh.

I didn't mean to be accusatory. As I read I just kept thinking about how many times in my own parenting life that having time frozen and being thrown into a spotlight of any kind, much less a national one would have been disastrous.

Back on your topic, I let my daughter see a lot of movies not really suitable for her age (Lord of the Rings Trilogy) but have withheld many she wanted to watch (Alien) because of the type of violence or sex that is portrayed. She is very good at telling fantasy from fact and always has been, having been an avid reader since she found her first book. My son is a whole 'nother matter and I keep violence of all kinds from him as much as possible because he imitates everything he sees and has no ability to distinguish fantasy and reality. He also is prone to nightmares, which my daughter never was. We watch Kipper and Bob the Builder and don't even watch the old Batman TV show or Spiderman.

On another media topic, I have banned all tween shows (Hannah M, I Carley, etc.) from our house because of the way my daughter behaves and interacts after watching them. They cause far more issues than well-written mature films!

I absolutely agree that exposing our kids to violent movies, t.v. computer games, etc. effect the brain, and I am really concerned about the amount of violence that little kids are regularly exposed to through cartoons and video games. We have a cultural problem of violent media.

No, she shouldn't have been there, more because of the hour than the content, but that still doesn't mean it serves her surviving family members right that she is dead. I have been reading comments along those lines since I got up Friday morning, and all I can say is that I hope people who are are so callous are just dealing with tragedy by appearing to harden their hearts. I'm sure if the child had been at Gymboree on a Tuesday at 9 AM while eating organically grown fruit, and the Gymboree had been shot up, it would be a chorus condemning privileged yuppie breeders and their recreational activities. Some people are just going to tear other people down to make themselves feel better, and God bless 'em, that's just the way they are.

I just read this chilling essay written by Dylan Klebold's (one of the Columbine shooters) mom. It's a heartbreaking read but shows how crucial it is that we stay aware of what our children (but mostly teenagers) carry in their minds.

http://www.oprah.com/world/Susan-Klebolds-O-Magazine-Essay-I-Will-Never-Know-Why/

Erin, I did understand that. : )

I think the issues of kids watching PG-13 movies and seeing Batman are complicated. Different kids have different levels of sensitivity. As far as rating, I find it to be more of a problem when kids are routinely exposed to mature content, and particularly when they are exposed to mature content without an adult guide there to stimulate conversation about the content. I will say that I don't think that having kids out late is a bad thing. Some families life on different schedules and it is an adventure to go out to a friend's late or to do something creative late at night. I also think the lack of a babysitter often influences what kids do with their parents. Such sadness for so many lives senselessly lost.

Leigh Hewett,
You ask a very thoughtful and academic question, "would you take your children to a midnight........etc"
However the context and timing of your questions shed much light on your frigid heart portraying an utter disregard to the mother who has to live with the loss of her child. Is it not bad enough that the mother is having to cope with the loss of her daughter without you adding further pain by asking such questions. Questions of this nature are left to a classroom or behind closed doors where the actors are not made aware that they are the subjects of a psuedo intellectual discourse. Leigh, if you have an iota of humanity, you need to work on removing this article from the web and save it for a private discussion where the the grieving mother or relatives do not have access and therefore will not have to contend with another aspect in their healing.
In closing I have to ask that you put yourself in the others shoes before you embark on another intellectual discourse because this is a very poor chosen portrayal of your intellect.
Best regards sincerely,
Himmat "HS"

Just another thought. I was in Colorado when the shooting happened. Some of my family and friends lost loved ones or had a friend injured by the shooting. I join them in grieving deeply, and I know Leigh does as well. There were such acts of heroism and the best that humanity has to offer during this terrible tragedy. The outcome of such tragedy is to grieve with the victims, but to also take a few moments to reflect on your own life. Leigh invited readers to join her in wondering if they would take children to a midnight show. For me, I think about being in that dark chaos and finding the courage to help fallen friends and strangers. There were many heroes to be hailed in this awful situation. I know Leigh honors them, too.

I would take a new baby, yes, because he or she would be sleeping. And if the baby was not a reliable sleeper at midnight, I would leave him/her home.

I would not take a child who would be awake. No way. Nohow. Because I totally think movie violence affects children.