Nice try, Junior. (longish)

[DGoddessChardonnay]

I've had parents PO'ed at me because their kid latched on to someone to go to a movie that they weren't old enough to see on their own.

If I had ever done that as a kid (and I didn't go anywhere w/out my Mom or an adult) I'd have really discovered the true meaning of "Asses of Fire."

[tintaglia]

[
And shouldn't your signature say, "The Corp is Mother, the Corp is Father"? [/QUOTE]

Look for the subliminal message in the Psi corp ad in B5 Season 2 "and now for a word"

[MadonnaC]

Unfortunately, all those ratings are voluntary - there is no law to stop a 5 year old buying an "A" rated game, or going into an "NC-17" film. The only thing that stops them are policies from stores/theaters that probably just want to avoid lawsuits.

[Gurndigarn]

Unfortunately, all those ratings are voluntary - there is no law to stop a 5 year old buying an "A" rated game, or going into an "NC-17" film. The only thing that stops them are policies from stores/theaters that probably just want to avoid lawsuits.

It's not the lawsuits, it's the threat of the government deciding to change "voluntary" to "mandatory".

And before the anti-government bandwagon starts up... rating systems are a good thing, at least in the opinion of people like me who use them. They give you at least some warning about the contents, so you don't end up going "ewwww" when you weren't expecting to. Hey, the rating was quite visible, you were warned, and most of them tell you what type of thing is causing the rating, so that if you're annoyed by overt sex but not violence (or vice versa), you've got a clear idea of why the rating ended up there.

And by keeping things voluntary, they avoid having to work with rigid, doesn't bend for things that need bending, government bureaucracies that don't always thing before making laws and regulations.

[Jester]

I've had parents PO'ed at me because their kid latched on to someone to go to a movie that they weren't old enough to see on their own.

Stupid kids. Should have done what we did as kids. Buy a ticket for another movie and SNEAK into the higher-rated movie. How else could I have seen Porky's in the theater at the ripe old age of 11?

[Broomjockey]

Stupid kids. Should have done what we did as kids. Buy a ticket for another movie and SNEAK into the higher-rated movie. How else could I have seen Porky's in the theater at the ripe old age of 11?

We've gotten kids trying that too. We catch them a lot more easily. Especially for certain movies, we have someone stand on the door to the specific auditorium checking tickets.
I guess theatres got tired of parents yelling at them for their precious little ones seeing "inappropriate" movies.
Honestly, tagging along with some random older person is probably the easiest way if you can bring yourself to ask random people to do something like that.

[DGoddessChardonnay]

Stupid kids. Should have done what we did as kids. Buy a ticket for another movie and SNEAK into the higher-rated movie. How else could I have seen Porky's in the theater at the ripe old age of 11?

My brother saw it when he was 11 - on HBO. He considered himself fortunate he had an older sister with a VCR and cable box in her bedroom.

And she was rewarded quite well for taping the entire trilogy when it aired.

Not long after, he got his own VCR and cable box and older sister taught him how to use it.

Then older sister had peace for a time until she introduced the first PC into the house.

Which we will continue in a later chapter.

[Dreamstalker]

I had a kid (9-10ish) playing a PSP and when his mom asked him to hold out his hand so I could put a bracelet on his arm he replied,"It can fucking wait, I'm doing somthing more important"

I would have gotten my butt beat had I ever tried anything like that. Yes, I was glued to my Game Boy whenever I could be, but I knew there were more important things.

[DesignFox]

I wish more parents seeing movies had this kind of brain power. The worst still has to be the mother who took her kids (two of them, the oldest MAYBE eight) to see Freddy vs. Jason. That's right. Freddy Kruger vs. Jason Vorhees. The kings of slasher flicks. More sequels than man can count.

I hate when parents bring their children to adult themed movies and events. I went to see Dane Cook live and noticed a fair number of 10-13 year olds in the crowd. I'm sorry, but WTF are parents thinking nowadays anyway?
Years ago I used to frequent the heavy metal festival-OzFest- as well. I stopped going as I noticed more and more children at the grounds. Heavy metal concerts with booths selling adult themed merchandise is no playground. And if I go to an adult themed event, the last thing I want to do is be around a bunch of children...

[Jester]

I hate when parents bring their children to adult themed movies and events....

Try Key West's Fantasy Fest, a Mardi Gras type event, which has people sporting body paint, perverted costumes, risque costumes, minimalist costumes, sexual costumes, and oftentimes very little actual clothing. It also involves the traditional "beads for flashing" type stuff going on, insane amounts of drinking, etc., etc. And yet....I see parents with their kids there. Admittedly not many, but still....what are they thinking?

For that matter, what are parents thinking having their kids out with them after 11 pm on the main drag in Key West? I actually don't object to the people with strollers with infants...the infants really do not understand what they are seeing, and so are not going to be affected by it. But why would you have, at midnight, in THIS town, on THAT street, an 8 year old with you? Especially one that obviously would rather be anywhere but there, probably home in bed snoozing, judging from his demeanor?

Amusingly, a little while back, the local idiot goverment started to "crack down" on entertainers in the bars, getting very fascist-like about "profane language." They were doing this because people with kids were complaining about it. Okay, while I can kind of see this during the day, why the hell
were they complaining about it at night, why was the government cracking down at night, and what the hell were these people doing with their kids out there at that time of night anyway? Entertainers play to their crowds, and their crowds in Key West at that time of night are rowdy, raucous, adult partiers. NOT families. It is bad enough what they've done to NYC and Las Vegas. Now they are trying to Orlandoize one of the few adult playgrounds left out there.

It is morons like this that has prompted this saying of mine: "There are only three things you can do with kids in Key West: conceive 'em, sell 'em, and cook 'em."

You want family fun? Fine. Go to fucking Disney World! Leave my depraved demented island oasis of adult debauchery alone!!!

[DesignFox]

...Amusingly, a little while back, the local idiot goverment started to "crack down" ... getting very fascist-like about "profane language." They were doing this because people with kids were complaining about it...

I hate that crap. I went to Vegas for a week and took a trip to the Hoover Dam. Part of the fun of going there is that they give you a "Dam tour" and they really make all those "Dam Jokes" you heard on Vegas Vacation. Well...not when I went. I asked the employees what happened to all the "dam jokes" and they told me they were no longer permitted to make any jokes because an angry parent had written a letter complaining about it. So, one jackass can't take a joke, or explain to their children the difference, and ruins the fun for the thousands of other people visiting the dam each year.
Great, huh?
Make things better- history itself has been altered due to the anger of one english professor.
In the Dam museum there is a story about a dog that was beloved by all the workers. So loved in fact, that they set up a bank account exclusively for the care of the animal. One day it was sleeping under a truck and got run over. The workers buried their beloved companion at the base of the dam upon its completion, name plate and all. You used to be able to tour the base of the dam and see his grave marker, but due to "terrorist threats" they no longer allow you to tour down there. Anyway- I'm thinking- this is such a great story, but if they loved the dog so much, wouldn't it have had a name? Well, it did. Back in the day, the word didn't quite hold the same implications that it does today- The dog was black, and his name was "Nig". I had to ask an employee for the answer, and she wouldn't even say it, she made me guess it. Due to angry professor's letter, they even had to go so far as to change the dog's grave marker. I think that's crazy. This is history, not an example of employees trying to be racist...grr it just makes me mad! Why is everyone so sensitive about everything!