Leave the kids at home!

I saw No Country For Old Men on Sunday. Fantastic film, very deserving of the accolades heaped upon it to this point. The film is very violent, with complex themes. I don't think this is a big secret, as the film has been discussed publicly for some time, and reviews usually mention the violence. So I was stunned to see at least two children under the age of eight in the audience. Who would subject their children to such violent images at such a young age?

Look, I'm not an advocate of censorship by any means, but if a parent isn't responsible enough to exercise proper judgment perhaps theater owners should institute their own guidelines. The problem is, how do you decide? I'm not going to suggest that all R movies are inappropriate for all children, but clearly some are. It would be much easier if parents simply paid a babysitter for a few hours while they watched adult fare, but that's obviously not happening. Parents, please: think about your kids.

Unfortunately, these particular parents were out the door before I could ask how to vote for them for parents of the year.