When you have a little baby, there are certain things you accept you won’t be able to do very easily for a while. Some of them, for us, like going out and enjoying a session at the pub, haven’t been missed at all. Other activities, though, we have missed a little, and one of these activities is watching a film at the cinema.

With that in mind, I was pretty excited when I was forwarded an email from Hyde Park Picture House detailing their BYOBaby screenings.

The BYOBaby screenings at Hyde Park Picture House allow parents to bring their little one(s) to a film each Wednesday morning safe in the knowledge that screaming, crying, shouting little monsters won’t be shunned by those who don’t really have time for babies! Tickets cost £5.50 and include a free cup of tea or coffee.

The screenings are extremely baby-friendly; the lighting isn’t turned down too low so you can keep a close eye on your baby at all times, the volume of the film is reduced (although you can still hear everything really easily), there are subtitles to make up for any particularly noisy moments thanks to the little ones, and there are changing facilities placed just outside the main entrance.

This morning I went to see ’45 Years’ with a couple of NCT friends and we all had a really nice time. The doors opened about 45 minutes before the film starts, which gave us a nice opportunity to have a catch-up and to get the babies settled before the action began.

During the film, there was a fair bit of crying, unsurprisingly, but it really didn’t matter; the subtitles meant nothing was missed. There was plenty of space for the babies’ paraphernalia too; I took my little one into the cinema in a baby carrier although held her throughout, but other parents brought theirs in prams or car seats.

So, next time you’re missing the cinema, have a look at the Hyde Park Picture House BYOBaby film calendar and give it a go. It really is very baby-friendly and it’s lovely to be around other people who have young babies.