Kids stuff - the cinema experience

Unfortunately I've not been blessed with children but with three nephews and one niece, I've become well-practiced at being an Aunt.  Whether its baby-sitting, keeping them occupied or helping with homework, I am a bit of a pro.  Over the years I've learnt a couple of things.

Having nephews and nieces has been a great excuse to see films that you wouldn't really be expected to see on your own: Harry Potter, High School Musical and Twilight to name a few guilty pleasures.  Despite all their different characters, they've all managed to conduct the same behaviours on their early visits to the cinema.

Kids:

• will have popcorn, a drink and a snack but will always want 'to try' what you've bought for themselves. Yesterday at the cinema to watch Marmaduke with my nephew Max who's four, I caught him taking my sweets and sniffing them before putting them back in my bag! (I have slight OCD so inside I was traumatised while outside I gently tried to persuade him to stick to his own snacks).
• will expect bathroom breaks at any part of the film, popping to the loo before or after the film just wouldn't make sense.  My nephew Tom, who is now 17, went to the loo an epic 7 times during one of the Star Wars films, I know the films are long but honestly?  Max exceeded my expectations as he waited five minutes into the film starting, before announcing he needed the loo then requiring it again ten minutes before the end!
• want to remove their shoes and generally treat the cinema seats like their home sofa, although how they get comfy in those seats amazes me.
• You are lucky in a child remains seated for at least 30 minutes of a film, usually by this point said child will have moved seats, changed positions, stood up, sat down, generally had a nosy round at what the rest of the cinema is doing, before wanting yet another loo break,

The cinema experience now, compared to when I was a kid is so much different.  You definitely wouldn't have a Ben and Jerrys ice cream bar - your choice would be a small tub of vanilla ice cream or a choc ice, the cinema screens would be limited to a couple of screens - no multiplex in those days, there were no midnight showings and the 3D cinema experience is far beyond comparison with that in the eighties.  So yes, things have improved and so have the length of movies.  The one thing that needs to be brought back for the eighties is the interval breaks in the middle of the movies (I believe Titanic might be the last time cinema-goers enjoyed this luxury).  It would definitely help with those pesky loo breaks!