When Toronto mom Andrea T. told us she and her 4-month-old were spending Wednesday afternoons watching the latest Miramax films, we thought she was kidding. But Andrea is part of the crowd being pampered by Reel Moms, a project of Loews Cineplex Entertainment.

In several cities across the US, new parents are invited to attend certain Tuesday screenings with their babies; there's even a spot reserved for stroller parking. Reel Moms was the brainchild of new parents John McCauley (a Loews marketing vice president) and his wife Hope Bader McCauley (from NBC's advertising department) who stopped going to movies because, "We were new parents and very nervous not only about leaving our child but taking her anywhere." Know that feeling?

Obviously many parents do, and according to the entertainment trade journal, Variety, which gave the trend a full page in January 2004 with the title "Cinebabies Go Gaga," Reel Moms audiences were averaging 15% men. You can register at the site, www.enjoytheshow.com/reelmoms to be kept up-to-date on movie listings, special events, and giveaways, too.

Tickets to all Reel Moms events go on-sale at the box office the day of the show; admission for grown-ups and children over 3 years is the regular ticket price, and babies are free.

Another theatre chain, Crown Theaters, has begun to offer its own parent-child screenings on Wednesdays ("Movies for Moms") in select locations, so check your local listings.