Crying babies have earned a place beside sticky floors and overpriced snacks as trademark pitfalls of the movie-going experience. And like tacky treads and expensive eats, they’re a problem we’ve all grown to regard with a weary resignation. Unable to escape the stresses of parenting for an evening, a certain percentage of parents take the “misery loves company” route and going out anyway. Although a tough etiquette nut to crack, it’s not indestructible.

Of course, the knee-jerk reaction to a crying child is to ask the parents in question if they’d please take their child outside until they’ve calmed down. Consider your strategy, though. Play the politician and consider the crowd. If you’ve making your request before Junior’s had a chance to prep his second salvo (or “breathe,” for you civilians), you might come across as a wee bit unreasonable. Better not to jump the gun. The longer you wait between the onset of the crying and the point at which you make your request, the more popular support you’ll have. It will also give the parent a reasonable amount of time in which to come to the common-sense conclusion of stepping out on their own.

When you do pop the question, so to speak, be prepared for the possibility of failure. The last time I tried asking a woman to please take her child outside (this after 15 minutes of sustained crying, mind you), she snapped that I should take the kid out. Be prepared to pursue any of the following as your Plan B…