What is a father to do when he’s out in town with his two young daughters and is confronted by a sight like the one above? This is exactly the situation I recently came across when having lunch in a cafe.
Helen, our eldest, declared she needed the lavatory. Toddler Adams, who is presently being potty trained, promptly declared that she also needed to go.
Helen is old enough to go by herself, but she sometimes needs help to get on or off the seat. As for Toddler Adams, well, she is at an age where she can pull off any number of lavatorial stunts.
Here I was, in the slightly awkward position of having to be on hand for both girls in the ladies’ conveniences, which was also the disabled facility and housed the one changing table in the café. I always try to avoid taking Helen into the gents’ if I can avoid it and on this occasion it was too small for Toddler Adams’ needs. Under the circumstances I’m afraid I just got on with the job and hoped no women or wheelchair users were, ahem, in desperate need.
To be fair, this place was not part of some huge chain. Even so, the premises were large and I can’t help feeling that loo must sometimes get as busy as Piccadilly Circus.
I have two questions for you. If you’re female, how would you have reacted seeing me, a dad, hanging round the ladies’ (albeit for very justifiable reasons)? If you’re male, what would you have done?
7 thoughts on “Baby change facility of the week No.9”
Had you been inside and helping your children I would have fully understood. Had you been hovering around outside the door I may have been slightly concerned. Well done on common sense kicking in. At least in a womens toilet you know everybody is in a cubicle.
I found it hard enough when my son decided ( at about 6) that he was using the mens, knowing full well he would end up messing about in the sink when he should be washing his hands.
I know some places ( council buildings mainly) now have family multisex toilets and changing rooms in sports facilities are also multisex, a much better idea.
Ah yes, the unisex “family room” as I believe they are called. I have seen some superb examples. Needless to say, this wasn’t one of them! Thanks for commenting Elaine.
I think you did the only thing that you could have done. I don’t understand why it was women only. Surely most cafes etc have unisex toilets anyway because they’re usually too small to have more than 1 or 2 toilets. And if it was the only disabled toilet or changing facility that surely would have to be unisex.
(N’s only been taken into the mens toilets once – on holiday, I made the OH take him in with him. The OH wasn’t impressed because N’s not good at not touching toilets…bleurgh. But I’m a bit concerned that when he can no longer come in the ladies, he’ll have no idea of what men’s loos are like).
To be honest, I think very few women would be bothered by a guy in the situation I was in having to use the ladies. It does, however, make you feel awkward and just shows a complete lack of planning.
If in doubt run to the nearest loo! I think once you become a parent normal rules don’t always apply. Only today we heard a lady say to her son (in the ladies) “look see there’s another boy in here”. As long as you escaped unharmed that’s the main thing!
I like your approach; “normal rules do not apply”. This will become my mantra!
i wouldnt have been bothered at all, I think having Children in tow often means thinking outside the box.
However I think that maybe before Children I would have thought it a little odd as my before children mindset was really rather black and white.
that being said I wish my daughters biological Dad would have taken her in the female toilets .. she did get rather upset on using facilities outside the home at one point as she thought they smelt and hated the urinals (they scared her)