Public Bathroom and kids.

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follow · #1 Unread post by **follow** » Thu Mar 12, 2009 8:16 am

This is totally un-bike related, but I had to ask.
I was dropping my brother off at the Airport and I had to use the restroom when I went in there was a Mom there with her children.
Yes I can understand keeping your kids with you especially these days.
But my question is when is a boy too old to go into the restroom with Mom. One of her son's looked around 9.
So is this too old to go into womans restrooms or still ok.???
what do you all say?
Not to mention standing next to the stalls where he could see in. I felt weird, am I wrong?

#2 Unread post by **Wrider** » Thu Mar 12, 2009 9:18 am

No I don't think you're wrong at all... I personally think 4-5 is old enough to stand outside of the restroom while the parent goes in to use it. And 9 year old?! He's old enough to start being curious and sneaking peeks. That's just not cool...

coffee_brake · Thu Mar 12, 2009 9:33 am

Oh don't get me started...I go nearly every day to the Family YMCA, there are seperate locker rooms for families, men and women. No children at all allowed in adult locker rooms, the family locker rooms are seperate rooms with locking doors so the parents can get the kids dressed in private...and spare the rest of us the crying and diapers.

Several moms have brought their boy children into the womens locker room! So I jump out of the shower one morning and there's this little 7-year-old boy staring and staring at me while Mom calmly puts on her shoes...I was mortified! And they just get all high and mighty when you tell them no children under 16 can be in that locker room--but what is that doing to the kids?!

Johnj · #4 Unread post by **Johnj** » Thu Mar 12, 2009 9:37 am

What is a single parent to do?

#5 Unread post by **dr_bar** » Thu Mar 12, 2009 10:06 am

Johnj wrote:What is a single parent to do?

A single parent then uses the family room in this case...

Johnj · #6 Unread post by **Johnj** » Thu Mar 12, 2009 10:16 am

And if there were family facilities I'm sure they would be used. I haven't seen any family restrooms at any of the public places I've been. Do you have them there?

Fiddler · #7 Unread post by **Fiddler** » Thu Mar 12, 2009 10:43 am

The grocery store where I work has a family restroom.

#8 Unread post by **MZ33** » Thu Mar 12, 2009 12:31 pm

I haven't had to travel solo with my 8-yr-old nephew in such a situation. My normal technique is for he & his sister to go to their respective restrooms & come out. They then wait together while I take my turn. On one occasion they thought it would be funny to hide from me--they will not make that mistake again.

If I were alone with my nephew, we'd have an established meeting place: right outside the door. He knows he jolly well better be rooted there like a plant if he's out first. If I couldn't trust him with this, we won't go anywhere.

Places with locker rooms usually have a check-in desk or an attendant somewhere around. I would wait outside the locker room while he changed, then park him at the desk while I changed. Takes longer, but I wouldn't want an 8-yr-old girl to be in an adult male locker room, so why would I want to inflict the same on a little boy?

follow · #9 Unread post by **follow** » Thu Mar 12, 2009 1:33 pm

coffee_brake, now I think I would have said something, going to the bathroom with a closed stall is one thing, but naked and coming out of the shower is another. I scare my ownself looking in the mirror, let alone leave a visual undesirable to a childs fragile mind who is now branded for life with a visual image of a naked me.

#10 Unread post by **Wrider** » Thu Mar 12, 2009 2:58 pm

As for the single parent issue... I was raised by my mom, my dad has basically been out of the parenting picture since I was 2 1/2 years old. Ever since I can remember I've stood outside of the bathroom waiting patiently for mom to come out. 4, 5 years old and I'd just wait by the door of the restroom. It's not that hard honestly to teach your kids to do that. (And before I catch flack for not having kids, I did train my cousins to wait for me at that age...)