Stores With "No Public Bathroom"

[OurBigTrip]

It's pretty shocking to me that people are using the work "entitlement" and bathroom in the same breath. I guess it shouldn't be...Disboards have that reputation. Anything they can peg "personal responsibility" on whips them into a sick frenzy of posting over each other to say that they of course are too perfect, smart and prepared to every have been in that situation.

I can't believe that anyone potty training a toddler hasn't had some issues about the child having to go right now with no bathroom in sight, or being in a store. And good luck calling "biohazard" on a child pooing or peeing or vomiting on your floor.

Luckily, I only ran into kind store owners when I was potty training my son. I did have to pull over a few times on the side of the road with no bathrooms in sight on very rural Florida roads.

It is a bio-hazard, and some poor clerk just doing her job shouldn't have to clean it up because a mom wasn't doing hers.

 

[Laura66]

It's pretty shocking to me that people are using the work "entitlement" and bathroom in the same breath. I guess it shouldn't be...Disboards have that reputation. Anything they can peg "personal responsibility" on whips them into a sick frenzy of posting over each other to say that they of course are too perfect, smart and prepared to every have been in that situation.

I can't believe that anyone potty training a toddler hasn't had some issues about the child having to go right now with no bathroom in sight, or being in a store. And good luck calling "biohazard" on a child pooing or peeing or vomiting on your floor.

Luckily, I only ran into kind store owners when I was potty training my son. I did have to pull over a few times on the side of the road with no bathrooms in sight on very rural Florida roads.

Toddlers do have accidents - that's why I had a potty in the van. And an extra set of clothes and potty'd my kids often.

 

[jodifla]

Toddlers do have accidents - that's why I had a potty in the van. And an extra set of clothes and potty'd my kids often.

Not everybody has a van.

 

[OurBigTrip]

Toddlers do have accidents - that's why I had a potty in the van. And an extra set of clothes and potty'd my kids often.

Absent the potty in the van, same here. When out with potty training toddlers, we stopped at just about every bathroom we saw, up until the time we were confident they could tell us in time to make it to a restroom. And if they had an accident, we cleaned them up and moved on.

 

[jodifla]

It is a bio-hazard, and some poor clerk just doing her job shouldn't have to clean it up because a mom wasn't doing hers.

You have zero idea if the mom was "doing her job." Kids vomit, too, you know...just out of the blue.

 

[jodifla]

And the "I'm so perfect" bandwagon continues!

 

[Laura66]

Not everybody has a van.

Or the car we drove. It's a little portable potty that fits in a diaper bag or car or van!

 

[OurBigTrip]

You have zero idea if the mom was "doing her job." Kids vomit, too, you know...just out of the blue.

Yep, they do; I know mine did. But when that happened, it was up to ME to clean it up, not a store clerk.

And a mom that is threatening a store clerk just because the store clerk is doing her job most certainly ISN'T doing her job as a mom. The kid was her responsibility, not the clerk's.

 

[aaarcher86]

In the right circumstances, they absolutely would be.

What kind of circumstances?

If the bathroom is not for public use and they follow their policy they aren't some kind of monster that hates children.

 

[Laura66]

And the "I'm so perfect" bandwagon continues!

No one is saying our children are perfect.
What we are saying is we respect an establishments right not to have a restroom available for public use. We are saying that we try anticipate when our child has to toilet and plan accordingly. And that when and if they have an accident of any sort we try our best to contain it AND we know it's our responsibility to clean it up.

 

[aaarcher86]

It's pretty shocking to me that people are using the work "entitlement" and bathroom in the same breath. I guess it shouldn't be...Disboards have that reputation. Anything they can peg "personal responsibility" on whips them into a sick frenzy of posting over each other to say that they of course are too perfect, smart and prepared to every have been in that situation.

I can't believe that anyone potty training a toddler hasn't had some issues about the child having to go right now with no bathroom in sight, or being in a store. And good luck calling "biohazard" on a child pooing or peeing or vomiting on your floor.

Luckily, I only ran into kind store owners when I was potty training my son. I did have to pull over a few times on the side of the road with no bathrooms in sight on very rural Florida roads.

If you're potty training, you wear pull ups. Or you wait to take them out in undies until they're reliable. Or you go to every restroom you can find every 20 minutes. Or you only go to stores with useable restrooms.

You know, ALL things within your control.

You don't walk around expecting a stranger to do you a solid. Honestly, what makes a mother with a toddler so special? Like motherhood makes people some kind of notable figure.

 

[Wendy31]

Wow. You both know the area where my daughter-in-law was delivering mail? Hmmmmm....Hrhpd you "don't believe" there was nothing else there. And Wendy31 you are "almost positive" the convenience store wasn't the only place around. Do either of you really understand what "rural" means?

The store she delivered mail to is a small beer/convenience store. They sell beer, wine, simple groceries, snack foods, lottery tickets, etc. The nearest town with a fast food place/gas station/restaurant is probably 5-6 miles away. The store is right on the corner of a fairly major road in our area and another road that goes to a small town but it is on the corner of a rural field (farmers here farm the land right up to the edge of the road) and there is NOTHING NEAR IT. No restaurant. No fast food. No grocery store. No public building. NOTHING. It survives because of it's location, and people living near don't have to drive several miles into one of the surrounding towns.

I do not know how I can describe the location any more accurately than that. If either of you don't believe me, nothing I can do about that.

And I have no idea where she ended up finding a bathroom. Maybe she drove into the nearest town that did have a fast food restaurant or gas station. She may have been taking her lunch break and drove home to use her own bathroom. I don't know, she didn't say. And I know I'm in the minority here in thinking that it's sad/too bad that stores and businesses deny a paying customer the use of a bathroom. Although I've seen a few mothers here who don't mind if businesses don't allow their patrons to use their bathroom, but they were appreciative of the ones who did allow their kids to use them. I know my daughter-in-law would have been appreciative of being allowed to use the convenience stores bathroom too and would have continued to spend money there.

(bolding mine)

Haha! Yes, I do. I'm in the south. I'm very familiar w/ rural areas.

And, if I'm in a vehicle, I don't really consider 5-6 miles that far away.

Now, we really HAVE been in a rural area where there was nothing "public" - not even a convenience store that may or may not have had a public restroom. And there is nothing (only residential houses) for way more than 5-6 miles.

We were in such an area on one particular Sunday afternoon drive when our youngest (who had up until this particular point had been very stubborn about potty-training) finally decided that our drive would be a fine time to "get it". So, because we didn't want to discourage him, we pulled over a few times on the side of the road so he could go. (This particular area is so "rural," we don't even have cell service when we drive there.)

He had on pull-ups, but, since he was suddenly ready to start pottying like a "big boy," we just went w/ it & pulled off a few times into some grassy areas by the woods. And, then we got back into the nearest small town, he decided this potty stuff was really fun & had to go one more time at a Hardee's.

And, after that, the potty chair went back in the van.

So, yes, I get rural.

Like I said a couple of other times previously, I have no problem w/ your DIL asking to use the restroom. But I don't think either she (or you) should have been angry w/ the cashier when he/she told her that she couldn't use the restroom because it wasn't for public use.

 

[Hrhpd]

Wow. You both know the area where my daughter-in-law was delivering mail? Hmmmmm....Hrhpd you "don't believe" there was nothing else there. And Wendy31 you are "almost positive" the convenience store wasn't the only place around. Do either of you really understand what "rural" means?

The store she delivered mail to is a small beer/convenience store. They sell beer, wine, simple groceries, snack foods, lottery tickets, etc. The nearest town with a fast food place/gas station/restaurant is probably 5-6 miles away. The store is right on the corner of a fairly major road in our area and another road that goes to a small town but it is on the corner of a rural field (farmers here farm the land right up to the edge of the road) and there is NOTHING NEAR IT. No restaurant. No fast food. No grocery store. No public building. NOTHING. It survives because of it's location, and people living near don't have to drive several miles into one of the surrounding towns.

I do not know how I can describe the location any more accurately than that. If either of you don't believe me, nothing I can do about that.

And I have no idea where she ended up finding a bathroom. Maybe she drove into the nearest town that did have a fast food restaurant or gas station. She may have been taking her lunch break and drove home to use her own bathroom. I don't know, she didn't say. And I know I'm in the minority here in thinking that it's sad/too bad that stores and businesses deny a paying customer the use of a bathroom. Although I've seen a few mothers here who don't mind if businesses don't allow their patrons to use their bathroom, but they were appreciative of the ones who did allow their kids to use them. I know my daughter-in-law would have been appreciative of being allowed to use the convenience stores bathroom too and would have continued to spend money there.

A small convenience store is completely different than a Party Goods store. A party goods store is something like Party City where you can go and buy party goods. Sorry for the misunderstanding.

There is no problem asking if a bathroom is available. But is somebody says "no," whether for an adult or a child, that answer should be graciously accepted. Mail carriers should be aware of known public bathrooms on their regular routes and make use of them.

For parents with children that have an unplanned emergency, an understanding that the store may have legal reasons not to allow a child in their bathroom is in order. If somebody says "no, we don't have a public bathroom," be a responsible parent and have a plan B. Giving an ultimatum (threat) to a store after you have received an answer you don't like is rude.

If the answer is yes, be grateful that you are allowed to use the bathroom. If the answer is no, you cannot use the bathroom, accept that answer graciously.

As somebody said, catch the vomit in your hands. Grab the child and leave the premises and go take care of the inevitable accident at home. And yes, I have had kids have emergencies in public. Although I have never had them go bawooosh on the floor because I never just sat there and watched them go bawooosh on the floor if there was not a toilet available. There are alternatives.

Thinking that somebody should break the rules for you, adult or child, is the definition of entitlement.

 

[disney1990]

I work on the road too - mornings & afternoons. After I have my morning coffee, I don't drink anything else until I get back home at 4:30 pm. If I have to use a bathroom during the day, I go to Starbucks or a fast food restaurant.

 

[Hrhpd]

In the right circumstances, they absolutely would be.

Why? You have no idea why a bathroom may be off limit to customers. Expecting a clerk to break rules, especially if there is a legal liability, because you think your child is special and above the rules because they have to go to the bathroom is wrong.

Their store, their rules. As a parent, YOU are responsible, not the store.

 

[Hrhpd]

You have zero idea if the mom was "doing her job." Kids vomit, too, you know...just out of the blue.

Yup. And it is the mom's job to try to catch it. I ruined a good purse catching a sudden stomach bug. It is not the store's business to break rules for you because your child is above the rules.

 

[LBIJim]

This thread is some funny *** bawooooosh!!!!

I know. I'd definitely let anyone use the restroom who was creative enough to use the term "bawoooosh"

 

[kaytieeldr]

I wonder how many of the perfect parents, who must also have perfect children that don't ever pee, poo, or vomit in public, had accidents in their own childhoods. Go ask your own parents if you ever peed in a store, puked in a library or on an airplane, or any other type of accident of this sort. I bet a large portion would be surprised at the answer. Were your parents irresponsible to not have scheduled in your bathroom stops or for not carrying a barf bag?

Well, its amost fifteen years too late to ask my parents anything - but like Dawnlight, they had six kids and my mom was always making sure everyone was prepared before we went out as a group.

And I know I'm in the minority here in thinking that it's sad/too bad that stores and businesses deny a paying customer the use of a bathroom.

People have given a variety of reasons why stores can't/won't/don't allow even customers access to restrooms. The big one would be liability.

I can't believe that anyone potty training a toddler

.
So we're down to a potty-training toddler despite no prior reference?

Ideally the person who started all this - by discussing with her mother in law - is well beyond the potty training stage. Based on the original post, this wasn't an emergency, just an incident.

 

[Tozzie]

It's pretty shocking to me that people are using the work "entitlement" and bathroom in the same breath. I guess it shouldn't be...Disboards have that reputation. Anything they can peg "personal responsibility" on whips them into a sick frenzy of posting over each other to say that they of course are too perfect, smart and prepared to every have been in that situation.

I can't believe that anyone potty training a toddler hasn't had some issues about the child having to go right now with no bathroom in sight, or being in a store. And good luck calling "biohazard" on a child pooing or peeing or vomiting on your floor.

Luckily, I only ran into kind store owners when I was potty training my son. I did have to pull over a few times on the side of the road with no bathrooms in sight on very rural Florida roads.

Your potty training issues should not become anyone elses problem , and while i understand kids vomit sometimes, that happens even to adults, the bathroom issues are your problem. I take medicine for my blood pressure that makes me need to use the restroom often, the only place that I would even think of going if there was no public restroom around would be a store that I patronize often that also has a customer only restroom, if there is no public bathroom then there is none and you find a way to deal with it that doesn't involve extortion or threats

 

[nugov2]

In the right circumstances, they absolutely would be.

Isn't it the stores right to "opt out" of letting customers use their bathroom.

Seriously though, as many have mentioned it can be for safety reasons they deny customers use of their bathroom. God forbid someone trips in the stock room and then turns around and sues the store. I am sure most stores would be accommodating in a true emergency.

This reminds me of the Seinfeld episode where nobody will let Kramer use the bathroom and he missed his chance and gets blocked up.