Do you use the handicapped stall?

[disykat]

Sometimes. I do make sure no one else needs it at the time I go in though - handicapped or with children. In a large bathroom, I would choose a different stall. However, sometimes in small bathrooms they have one large handicapped stall and one VERY SMALL regular stall. If I can avoid having to straddle the toilet to close the stall door - I will. Can you believe, I'm 43 years old and have yet to have a handicapped person come in to the bathroom at the same time as me?

 

[Crankyshank]

I use them if no one is waiting. Like Tigger Magic said, they are handicapped accessible, not handicapped reserved.
If stores have an issue with that, then please have them perhaps raise the tp and napkin holders up a few inches. some people have long legs that are more than 4 inches in diameter and don't like having to creatively move their legs around those things in order to get near the toliet!

 

[DisneyPhD]

I will use it if no one is waiting for it (for example if I was in a line and the HC stahl came up I would let anyone behind me use it if they needed it instead.) Most often this is not the case and we are in and out in a few min, not too long to wait for a bathroom. In addtion to having more room to have the kids in with you (those stahls get very small with one child let alone a baby and 4 year old) they often have the baby chaning station in it and we need that too.

Some bathrooms only have 2 or 3 stahls, 1 handicap accesaible and 2 normal. You could harldy not use that one just because it is HC and someone *might* come in and need it.

Funny though, if it is the most prefered stahl, then I guess it most likely is not the cleanest! It always looks cleaner to me.

 

[cats7494]

I will use it if it is the only one available to me. Otherwise, I always use the stalls that are not handicapped Accessible.

 

[tinaluis]

I've used it in the past but was at Universal last year and 2 of my 3 DDs were with me so we used it together. As we were exiting, I saw someone with a child in a wheelchair struggling to get into another handicapped stall that was much smaller. I felt SOOOO bad. Haven't used them since, even if I have all 3 DDs with me. Actually, my oldest is now 9 so I can sometimes have her wait outside of the stall with the youngest, 4, and not be entirely paranoid. It's my 7 yo that I have to worry about. She's always getting into something!

 

[yeartolate]

I ran into Target on the way to work this morning, ended up using the restroom. It was empty and I don't know why but I used the handicap stall. I heard someone come in and stand outside the stall, when I came out there was a lady in her 50's maybe with a cane giving me serious evil eye.

Realistically speaking.....she wasn't in the bathroom when you first came in, and unless you are in some serious need of roughage in your diet, you could not have been in there all that long. I would chalk it up to a nasty person with a bug up their behind about the issue, and let it go at that.

The stalls are accessible only. The fact that they frequently have baby changing stations speaks to that issue.



We have had this discussion before, and invariably there is someone with a handicapped child who soiled themselves because of the wait (on many occasions). I cannot conceive of one person on these boards who would see a person in a wheelchair and not let them gain first access.

And to the folks who give nasty looks ...how do you know I am not handicapped? I had multiple surgeries on tendons in my ankle and that high toilet seat was a slice of heaven - and a necessity for at least a year. But you would not know it if you saw me.

 

[DisneyPhD]

I've used it in the past but was at Universal last year and 2 of my 3 DDs were with me so we used it together. As we were exiting, I saw someone with a child in a wheelchair struggling to get into another handicapped stall that was much smaller. I felt SOOOO bad. Haven't used them since, even if I have all 3 DDs with me. Actually, my oldest is now 9 so I can sometimes have her wait outside of the stall with the youngest, 4, and not be entirely paranoid. It's my 7 yo that I have to worry about. She's always getting into something!

I would feel bad too. But then again really, is there any reason that is that person wanted THAT stahl they couldn't wait 2 min for it? I know sometimes small kids have to go when they have to go, but most of the time they have a few min in them. Actually I have found most 4 year olds have stronger bladers then me!

 

[Tigger_Magic]

We have had this discussion before, and invariably there is someone with a handicapped child who soiled themselves because of the wait (on many occasions). I cannot conceive of one person on these boards who would see a person in a wheelchair and not let them gain first access.

And to the folks who give nasty looks ...how do you know I am not handicapped? I had multiple surgeries on tendons in my ankle and that high toilet seat was a slice of heaven - and a necessity for at least a year. But you would not know it if you saw me.

Ditto! Some people do have "invisible" disabilities, so it's never safe to assume that because they "look" ok that they have no disability. Sometimes I think there are some who think those with invisible diabilities need to have "handicapped" or "disabled" tattooed on their forehead.

 

[Rock'n Robin]

I used to use them with strollers, while toilet training, etc. And now that everyone is grown enough to not go in with me, and if the bathroom is empty, I'll use it as well because it IS cleaner.
I remember one day at Cedar Point--there was a long line and there sat the handicapped stall, wide open and no one using it. Well I went and used it! It seemed as if no one would dare go in "in case" someone needed it. I got a few dirty looks that day myself, but common sense would tell you that if 10 people are waiting for an open toilet and one sits open and unused, you can go ahead!
Robin M.

 

[makinorlando]

I do use it if I have my DD with me and she thinks she will nee my help. It's just easier than trying to fit us both in a normal stall. I won't use it if I am alone.

I agree if there is a line and it's available to use it is a good thing - it helps to keep the line moving!

Public Restrooms are a pet peeve of mine in general, and I would use them only in extreme cases before I became a mom!!!

 

[iggbees]

i usually find that handicapped stalls are the only ones with toilet paper left. so, yes, i do use them, when the other stalls are gross or don't have toilet paper. i usually try to pick the first stall in the row, they are supposedly the cleanest and i like that i can put my handbag up against the wall without a fear of someone coming in and snatching it.

 

[Marseeya]

I ran into Target on the way to work this morning, ended up using the restroom. It was empty and I don't know why but I used the handicap stall. I heard someone come in and stand outside the stall, when I came out there was a lady in her 50's maybe with a cane giving me serious evil eye.

Made me wonder if anyone else uses the handicap stall or if you're opposed? If I have Baker and Hallie w/ me I usually will so I can push the stroller in.

I had a similar thing happen to me at Busch Gardens. My DD and I went to use the RR and the bathroom happened to be empty at the time, but we both went into the handicapped stall. In the meantime, my time of the month came upon VERY unexpectedly, and also a line formed at the door. So I had to get a quarter and go buy a "necessity" and there was a woman standing there, around her 50s, standing on her own two feet and started berating me up one side and down the other. Everyone standing in line was staring at me and I was so stunned by her hostility, all I could do was grab the "necessity," apologize, and duck back into the stall to finish my business. She actually had me in tears.

I had every bit as much right to use that stall as she did. First of all, I'd sprained my ankle BADLY a few months before the trip and my ankle was very weak -- not to the point of needing crutches or a cane, but that I would hold on to the walls or side rails any time I had to use the rest room. And secondly, even if my ankle was perfect, I had every right to go into a stall big enough to take my DD with me.

That woman was just a witch.

I'm of the same opinion as the rest of you -- they're handicapped accessible, not handicapped reserved.

 

[Kimmie5870]

PS: I consider having a baby in stroller or a potty-training toddler to be handicapped!!! LOL!!!

I am not flaming here but having a baby or potty training a toddler is an INCONVENIENCE that will pass with time,not a handicapp that most will have to deal with all of their lives.
As for the handicapped stall issue.I also look at them as accessible and not reserved.


Like I said above this was not a flame,maybe I am just having a bad day, but I have a DD 13 who is a special needs child and this post just struck me wrong.

 

[noodleknitter]

Yes! I frequently use the Handicapped restroom stall.

SAME THING for dressing room stalls!

I agree that it is handicapped accessable, NOT handicapped reserved.

If the restroom is busy, then I especially see no reason why women should stand and wait while a stall remains unused.

I see no reason why a handicapped person have special priviledges, and should not have to wait for a few moments for their turn.

I hope that you are never in a handicapped position that causes you to have difficulty holding "it." Just like a small child needs to go immediately, so do some with various handicaps. Just like your child is going to need certain special services that other's may resent, so do some that are physically handicapped.

 

[Aidensmom]

I use it if it is the only one available. When my son was in a stroller I would wait for the handicapped stall if I had to. I still take my son in the stall with me, but without the stroller the two of us can fit in a regular stall.

 

[Marseeya]

I hope that you are never in a handicapped position that causes you to have difficulty holding "it." Just like a small child needs to go immediately, so do some with various handicaps. Just like your child is going to need certain special services that other's may resent, so do some that are physically handicapped.

If it's that important, then maybe anyone with special needs should push to have the laws changed.

Until then, that stall is fair game, IMO. I'd never purposefully use it and cut off someone with a handicap, but my needs are important too, whether it's keeping my child safe with me (that point is moot now that she's older) or whether I need the rails to hang on to as well.

 

[LadyBears]

For me, it depends where we are. Around here, I find most of the stalls are too tiny for any pooh sized or pregnant women to get into & close the door at the same time! If I have my DD with me, it makes it even harder to get in those tiny stalls. If it is just me going, I use the HC stall so we can both fit - I don't dare leave her alone outside the stall. If it is my DD that has to go, I have her use a regular stall & I will stand just outside the door.

If the stalls were made a little bigger, but smaller than a regular size HC stall, I bet less people would use the HC stall. I also find that I take a LOT longer in a small stall because there isn't enough room to do what needs to be done. Especially when it is that time of the month. I blame the stores, not the women in line. I bet if they had larger stalls, the lines would go quicker!

Then again like a previous poster said - in all my years of using a public restroom, I have yet to run into a handicapped person in there at the same time.

 

[Castlebound]

I hope that you are never in a handicapped position that causes you to have difficulty holding "it." Just like a small child needs to go immediately, so do some with various handicaps. Just like your child is going to need certain special services that other's may resent, so do some that are physically handicapped.

If a person of any age has problems "holding it" then they should wear the correct underwear to prevent problems. What's next, two handicapped people fighting over who has the handicap that requires them to use the restroom first? They didn't put changing tables in those stalls just for handicapped people to use. They put them in there for woman in general with small children to use. So they have every right to use it as any other person.

 

[PrincessKitty]

I do use them--I agree they are supposed to be handicapped accessible, not handicapped-reserved.

Most people are in and out within a minute or two.

I was in a long, long line for the ladies room at a concert last year, and a woman in a wheelchair cut in front of the line and went in to use the accessible stall. Personally, I don't think the stall is there to be immediately accessible only to people in wheelchairs. I think people can wait their turn unless there is some pressing reason they cannot. Many people have trouble "holding it" and I agree that is an invisible handicap that has very little to do whether one uses a wheelchair or not.

 

[pattyT]

WHen I have the baby in the stroller definately!
when I don't NO.