family restrooms?

[TheRustyScupper]

. . . I did let him use a men's restroom a couple of times on a recent road trip, but I really wasn't comfortable with it. I guess I need to get over it . . .

1) IMHO, yes you do need to get over it.
2) Disney is probably the safest place for him to "go to the head" himself.
3) Besides, this is a right-of-passage.
4) I remember . . .

We were at Epcot, near Morocco. A little tyke came in to use the urinal. Of
course, he had to wait for the short one. His mother, must have been waiting
outside nervously, and anxiously. We hear her YELL, if he was OK. By that
time he was at the urinal and all he yelled back was, "Mom! Please! I'm
here with the guys!" Yes, all of us in the men's room kept from laughter,
but when the kid let, there was such an uproar of howling! (Yep, we all did
remember what that was like !!!)

 

[Mouse Fanatic]

I live in Orlando and take my nephew (6) to the parks all the time and I let him go to the men's room by himself. I am extremely nervous about it but before he goes i make sure he knows the following things:

1. Where to meet me when he is finished ( usually a tree or nearby bench);
2. He needs to stay in that spot and don't move until I come to get him;
3. Don't let anyone take him away from that spot no matter what; and
4. He is to only talk to cast members


We have never had a problem, but I also think that if you are uncomfortable in any way take him in to the ladies room, I don't think it is that big of a deal.

 

[Planogirl]

Thanks for trying to avoid bringing him into the ladies' room! My biggest issue is that lines seem to be getting worse and worse as all females and tons of kids of both sexes lately seem to be lining up. I'm tempted to join the men sometimes.

 

[ClarabelleCow]

i have both a daughter and son and have never really thought twice. Would love to hear from some Europeans as is this a US issue, aren't many if not most of the public bathrooms in Europe co-ed?? I know traveling as a kid through Canada we ran into co-ed bathrooms and didn't think twice about it. Do not recall seeing urinals and all stalls had doors on them. Just curious

 

[mousefan73]

i have both a daughter and son and have never really thought twice. Would love to hear from some Europeans as is this a US issue, aren't many if not most of the public bathrooms in Europe co-ed?? I know traveling as a kid through Canada we ran into co-ed bathrooms and didn't think twice about it. Do not recall seeing urinals and all stalls had doors on them. Just curious

I live in Germany. Bathrooms. Public, generally are not shared
Sometimes you Might,rarely, have a shared sink area at smaller places. Or like one WC shared at mom/pop places.

One thing I noticed in the us compared to Europe is the utter lack of privacy in the booths. Meaning- the HUGE cracks between stalls where everyone can see in. Our stalls are on the sides totally closed spaces, sometimes down to the floor.

OP. At some point we have to let go. The " boogie man" is there at all ages. MY DS is 9 and I have been letting him use the mens at WDW since 8. I always wait right by the entrance basically I am halfway in the mens by the blowers ( no one has issues. i think the men realize what I am doing and I have no urinal view).

Try this and also i told my son always use the stall even when peeing a d dont touch anything!!


And I think for nervous moms WDW is the perfect place to give young kids some freedom. It's a contained place with a high cover charge. Cannot compare to a public restroom at a mall or train station where you can have anyone show up.

 

[DizneyLizzy]

The bathrooms in the new bakery seating area in France are single use. Those would be a great option while in WS

 

[Gracie09]

Actually, he's 8 now (I didn't state that earlier) but I said 9 because our trip is the day after his 9th birthday. No problem. I understand what you are saying. I'm not comfortable with him in the women's room anymore, but I'm not comfortable with him in a public men's restroom, either. Now that I know that the "companion" restrooms are strictly for individuals for disabilities, we will not be using them. I do wish Disney had family restrooms, though. It's what I seek out now when we're out and about. I did let him use a men's restroom a couple of times on a recent road trip, but I really wasn't comfortable with it. I guess I need to get over it, but the slim risk that something would happen... He plays outside for hours on end by himself, so it's not like I hover, but there's just something about a men's restroom that I'm not comfortable with! Thanks for all of the advice on this thread - and lists of restrooms - and heads up about restrooms with more than one entrance. In addition to sending him in alone, there will be times I'll have to go in a restroom myself and leave him standing outside.

The bathroom at wdw is filled with fathers, grandfathers, uncles, nephews and brothers. Most of whom (at least the ones I know) would not hesitate to come to the aid of a child in distress. I have heard of one case where someone tried something on a child in the bathroom and the child ran away and found a cm and the guy was arrested. One out of the millions of people that visit a year. There have been a couple other incidents but not in bathrooms and involving people who knew each other.
I would find a busy but not super busy bathroom (not a deserted one although that may be your instinct) and let him go so to speak. Maybe wait outside and have him sit on a bench while you go next so you know he got out ok.

 

[freckles04]

I can't recall EVER seeing a boy in a women's restroom that appeared above age 5 or so. That goes for WDW or anywhere else.

I sympathize with you, OP, as I was a single mom from the time my DS was 3 to age 9. But using the men's room himself was a (scary for me at times) skill he's been doing since about the age of 6. Yes, I hover at the entrance and am not afraid to holler and ask how he's doing if I feel it's taking too long. But it's just part of them growing up.

 

[hsmamainva]

By that age I let my sons go in the bathroom alone.

He knew to wait outside the entrance for me -- if I had to go as well -- and not to wander off.

 

[skywaywaver]

My mother STILL talks about this issue in daily life. Mind you, her youngest son is now 33 years old but she did worry, even back then. She would hover outside the door and tell them if you're not out in x minutes, I'm coming in. I know that my husband, also being a dad, would see a nervous mom, see a little kid by himself, and would assure her that her kid was okay as he left. I know I try to do the same thing for nervous dads/solo daughters.

If you get really nervous and you think he's taking too long, just walk in the doorway and yell. I don't think anybody can fault you for taking care of your kid.

I appreciate the fact that you're thinking about other park visitors. I think my daughter would also not appreciate having a boy older than her in the bathroom than her and she's 8.

 

[nikkij]

DS is now 17 and has been using the restroom alone in public places since about 5, always with someone waiting right outside for she he was done. Yes girls are very bothered by seeing boys in the girls I have seen and heard it with my own eyes and ears with my nieces. My niece who is a few months younger than ds expressed concerned when she saw DS using the restroom on his own but then other boys coming into thr ladies room.

I say work on some trial potty runs in the mean time to get both you and your ds use to the idea. Good luck and have a magician time.

 

[becpee]

As long as the kid isn't peeking under the doors, whats the problem?

Restroom stalls have doors for a reason.

My DS is eight, gets mistaken sometimes for six.

If he's not comfortable to go into a mensroom on his own I won't stop him from coming into the womens and I dare anybody to challenge me on it...

 

[Gracie09]

As long as the kid isn't peeking under the doors, whats the problem?

Restroom stalls have doors for a reason.

My DS is eight, gets mistaken sometimes for six.

If he's not comfortable to go into a mensroom on his own I won't stop him from coming into the womens and I dare anybody to challenge me on it...

The stalls often have large gaps around the door. Am I only only one who has seen things they didn't wish to simply by glancing at stall doors as I walked by looking for an open stall? Tween/teen girls may be getting use to changes in their bodies and may need assistance at certain times of the month and they may not want to ask for that help because the older boys are there. Also unless your son is in the stall with you it's really a false sense of security. If your pants are around your knees and you are locked behind the door how can you actually do anything of something should happen to him in another locked stall.

 

[KatieCharlotte]

As long as the kid isn't peeking under the doors, whats the problem?

Restroom stalls have doors for a reason.

My DS is eight, gets mistaken sometimes for six.

If he's not comfortable to go into a mensroom on his own I won't stop him from coming into the womens and I dare anybody to challenge me on it...

Have you never been in a public restroom in which you can easily see between the cracks in the doors? Some are extremely non-private. My ten-year-old daughter feels uncomfortable seeing a boy over preschool age in the restroom. So please understand why I might challenge you. I felt a little nervous sending my son into restrooms alone when he was small but did it anyway, in certain situations calling out "I will be right here and expect you to be quick," as he entered the bathroom. Now, poor DH had a problem when two-year-old DD had to go and was too little to manage on her own -- he covered her eyes and ran into a men's stall.

 

[Mrsjvb]

There are few companion restrooms in the parks, under the age of 10 I would just bring him into the ladies room with you.

sorry but that is too old. after say 6 or so they need to be either going in their own gender's restroom or using the companion restrooms( they are NOT 'family' restrooms and are meant to be used by people who need assistance such as a disabled individual who cannot take care of business by themselves as well as parents with multiple small children) with their opposite gender parent

 

[MattRyan]

At 9 years old I think he would be perfectly capable to go on his own in the men's restroom, you have to let go at some point. I would be much more concerned about what goes on at the bathroom's at his school than Disney.

 

[DonaldnDaisy5]

I am home all summer with our 3 kids and do numerous activities with them. Ds is now 11 but has been mortified since about 6 at the thought of going into the women's bathroom.

If I am with a friend the boys know to stay together. If alone my son knows the "rules." I believe I read on this board on a thread on the same topic...if anyone tries to talk to you or touch you, you start to scream "not my dad" as loud as you can and repeatedly. Other men and dads in the restroom will take notice and I will hear you.

He now rolls his eyes at me as I prompt him for the rule before he goes in (only if it's particularly busy bathroom - balls games) but he knows how to handle the situation and doesn't have to be uncomfortable.

 

[jtowntoflorida]

My son is 4...FOUR...and he's already mortified when I drag him into a ladies room with me. Anyone who was in the ladies restroom at Ft. Myers airport on January 28, 2014 knows how adamant he is about it. My apologies to anyone who had to listen to his screaming that HE'S NOT A GIRL AND HE PEES IN THE MEN'S ROOM.

We've been on a Disney trip with a friend whose son was 8, and he used the men's room just fine. I would never expect a boy that age to have to go into the ladies room, and as others have pointed out, the companion restroom should be used by people who need assistance, not by parents who are unduly paranoid about restroom pedophiles.

ETA: My daughter is seven and is also allowed to use the restroom alone, both at home and at Disney.

 

[PatMcDuck]

I personally would frown upon seeing a 10 year old boy in the women's restroom. I have young daughters, ages 7 and 11, who would feel incredibly awkward in a restroom with a 10 year old boy in there with them. I just think a boy of that age is too old to have them in the women's restroom. I understand your concern, however, so I would use the companion restroom. I'm not trying to upset you, because as a mom I totally understand trying to keep your child safe. As a mom of young daughters, I'm just voicing what I would feel having your son in the restroom at the same time as us, especially my 11 year old. She'd feel very uncomfortable with a boy close to her age in the restroom at the same time. It'd just be weird for her.

I read this and cringed. I often have to take my 24 year old adult son into the ladies room with me at WDW. He has Down's and Autism, non-verbal. Because there are not enough of those companion restrooms, and because they are used by so many other people. Some people just seem to prefer them, for the privacy, and other people have various health or anxiety issues. While I understand that, it leaves me to take my 24 year old son into a ladies room when the companion ones are tied up, or have a long line. And not to get TOO graphic, but sometimes I need to clean up my adult son after a messy toiletting accident, and to change his clothing. To do that in the regular ladies room is a nightmare.

One time, we were waiting and waiting to get into a companion restroom, and a family of 4 finally exited. Mom, Dad, 2 kids. (no obvious disabilities, but who knows?) I had to think that all 4 did not have to use that restroom, though. It was like a clown car seeing them all file out.:

 

[mom2rtk]

My son is 4...FOUR...and he's already mortified when I drag him into a ladies room with me. Anyone who was in the ladies restroom at Ft. Myers airport on January 28, 2014 knows how adamant he is about it. My apologies to anyone who had to listen to his screaming that HE'S NOT A GIRL AND HE PEES IN THE MEN'S ROOM.

Sounds like he's right on track developmentally!