First trip need advice on rest room etiquette for DS

[bwang123]

Someone had POOPED in the urinal, and my son was right beside it. Not good.

Why would your son stay next to it? OPP (other peoples poop) is my kryptonite.

Don't worry, he will be quite safe. I understand that you are nervous because this is a new/different environment for you. But you will see when you get there that it is just lots of families.

wasn't a guy (someones grandpa) recently arrested for exposing himself in the Animal Kingdom Lodge pool?

 

[NorthernBuckeye]

IMHO, 6/7 first grader should be able to use a WDW by themself. Now at the Atlanta Airport, I would bump that up a year or two.

 

[Lilliputian]

I'm a mom of boys and know it can seem scary, but it really is okay. Busy restrooms are the safest. There's a tiny chance that there could be one creepy man in the restroom, but there would be so many good fathers that nothing will end up happening.

You should, of course, teach him what to do. Tell him to be quiet, mind his business, and do things appropriately, but if someone tries to touch him, he needs to kick, scream, and bite and do whatever he needs to do to be safe and get people's attention.

 

[freckles04]

On another one of these threads someone posted something that I think is a very good "rule" for this situation: if your son is too old to come in the stall with you he's too old to be in the same bathroom with you.

Amen!

My son is also 9 and would be horrified to the core if I even SUGGESTED he go into the ladies room!

I'm also a single mom and he's an only child, so yes, it is a bit scary every time I send him in a restroom by himself. It's just part of life. We always designate a meeting place outside the restroom: by this statue, the water fountain, a picture on the wall, etc. I know if he's just going pee that he'll be a bit quicker than me, so he waits for me at the meeting place, and I hurry to get my business done and meet him.

It has always worked for us.

 

[bennifer]

To the PPs who've been snarky and rude to the OP, calm down! She was asking for advice, and this is a place to do so. To the OP, I understand your concern as I was a single mother to a son for 13 yrs. I started allowing him to go into the men's restroom alone at age 7. I would stand by the entrance and if he was taking too long, I would ask random men who were with their families if they would make sure he was ok. Crazy, yes, but it's hard!

 

[AllyC]

Thanks for all your replies, I realise I have had different opinions on this one but I am glad as I have never been I didn't know! I am really glad to here there is family rooms, that is something I was not aware of so I will make use of those.

I think I will have to let him use the gents when there is no family room near us as by the sounds of it we could cause offence.

Its a subject that's obviously come up before, I think it all depends on the environment that the child is used to, we live in a very rural area and hardley ever visit city centres or busy places and usually holiday on a tiny tiny greek island so this for me has never been an issue!
Though I am grateful for the responses and I think yes when it comes to it I will probably wonder what I was worried about!

 

[stargazertechie]

Why would your son stay next to it? OPP (other peoples poop) is my kryptonite.




wasn't a guy (someones grandpa) recently arrested for exposing himself in the Animal Kingdom Lodge pool?

That was over a year ago. And I can't find any follow-up to the arrest via google.



And OP, I get it. I'm not a mom yet, but I also grew up in a very rural town, and my parents were always very careful in regards to my safety (read: overprotective). I will say it has been a bit of a disservice- I now live in a large metropolitan area, and my husband can't get over how timid I am when it comes to navigating the city. As long as you wait outside the exit to the gents room, your son will be fine!

 

[Disney_Princess83]

I never understand women feeling uncomfortable about young boys in the Ladies Restrooms. Womens Restrooms have cubicles, it's not like anyone can see anything. This is very different to mens rooms.

There are many disabled/companion toilets throughout WDW which you can use if you're uncomfortable letting him use the bathroom alone.

I totally understand where you are coming from. In Australia a few years ago, a young girl was sexually assaulted and murdered in a shopping centre bathroom in the middle of the day. It's awful and rare but sadly, it does happen.

 

[BuzzBelleMom]

I totally get OP, my friend took her son with her into EVERY public restroom until he was over 10. Our son, however, pretty much refused to go into bathrooms with me once he was about 5 and we were yelled at by an older lady in the gym.

Now he is 11 and about 5'6" and a black belt. I still get a bit nervous, but I have to let him grow up.

 

[NorthernBuckeye]

a shopping centre bathroom

Yes, a public place where someone does not need to buy a ticket and will not have constant visitors would be a different threshold for me.

 

[think-like-tink]

Well, we do have a lot of freaks and not enough circuses. We need to teach stranger danger and independance. It's hard.

I have a 10 year old son and he goes to the mens BR. I also have a 7 year old daughter. Before going our seperate ways, we have a meeting spot. 9 times out of 10, he gets there before we do!

When we get back together I ask him, "did anyone talk to you"? The answer is always no.

If by some chance us girls get out before him, I have no problems with poking my head in and calling his name. I have had some men on their way out say he is finishing up. or almost done. They haven't seemed bothered by that, if they were they didn't show it. I am not going IN the bathroom, just standing by the door letting my voice go in

 

[delmar411]

Thanks for all your replies, I realise I have had different opinions on this one but I am glad as I have never been I didn't know! I am really glad to here there is family rooms, that is something I was not aware of so I will make use of those.

I think I will have to let him use the gents when there is no family room near us as by the sounds of it we could cause offence.

Its a subject that's obviously come up before, I think it all depends on the environment that the child is used to, we live in a very rural area and hardley ever visit city centres or busy places and usually holiday on a tiny tiny greek island so this for me has never been an issue!
Though I am grateful for the responses and I think yes when it comes to it I will probably wonder what I was worried about!

There are NO family restrooms at Disney. They are handicapped companion restrooms and they are for those who NEED assistance in the bathroom. They are few and far between and if you are concerned about etiquette, it is beyond rude to ever use those restrooms unless your child actually needs a large room for you to assist him in his toilet needs. Which obviously he doesn't.

And I agree with the PPs, he has no business in the women's room. And as to another poster that was worried about poop in the urinal next to her son, have she never been to a Disney bathroom?? They can be horrid nasty and poop is the least of the yuck you'll find in the women's room. The men's room is likely in much better shape a good bit of the time.

 

[ilovemk76]

Why would your son stay next to it? OPP (other peoples poop) is my kryptonite.




wasn't a guy (someones grandpa) recently arrested for exposing himself in the Animal Kingdom Lodge pool?

Isn't it the same thing as a 9 year old seeing a "exposed" woman in the women's room?

The mother was there and the man still exposed himself.

Do you really think other men would do nothing if that happened in the restroom?

What a paranoid life some of you live.

 

[momofboyz3]

Well, we do have a lot of freaks and not enough circuses. We need to teach stranger danger and independance. It's hard.

I have a 10 year old son and he goes to the mens BR. I also have a 7 year old daughter. Before going our seperate ways, we have a meeting spot. 9 times out of 10, he gets there before we do!

When we get back together I ask him, "did anyone talk to you"? The answer is always no.

If by some chance us girls get out before him, I have no problems with poking my head in and calling his name. I have had some men on their way out say he is finishing up. or almost done. They haven't seemed bothered by that, if they were they didn't show it. I am not going IN the bathroom, just standing by the door letting my voice go in

I've done the same thing.... I let my voice be heard "Everything ok in there???"

 

[think-like-tink]

I've done the same thing.... I let my voice be heard "Everything ok in there???"

Have you ever had someone say anything about to you? I have not. Even if I did, I blow it off. That's MY kid in there.

 

[BrerNashville]

Kids like video games, right? I'd have him practice this one for proper etiquette:

http://www.puffgames.com/theurinalgame/

 

[goofy4tink]

Well- I'm with the OP- and clearly outnumbered! Last trip my son had just turned 10, and we had the same issue. For part of the trip we were with friends, and our ( male ) friend took him in. Someone had POOPED in the urinal, and my son was right beside it. Not good. We generally find family restrooms and he may go in by himself, or if the toilet is separate we go in together so one can be waiting/washing. This also happens at stores and such ( big ones, not if its a single use, obviously. I generally decide at each place. I am MORE comfortable if it's busy and there would not be just one man in there with him, but it's a tough call. A friend of mine's good friend had a tragedy happen in a men's room and I am just hyper aware
What do you all do at the airport? Does that feel different?

Believe me, you can have really nasty stuff in the ladies room as well. I saw stuff that was completely unbelievable in WDW bathrooms. I felt so badly for the poor custodial staff that had to clean up after these pigs. I have seen poop smeared all over walls, I've seen it smeared all over the toilet. So you stand the danger of your child seeing 'stuff' in the ladies room as well as the men's room.

There is always a possible 'danger'..in any restroom. Thinking that since you're at WDW you are safer is not a good way to think. Creeps are everywhere. They travel with their families as well. So, always use care. Be on the alert wherever you are.
Our kids need us to give them the tools to get along in the world. Being able to use the rest room on their own is one such tool. It's all well and good to be from a very rural area. But unless you are planning on having your child live with you, forever, you may want to give them the tools they are going to need out there in the world.

 

[Virtucomp]

1) I think a 9 yr old boy can use a public rest room without any issues. WHy would Disney be any different than a local restaurant? Nothing is going to happen with a group of people around.

2) I was once a 9 yr old boy and I think I would be creeped out if my Mom took me into a ladies room with her.

 

[think-like-tink]

My DS would look at me like I had 3 heads.

 

[momofboyz3]

Have you ever had someone say anything about to you? I have not. Even if I did, I blow it off. That's MY kid in there.

Never! The foodcourt at the mall I used to get nervous a bit. My 9 yr old goes in w/his 13.5 year old twin brothers so I'm not as worried. But when my twins were younger about 7 is when they started using the men's room at their insistence. I would stand at the door & every minute or 2 I would yell,"everything ok?" Nobody said a word, a smile or a nod. A few times some dad with their boys would say "want me to make sure they wash their hands?" Or "they are finishing up". I totally understand the OP! It's scary!