Girls in the men's room.

[RMulieri]

My DH has used to take my DD in with him when she was 3 and 4 yrs old.Sorry but she was far too young to go into the ladies room by herself.10 yrs old, is a tad bit old though

 

[stevensn9317]

I hope you would agree with that if your 10 year old was molested. I have never seen a parent walking into the restroom with there child and having them stop to look at the scenery. How many restrooms have you seen with multiple exits in Theme parks.....a ton. Also, how many screaming children have you seen at Disney? I believe I see that every trip. Does anyone walk up and question as to whether that is there child? Unfortunately I probably wouldn't because you see it all the time. I stayed in a hotel over the 4th and my daughter went to the girls room and took a very long time.....I yelled through the door to check on her a couple of times. It is a very scary feeling until she answered me. When I bring my daughter into a restroom I take her directly to a stall and if necessary I will cover her eyes until we get there. Don't judge a parent because they are taking these extra precautions, I'm guessing they are just someone who are reading the paper or watching the news and if they happen to be from another country they are using very good judgement because we have a ton of pedophiles here.

I have to agree. I don't think there is anything wrong taking your child into the restroom with you. I am a married father of 2 and if my wife is not with me I have no problem taking my 7 year old daughter into the rest room with me and my son. I'm sorry if this offends some people but it is what it is.. Some of you must think we still live in a cookie cutter world... Times are not the same as they once were. Blame society for taking away childrens innocence not people taking there child to the restroom. I wouldn't do it at my local mall let alone a park with thousands of people. Since I have to walk through a metal detector getting into my daughters elementary school I don't think I am being to protective.

 

[Schmeck]

At WDW, when you need a better solution that taking an older child into the opposite sex's restroom, try heading to the child care center to use the ones there.

 

[stevensn9317]

At WDW, when you need a better solution that taking an older child into the opposite sex's restroom, try heading to the child care center to use the ones there.

No offense, but since there is only one child care center in Epcot you really think I am going to go the whole way from say Germany over to the child care center......

 

[WillCAD]

I feel pretty uncomfortable when I see a little girl in the mens room, but I understand why some dads have to bring them in and I think it's the right decision in most cases.

There needs to be a cutoff age, but it's difficult to say what that age is, because there are two issues at work here: 1) how old is old enough for a kid to go into a restroom by themselves, and 2) how old is old enough to wait outside the restroom while their parent goes?

My own neice is almost 10, and I have no problem sending her into a public ladies room by herself, but I wouldn't feel comfortable leaving her to wait outside while I went to the mens room. Most public bathrooms are contained spaces with single doors, and at WDW, the bathrooms are usually crowded, so it's unlikely that anything bad could happen in them. But leaving her outside while I go into the mens room is a different story, since she might wander a little and get lost.

 

[fun4disney]

As being a single parent to a 9 year old boy I am still not 100% comfortable allowing him to go into a public restroom by himself. there are too many weirdos around these days!

However, that being said, if I am at Disney without another male that can bring him into the bathroom, we use the companion restroom, that is the reason they are there.

also, it's easier to bring a boy into the womens room then a guy bring a girl into the mens room I think, but I say do what makes you comfortable!

 

[Nikisha421]

I think this is a very weird issue...my nephew is 9 and one of the few boys in our family and once my sister sent me with him to the bathroom with my DD in tow I sent him to the men's room and took myself and DD into the ladies room...my sister had a FIT...now I understand why, but at the time as a mom of only a girl I thought it was fine to send him to the mens room

 

[Planogirl]

Not making a judgment call of any kind but when do some of you think girls are too old to go into the men's room?

 

[defendthehill]

I have three daughters 7,6,4 (in a week). I would take and have taken all three with me into the men's room. The funny thing is that the grown up men in this situation are the ones uncomfortable not the children. I believe that as long as opposite gender kids in a restroom are not intimidated or uncomfortable then why should the adults be. Kids aren't looking at the adult "THAT WAY"......

 

[jkstewart1800]

Oh my, men deserve privacy too! I'm not talking about little girls but ten is really pushing it and Mom's bringing their sons in while men are standing there is a bit much IMO.

You're right... I should have just let my son wet his pants. I feel sorry for the grown men that had to witness my behavoir. I am sure they are in therapy now.

 

[disneymom06]

People need to realize that some of us are traveling as single parents and there are no other options. Disney really does not have that many companion restrooms. This year my daughter was 7 and I tentatively let her use the girls room by her self (with me at the door) but before that she came to the men's room with me......I could care less if it makes someone uncomfortable or not. When I'm 1000's of miles from home and know nobody I'll keep her as close to me as possible. If people thing there are no perverts hanging out in Disney they are not being realistic. I have been working in a prison for 20 years and I will tell you that many of the child molesters look just like the rest of us.......you can no longer pick them out just by looking at them and there are so many that the average person would be in shock. If someone feels they should take there 10 year old opposite sex child into the restroom with them then that is what they should do. Do what you feel is safe, the offended people in the bathroom will get over it........or better yet let's add more companion restrooms because the reality is there are alot of single parents traveling with children.

Excellent comment!

Only when you are in the situation can one appreciate, I have done both, let my children come with me or go with them, depending on where it is.

I repeat "Do you you feel is safe".

 

[Swoop1]

I know when I was 10 yrs old there's no way in h*** I would have gone into the men's room with my dad!! I was in middle school and would have been super embarassed

Man you were in middle school at 10 years old?

 

[Beauty & the Best]

Just curious, but for those who bring girls into the mens room with them, where do they stand while everyone does their business? There aren't exactly waiting areas in the bathroom.

I would also like to add that this is very common to see opposite sexes in the bathrooms in Europe. Whenever I've been there & there is a crazy wait for the women's room (at tourist attractions like Olympia in Greece for example) it is the common thing for grown women to visit the mens room, walking right past the urinals on their way...I've done it myself.

Can't help but think that if the shoe was on the other foot - i.e. women's restroom stalls were open like mens urinals - we might feel differently about this issue.

 

[loriandmatt]

not the solution for all cases, but in all WDW parks and in many other places i have been (other amusement parks, our local mall, the airport) they have family or companion restrooms. single stall, plenty of room for a single parent and a stroller.

DH has had to take DD (now 5) into the mens room before, but she is a bit young. when DS was younger he would occasionally come in with me, but by like 8 or 9 i would send him in alone, i would hang out at the door and he was given very good training to scream like a banshee if anyone messed with him. no talkie....not even eye contact. do your duty, wash up and get out quickly. more than once i called in to see if he was ok, he would reply that he was almost done and we were fine. honesly if i hadnt gotten a reply from him i would have been in there in a second with applogies all around and hopes that the adult men would understand. i know if the genders and scenario were reversed and a worried father came in the ladies room for a daughter that didn't answer....i would understand.

 

[jkstewart1800]

Just curious, but for those who bring girls into the mens room with them, where do they stand while everyone does their business? There aren't exactly waiting areas in the bathroom.

You head straight for the stalls....by pass all the dudes peeing with other dudes.... hardly what I would call privacy.

 

[pioneer89]

If I'm in the men's room and someone brings in a girl that might be a bit too old, I do get uncomfortable.

But guess what? I get over it.


As far as I'm concerned, they are not going to see anything anyway (unless thay are really, really nosy ) so 4, 6, 10, 14, whatever, if a parent feel unsafe leaving a child alone, it's no big deal to bring them in to the opposite restroom.

 

[dmccarty]

I really don't understand why any adult would be upset to have kids of the other gender in the bathroom.

Often the DW and I split up with each of us taking a DD. I am not leaving my DD9 outside the bathroom while I go inside. There are s..x offenders at WDW. An arrest was made a few weeks ago of a man who was touching children at the resort pools and parks. Its not the first time this has happened either. It will happen again. Why are their Cast Members watching the kids play areas? Its not just to make sure that a kid does not run out of the area without a parent.

I have seen women taking boys into the mens room. Who cares. Most of us either have one set of plumbing or the other set. I could see women having a problem with men in the women's room for safety reason but men having a problem with women in the men's room is absurd.

Its not like you can really see things at the urinals anyway. Men are not in there facing the mirrors while swishing and flicking their wands for goodness sake. If they are, there is a problem.

My children's safety trumps someone's modesty issues. One can always wait for a stall if someone is so modest to see a girl in the men's room.

Later,
Dan

 

[mjkacmom]

I think this is a very weird issue...my nephew is 9 and one of the few boys in our family and once my sister sent me with him to the bathroom with my DD in tow I sent him to the men's room and took myself and DD into the ladies room...my sister had a FIT...now I understand why, but at the time as a mom of only a girl I thought it was fine to send him to the mens room

It was fine. I see no reason why a 9 year old boy should not use the mens room - just stand outside.

 

[jcemom]

I am a single father, my daughter is 7 and my son is 6. If my daughter has to go to the restroom she can go to the ladies room alone and I wait right outside the door. The problem that I have is leaving her alone while my son and I go to the men's room. There is no way that I am leaving her out there alone. If someone in the restroom don't like it, too bad. I am not letting someone take off with my child just because some people think that it is wrong.

I totally agree with this. Most of the posts have been about having the girl use the ladies room while her dad waits outside. What about when Dad has to go to the bathroom??

I would not be happy if my DH left our 6 year old daughter standing outside while he used the bathroom, and he would never do that. If they are on an outing alone then he takes her to the bathroom with him. If there's no companion or family restroom then there just isn't any other choice. I would by far rather have her see a man standing at a urinal, and make that man uncomfortable, than have some unthinkable thing happen to my DD.

 

[3boymthr]

You have to remember too that not all 10 yo's are mentally 10 years old. Also remember it's not always readily apparent that there is problem especially when you are just glancing at the child in passing. My 51 yo BIL has the mental age of a 16 yo and he looks his age otherwise as his retardation is a result of birth trauma (cord around neck). At 10 my BIL could not be trusted of going into the mens room by himself if there was more than one entrance or being left outside the Ladies room while MIL went in.