How old is to old "BOYS" in ladies restroom?

[aaarcher86]

Lol - ds15 has always been in the 95th% in height, dd12 is in the 12th% (6% for weight). Although it's tempting to not allow dd to do the same things as ds, at the same age, I do realize it's not logical. Ds was walking all over town at the age of 10 (with friends), and I remember hesitating letting dd was a few blocks to a friend's house. Stupid, I know - I let her. It's harder for me to let her be more independent, because she's so darn little, but I deal with being uncomfortable, for her sake.

My oldest is the same, 5th percentile for height and weight. She's 8 years old, 43" tall and a whopping 33 lbs lmao! I can totally relate to feeling like she's younger than she actually is. Im sure I'll run into this problem!

 

[asmit4]

OP? You still here? Can you just add a poll to this? Maybe start with 6 and go up from there as I think most of us think 5 is ok....all this bickering but I'd like to see what the 'general consensus' really is and a poll does that without all this drama.
The question for me is 'How old would your son have to be for you to allow going to the restroom alone at DW? .....my answer is 7. FOR ME- I think kindy and below he's going with me.

 

[maxiesmom]

OP? You still here? Can you just add a poll to this? Maybe start with 6 and go up from there as I think most of us think 5 is ok....all this bickering but I'd like to see what the 'general consensus' really is and a poll does that without all this drama.
The question for me is 'How old would your son have to be for you to allow going to the restroom alone at DW? .....my answer is 7. FOR ME- I think kindy and below he's going with me.

Kids in kindergarten can have wildly different ages. Some are as young as 4 when they start around here. So by age 7 they are in 3rd grade. And most have then been riding the bus to and from school without a parents help for a few years. So they can surely manage to use the proper restroom without issue, or wait outside while mom takes care of her business. Just to be clear I talking about kids without any additional challenges.

 

[abinormal]

When he's too old to go in your stall, he's too old to be in there.

 

[RubyV]

An 8 year old, barring developmental delays, can go alone to the men's room. My small-for-her-age 9 year old uses public restrooms alone all the time, as she and my spouse often go out without me.

In restaurants, etc, she goes alone to the rest room, even if I'm there, because honestly, it's not that big a deal.

The world is actually safer than ever. Statistically, a child is far more likely to be abducted and abused by someone they know, than a stranger.

Now, I do have a child who is on the more mature end of the spectrum, due to having to manage a very serious food allergy, so using a restroom alone ranks low on the "scary life experiences" scale.

 

[Lillabelle0]

Good words Ruby. My belief is that my or my daughter seeing a boy in the ladies restroom ranks low on my scary life experiences. I believe that each and every one of us is doing what she/he feels is best. That doesn't make one right over the other.

 

[Granny square]

But your daughter isn't he only one out there. So your choice can affect others enjoyment. And it is a ladies room...

 

[Lillabelle0]

Enjoyment for the ladies room? That's a new one. To each his own. There seems to not be any total agreement on this. IMO, safety trumps comfort any day. In fact, I believe helicopter mom, as someone called it, is the one afraid of letting her daughter see a boy in the restroom; not the one trying to keep her son from the pedophiles! It is about close proximity and being able to help him sooner. Differences of opinion. Parent according to your needs and beliefs. Compassion and understanding for differences goes a long way if we allow it!

 

[Gracie09]

Good words Ruby. My belief is that my or my daughter seeing a boy in the ladies restroom ranks low on my scary life experiences. I believe that each and every one of us is doing what she/he feels is best. That doesn't make one right over the other.

Well for my former foster daughter, the things done to her in a bathroom would make it rank pretty much at the top of anyone's list of scary life experiences. So seeing a tween boy in a female bathroom would cause her to relive these experiences and we would spend at least several hours helping her recover. But who cares about the girls as long as your boys are ok. Btw how are you protecting your son behind a locked door with your pants down? Or is he in there with you?

 

[Gracie09]

And what lesson is this teaching our boys about men? That men are all predators and to be feared? Why else wouldn't we allow a tween boy to use his appropriate gender restroom?

 

[LilyWDW]

Enjoyment for the ladies room? That's a new one. To each his own. There seems to not be any total agreement on this. IMO, safety trumps comfort any day. In fact, I believe helicopter mom, as someone called it, is the one afraid of letting her daughter see a boy in the restroom; not the one trying to keep her son from the pedophiles! It is about close proximity and being able to help him sooner. Differences of opinion. Parent according to your needs and beliefs. Compassion and understanding for differences goes a long way if we allow it!

You're taking your child into the stall, right?

 

[FlightlessDuck]

No child has ever been molested, kidnapped, or murdered inside a major Disney resort in the United States. In fact, the place where kids are most likely to be molested are the pools.

I think an eight year old child without developmental issues should be able to stand right outside a bathroom door without a problem.

 

[RubyV]

So my daughter should be OK with members of the opposite sex using the bathroom, because their mom had decided that the comfort of those in the appropriate bathroom is trumped by her paranoia?

Got it.

Being that you are sure bathrooms are dangerous places, what would you tell your daughter to do if, in a public restroom, she saw a boy between the ages of eight and 11 hanging out?

I mean, if it's too dangerous just outside the door for him to be alone, how should she then protect herself if there is a member of the opposite sex in the bathroom?

 

[RubyV]

Btw, I've told my daughter that if a boy is in the bathroom and looks too old to be there, that it is ok to ask his mother to remove him, or to walk out and wait, or get me. She is welcome to use the stall, but we've had little boys peek at us through the stalls, so it annoys her a lot.

 

[smitch425]

No child has ever been molested, kidnapped, or murdered inside a major Disney resort in the United States. In fact, the place where kids are most likely to be molested are the pools.

I think an eight year old child without developmental issues should be able to stand right outside a bathroom door without a problem.

There was a man who was arrested for taking photos of an 8 year old boy in a bathroom stall at AK just a few months ago, so these things do happen, just not very often.

 

[FlightlessDuck]

There was a man who was arrested for taking photos of an 8 year old boy in a bathroom stall at AK just a few months ago, so these things do happen, just not very often.

Oh, wow, that's news. Dang, can't use that fact anymore.

 

[Gracie09]

There was a man who was arrested for taking photos of an 8 year old boy in a bathroom stall at AK just a few months ago, so these things do happen, just not very often.

One incident out of the tens of millions of people that visit Disney each year. And in that case the parents obviously taught the boy what to do because they were able to identify and arrest the man in a matter of minutes.
Is one time one time too many, sure but in the scheme of things a child is far more likely to be molested or kidnapped by a person he or she knows than by a random stranger in a theme park. All this bringing Tween boys into the women's room does is give the mothers a false sense of security (and no one has answered how they would protect their child from behind a locked door with your pants down) and cause girls and some women who are in the appropriate restroom, to be uncomfortable or afraid. These boys go to the bathroom by themselves all the time at school, at home, on field trips, Disney which is populated mostly by families is where you are worried about them. Really. Because dollars to donuts is a father saw a kid looking uncomfortable in the men's room or saw anther man try something in a kid, he would do something.

 

[smitch425]

One incident out of the tens of millions of people that visit Disney each year. And in that case the parents obviously taught the boy what to do because they were able to identify and arrest the man in a matter of minutes.
Is one time one time too many, sure but in the scheme of things a child is far more likely to be molested or kidnapped by a person he or she knows than by a random stranger in a theme park. All this bringing Tween boys into the women's room does is give the mothers a false sense of security (and no one has answered how they would protect their child from behind a locked door with your pants down) and cause girls and some women who are in the appropriate restroom, to be uncomfortable or afraid. These boys go to the bathroom by themselves all the time at school, at home, on field trips, Disney which is populated mostly by families is where you are worried about them. Really. Because dollars to donuts is a father saw a kid looking uncomfortable in the men's room or saw anther man try something in a kid, he would do something.

Oh yes...I agree with you. Just pointing out that there has been a recent incident. I think my son was 7 when he started going in alone in a public restroom, but usually not at WDW because DH is almost always there. Prior to him going alone, he always went in the stall with me if DH wasn't with us. He'll be 9 on Friday, but as I mentioned earlier in the thread, just a few weeks ago he got turned around and came out of the wrong exit at the Fantasmic! area bathrooms. He was scared, and so was I. Neither of us realized there was a back entrance, and it was very dark and secluded. Fortunately, nothing serious happened.

 

[luvmy3]

Enjoyment for the ladies room? That's a new one. To each his own. There seems to not be any total agreement on this. IMO, safety trumps comfort any day. In fact, I believe helicopter mom, as someone called it, is the one afraid of letting her daughter see a boy in the restroom; not the one trying to keep her son from the pedophiles! It is about close proximity and being able to help him sooner. Differences of opinion. Parent according to your needs and beliefs. Compassion and understanding for differences goes a long way if we allow it!

But the thing is, its not a real "safety" issue, it a paranoid mother's illusion of safety issue. And sorry, but the feelings and comfort of the women in the women's room do trump an afraid mother's feeling of what is safe and comfortable for her 8 or 9 year old boy. Afterall, it is the women's room, so their feelings do come first in there.
So what about the compassion and understanding of a scared little girl in the woman's room when she sees an older boy in there? Or do they not matter at all?

 

[RubyV]

But the thing is, its not a real "safety" issue, it a paranoid mother's illusion of safety issue. And sorry, but the feelings and comfort of the women in the women's room do trump an afraid mother's feeling of what is safe and comfortable for her 8 or 9 year old boy. Afterall, it is the women's room, so their feelings do come first in there.
So what about the compassion and understanding of a scared little girl in the woman's room when she sees an older boy in there? Or do they not matter at all?

THAT.