Moms Please Help

[Carrie in AZ]

I wouldn't give it a second thought if a Mom brought her son into the Ladies Restroom with her. In fact, I'd be thinking "good for you!, watching your son so closely".

When my daughter rolls her eyes at me about something, I remind her that my #1 job in life as a Mom is to protect her no matter what.

Lots of opinions on this, thanks for letting me share mine.

 

[lovethattink]

The companion restrooms are a good choice. So is the restroom in the baby care center at the MK. It is a unisex bathroom, so you all can go in there together.

 

[hollyb]

1) At nine-years-old, let him go alone.
2) At Disney, it won't be a problem.
3) Nothing worse than going into the Ladies Room with an aunt or mom.
4) LITTLE BOYS HAVE EGOS AND PRIDE, TOO.

Ever hear of Adam Walsh? Even in Disney there are crazy's. You must not have sons.

PLEASE take him in with you. There are doors on the stalls.

 

[KrisTX]

I love family restrooms and use them as much as possible.

I would have no issue with a 9 y.o. in the ladies bathroom. It is not like he will be looking under the stall doors. A 9 y.o. girl in the men's bathroom bothers me much more since they tend to go out in the open. I will bring my son in with me until I am comfortable with him by himself in the bathroom. I don't know what age that will be. My husband does not like to take our almost 7 y.o. daughter in the mens room anymore. So I ask him to walk into the womens restroom backwards and announce himself at the door and wait there just inside the door (or wedged open with his foot) and talk to her while she is in there. He has done this many times and more often than not a mom will say 'great idea' as she walks out. Flambe me. I really don't care. It only takes a few seconds to change the life of a child. My 6 y.o. is not a big fan of her little brother watching her go, so we stand out of the stall. Plus she has a bad habit of putting her entire hand on the seat to lean. YUCK! And she has a worse habit of not washing well enough. Remember to scrub the entire length of the happy birthday song to kill those germs.

To the OP, ask what his parents are comfortable with and go from there. If you are not comfortable taking him into the womens bathroom or being accountable for him in the men's, make certain to map out the family bathrooms. Look inside and make certain that there is toilet paper (while scanning for freaks behind the door) and walk out. No invasion of his privacy at all.

 

[dreamergirl78]

I don't see how this is even up for discussion.
Each individual parent has to make a choice that is best for them and their children. If those of you with daughters get "offended" when a boy goes into the restroom with his Mom, they need to be responsible and explain that safety comes first.
I will sacrafice a few minutes of my son's "pride" to ensure that he is safe!
And the family bathrooms are a GREAT idea if one is around when needed. If not, do what you feel is right!
JMO.

 

[Rella]

I agree with the family BR. My 2DD would have a cow if they saw a boy that age. Now we all know a father would never take his DD of 9 into the mens room.There I started it!

 

[TheGoofster]

As a dad of a 9 year old boy, I also completey understand your situation, and I agree that the best bet would be to use the family restrooms if possible. But, if that isn't possible, for whatever reason, another posibility would be to look for a man who is taking his young son into the restroom, and ask if he would mind keeping an eye on your child. I know that as a dad, I would have no problem if someone asked me to do this for them. I mean, seriously, what father could possibly refuse such a request.

 

[Luv Bunnies]

I still take my 8 year old son with me. I put him in a stall right next to me and watch his feet and tell him to wait for me before walking to the sink. It just makes me feel better to know where he is. My older son has special needs and I took him into the ladies room until he was almost 10 (he's also very tall). I only had one person say he was too old to be in there and I politely explained that he is slightly autistic and doesn't always make the best choices for himself. The woman was understanding and no one else ever said anything. That said, I think we all have to decide what is best for ourselves and our kids.

 

[kimmikayb]

oh boy...you opened a can of worms now Hot topic here. It really brings out the best of people.

Use the companion restrooms if you're worried. Stand outside of it if the boys are nervous about you being in the room with them.

 

[Hannathy]

WE just came back from 10 days at Disney and my just turned 8 yr old went in by himself the whole time. I asked him once if he wanted to come in with me and his look was priceless, I think he would have held it for 10 days if I had made him go with me.

I think 9 is too old to be in a ladies room, especially for the girls who are the ones who actually have the right to be in there.

In the grand scheme of things Disney is very safe.

 

[Whosemom]

Just to add to your worries...Is he the only child going? I may have missed that. Anyway, my little guy is only 5, so he does still go in with me. But my upcoming concern is when *I'm* in the potty. Even at the companion one, when I am the only adult and my dude is a little older, do I just leave him standing unattended outside? Don't wanna!

 

[Boncho]

Use the family or companion restrooms whenever possible. When my son was 9 I made him come in the womens restroom with me. Now that he is 11, I let him go in the mensroom alone but I stand at the door and while he is walking through the door I say very loudly - Hurry, if you're not out in 1 minute I'm coming in. I also won't let him go in mens restrooms that are isolated. If there is not a constant flow of men in and out, I won't let him go in. Don't worry about any embarassment, safety is your first concern.

 

[winterman]

You might want to ask his parents what they would do first and take it from there.

Personally, I would take him into the ladies' room with me! I wouldn't have an issue at all seeing a 9-year-old boy in there, he's still young enough. I have issues with sending young ones into bathrooms alone, maybe I'm paranoid, but oh well.

The first suggestion is a good idea, but 9 is way too old to be using the ladies room.

 

[shadonjenon]

I have a 9yr old and he was sent to the restroom alone when he was 6! He was out to dinner with my dh mother and I was pissed!!!
Now that he's 9 when my husband is not with us we try to find a family restroom and if none are available I stand right outside the mens bathroom door. There are just too many nut jobs around today.

 

[KimWDW]

I read a horrific news story a couple years ago about an 11 year old boy who was raped in the library bathroom. So, I'm paranoid. I'd like to take my son in with me until he's 40. lol.

Personally, I would have no problem seeing a 9yo boy in the ladies room and would completely understand why. But if he refuses to use the ladies room or you decide that he should use the mens' room, I'd do two things:
1) Use one with high traffic. The good thing is that most bathrooms at WDW have a lot of people in them, so the chances of someone trying to do something to a young boy with other grown men around are slim. I'd avoid deserted bathrooms.
2) Wait outside the whole time. Once he's back outside, tell him to stay right there, don't move an inch, then you can go into the ladies room real quick.

Whatever you decide, have a great time. You're so nice to take your nephew!!!

 

[SnackyStacky]

If we were talking about a deserted local park, or a shopping mall, or a library, or a department store - places that ARE open to the public where anybody can walk in and use the restroom, then I could understand taking a 9 year old boy into the ladies room.

But we're talking about Disney World. And I don't say it that way because Disney is sanitized or simply because it carries the Disney name, and therefore must be safe. I'm talking about a place that attracts probably THE most families of any place on earth. Whenever I've gone to the bathrooms at Disney World, there is ALWAYS a dad and his son in there. Usually, SEVERAL sets of fathers and sons. I can almost guarantee you that if anyone tried anything with your son, there would be several fathers ready to jump any loon who tried anything with a child who wasn't theirs. Not to mention that anybody that preys on children is going to have to pay $67 (plus tax) to get in. Anybody that has that kind of money to spend on a "fix" has probably been featured on the Chris Hansen "To Catch A Predator" series on NBC.

As long as I can remember (and I remember things from when I was 4 years old) - I don't EVER remember being forced to go into the ladies room with my mother. And if I did - well, quite frankly, I would have been HUMILIATED.

 

[Minnie's Mate]

I will bring my son in with me until I am comfortable with him by himself in the bathroom. I don't know what age that will be.

My wife asked my one day how old I thought our sons should be before we let them go into restrooms alone. My immediate reply without pause for thought was, "Old enough to shave". My wife then told me about my friend's wife telling her he had been propositioned in the men's room earlier that week.

In the grand scheme of things Disney is very safe.

Please re-read my earlier post. There are sick-oes everywhere including Disney World. Many of the Men's Rooms are laid out with two sections of urinals on the outer walls with a section of back-to-back toilet stalls in the middle. Therefore there can be a lot of men going in and out of the men's room while a section can be relatively empty and therefore not "protected" by other Dad's and their sons.

When most men "go" they don't pay too much attention to anyone else in the men's room. We want to get in and get out. We don't want to stay long enough to check each other out or see what another man is up to. It just isn't the thing for guys to do. If one of us starts checking the others out, he'd be the one that is acting suspicious and would be the one that would propably get beat up. Now if a kid started yelling for help, that would be different, but if the kid didn't, we'd never know.

At nine years old, my son is old enough to know to yell and scream if someone tries to force him to go with them. If someone molest him, he might be too frightened to tell. You know that we are always warned that pedofiles always tell their victims that they will do something terrible to them if they tell anyone.

 

[hollyb]

WE just came back from 10 days at Disney and my just turned 8 yr old went in by himself the whole time. I asked him once if he wanted to come in with me and his look was priceless, I think he would have held it for 10 days if I had made him go with me.

I think 9 is too old to be in a ladies room, especially for the girls who are the ones who actually have the right to be in there.

In the grand scheme of things Disney is very safe.

My DS is 9 and the only thing he's interested is peeing, not checking out old ladies and other 9 year olds.

 

[hollyb]

If we were talking about a deserted local park, or a shopping mall, or a library, or a department store - places that ARE open to the public where anybody can walk in and use the restroom, then I could understand taking a 9 year old boy into the ladies room.

But we're talking about Disney World. And I don't say it that way because Disney is sanitized or simply because it carries the Disney name, and therefore must be safe. I'm talking about a place that attracts probably THE most families of any place on earth. Whenever I've gone to the bathrooms at Disney World, there is ALWAYS a dad and his son in there. Usually, SEVERAL sets of fathers and sons. I can almost guarantee you that if anyone tried anything with your son, there would be several fathers ready to jump any loon who tried anything with a child who wasn't theirs. Not to mention that anybody that preys on children is going to have to pay $67 (plus tax) to get in. Anybody that has that kind of money to spend on a "fix" has probably been featured on the Chris Hansen "To Catch A Predator" series on NBC.

As long as I can remember (and I remember things from when I was 4 years old) - I don't EVER remember being forced to go into the ladies room with my mother. And if I did - well, quite frankly, I would have been HUMILIATED.

Until you can gurantee that my son will not be harmed or worse. Then thanks but not thanks he goes in with me when DH isnt around. I really doubt Disney would say "sure it's 100% safe let them go in without another adult. If you really belive that nothing will ever happen there, I got a bridge to sell ya!

 

[Hannathy]

If Disney is so dangerous show me some facts. Show me the incidents of child endangerment or molestation or the incidents of child abduction. You can't. I live in a very safe area and even here there have been a few of these happen. I have never read of an abduction at Disney. And there is no way they could hide that. I had no fear of my son using the bathroom himself at Disney. I also have lived and worked in some very dangerous East coast cities that a grown man would be afraid to be alone in a bathroom so I am not naive aboout the dangers out there.

I am not worried about a nine yr old looking at me I am concerned about the feelings of the 9-15 yr old girls in the room.. You must not have had any girls or you would not be so quick to discount their feelings at this age.