Should I take my 10 yr old son in the ladies restroom?

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I used to take my son in with me untile he was about 8 and then he was too embarrased. I think 10 is a little old. My son is 11 and will be 12 in a month. When I started letting him go by himself, around 8-9, I have and still do when Dh is not with me, stand by the door and call him when I feel like it's taking long. Luckily Dh is always with us in Disney, so he always goes in with my son. I get nervous when we go to my sisters Upstate and stop on the Thruway. I hate letting him go in by himself. Dh isn't always with me on those trips. I stand right in the doorway. I get strange looks from some of the men, but I don't care! There are so many people all over the place in there. I usually wait for him and then make him stand in the ladies doorway almost in by the sinks. I don't care what anyone says in that instance. I'd never find him again in that place.
As far as Disney, I wouldn't mind so much seeing a boy that old. I'd understand why he's there, but I think I'd let him go by himself. Wait by the door and call him to check that he's ok. My son would be mortified if he had to go in with me still. :goodvibes
 
Of the mom's here replying who prefer their son at age 8-10 to use the LADIES ROOM....how many of those mom's sons REFUSE to go into the Ladies Room. I would no more get my DS' in a Ladies Restroom at those ages even if I dangled money in front of them. They do NOT want IN there believe you me.

So we had discussions and I allowed them to start using the Men's Room based on "getting IN and getting Out" and they AGREED! Based on ME patrolling the Men's Room and checking up on them and calling to them...the results IN and OUT..PERIOD!

But on the flip side of all this about a month ago I was in the Mall and using the Ladies Room and as I walked in there in the middle of the huge RR was a boy appearing to be about the age 10 or 11 or even 12, washing his hands, talking to his sisters, drying his hands, checking himself out in the mirror! I thought to myself: THIS IS AWFULLY STRANGE THAT THIS BOY SEEMS SO COMFORTABLE IN HERE and I am allowed in there and I was the UNCOMFORTABLE ONE. Like why would he want to BE IN THERE in the first place and WHY WOULD HE BE BASICALLY HANGING OUT IN THERE. I did not think this was appropriate at all that he was in there. TURNS OUT, they are ALL WAITING for mom who is in one of the stalls.....weird....now to me that is strange behavior.
 
jeannief said:
Airport- with me. No question about it.
Disney- depends on the crowds at the time. At crowded places I bring my sons into the womens, even though they hate it. If fairly empty then I stand outside the door and wait. I've been known to open the door and yell in.

Yookeroo, at a local amusement park a few years ago a 9 year old was sexually assaulted in a washroom while his mom was outside. Better safe than sorry in my book.


A boy from our church was also sexually assulted in a restroom at a gas station two years ago. He was then hit up against the wall so hard that he was knocked out and the perv strolled right past his mom waiting outside for him. His mother swears he was in the bathroom less than two or three minutes before she got worried and called in to him and then, upon getting no answer went in.

I know it's a drastic thing to use examples like this...but in any case where a child is hurt or worse I would bet anything that the mom is wishing she would have embarrased her son, made another lady feel uncomfortable etc.

I am not saying do it or don't do it. I don't think my opinion should matter in what truly is a safety issue. He is your child. YOU DO WHAT YOU THINK IS RIGHT. If I am in the bathroom I will smile sweetly and be okay with it. We each have different things that are our own "hot buttons"...you may see me waiting outside of the men's restroom for my three sons (as long as the three of them stay together and there are a lot of men/boys going in and out (it's the places with only a few others going in and out that scare me more) BUT you will never see me letting my sons climb a tree (my cousin fell from a tree when we were little and lost the use of his right leg).

In short, figure out what feels right for you. I will have a good time at Disney no matter who needs to go at the same time I do!! :thumbsup2
 
minnieandmickeymouse said:
I am going to be traveling to WDW with my 10 year old son. Should I let him use the mens restroom? Or take him in the ladies room with me? I am asking this questions about not just in disney, but also at the airport.

Thanks

NO! A properly instructed 10 year old can take care of himself enough to use the bathroom. If you stay outside where you can hear if he is in distress, that is all that is necessary. Boys, need to be left on their own on occasions and this is definitely one of those occasions. JMHO!

:rolleyes1 :confused3 :listen:
 

10 is too old... i agree stand outside and teach him to scream if something should seem "weird" to him ever anywhere...i do think imo i'd feel less hesitant at disney than some less secure place

airports would be a little scary imo but i know our local mall now has family bathrooms just outside the normal woman's restroom stall area...maybe see if that is an options elsewhere but i's still stand outside and wait for him..he's to old to go in with mama and needs some privacy imo and really doesn't need to be standing outside the stall either , not really allowing others to have their privacy.
 
almacdonald said:
I, for one, do not appreciate having boys, ESPECIALLY 10 years old!!!! in the women's washroom. I don't care if there are doors, it's wrong. It's my right to have a man-free washroom. If you're THAT worried about your son in a washroom for his own gender maybe you should stay home, or put him in a diaper. All kidding aside. It irritates me to no end when parents won't let their children grow up. If you insist on holding their hand (and wiping their ***) use a family restroom so the rest of us can pee without curious almost teenagers in the bathroom.
I can't tell you what irritates me in the woman's bathroom...but it's your right to be in a PUBLIC restroom...and until WDW or whoever owns the PUBLIC restroom posts signs regarding entrance (as to whom, what age, etc)wouldn't you also be worried about same sex women looking at you in the stalls? or how about a transsexual? Come on....people!


and I am not putting aside my children's safety for your comfort...sorry! So put that in your pipe and smoke it!
 
Mickey's Sister said:
Since when is a 10 year old boy a man - on what planet? It's not a matter of just 'growing up'. Not one of these mothers was worried about her son going into the restroom alone because she felt her son was too young to use the facilities on his own nor to wipe his *** as you so rudely put it, but because of the dangers to young boys in restrooms. If you think that they're imagined then you don't need to visit Disney because you're already living in Fantasyland! :sad2:


AMEN SISTAH!!! :cheer2: i agree 110%!!! :woohoo:
 
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TastefullyChris said:
I have two boys, age 10 and 12. I always brought them into the ladies room with me until THEY started protesting...around age 6-7. At that point I began to let them go on their own to the men's room on a "case-by-case" basis. For example, Target...OK. Airport...NOT OK. At the age they are now, I probably would let them go to the men's room together...even at the airport.

I


I would feel safer at an airport as long as you were behind the security checkpoint......who knows how long some perv could hang out in a Target bathroom, but at the airport, they had to have a ticket or be at work to be behind the security checkpoint....
 
MichelleVW said:
I would feel safer at an airport as long as you were behind the security checkpoint......who knows how long some perv could hang out in a Target bathroom, but at the airport, they had to have a ticket or be at work to be behind the security checkpoint....

That makes me feel NO safer. I know I have gotten to the airport several hours early & been behind the security checkpoint for several hours.

A sicko can be waiting there for several hours also. A nutjob can work at the airport & be behind security for hours and hours and hours!
 
What is the problem with a 10 yo in the ladies bathroom? :confused3 Unlike the men's room, they are all stalls with doors on them. Are people really that uptight? I am amazed. I guess none of those women have ever used a family bathroom with both sexes. For that matter, the dressing room at our local Target is unisex. I think you are missing the point...the kid is not a perv, the OP is worried about her son meeting up with one. I have no problem with it.
 
You've all had strike one.

This is strike 2.

Strike 3 and this thread gets closed.

The biting, sarcastic, and judgemental comments need to STOP
 
TinkTatoo said:
No flames here but I have a 9 year old son and an almost 8 year old daughter with both autism. I would not let him use the men's restrooms on his own and as both he and his sister want privacy when using the bathroom the companions room would not work for us.

I don't see what your issue is with this - it is not as if there are "open" stalls where everyone can see what is going on. We stand in the queue and when it is his turn he goes into the stall on his own (and closes the door). When he is finished he waits for me at the sinks (if he is finished before I am) and I help him wash his hands
? why not just use the companion bath room, one goes, comes out in then the other goes in???? i can see this is a special case but not clear why the companions don't work?

under regular circumstances, some have posted their sons are embarrassed...so they are too old to be in there, they recognize there is a difference and why make them( and others) uncomfortable. personally i think the singing while mom waits outside is a great idea or maybe better yet a 2 way conversation. i doubt many people would try to attack a kid who obviously has someone listening out side
 
I would not be offended if a 10 yr old were in the bathroom but I wonder how the 10 yr old boy would feel about being in the women's bathroom. Keep in mind that both WDW bathrooms and airport bathrooms are generally crowded during busy times and so even if there were a questionable man in there it would be difficult for a pervert to molest a boy in such a public place. Most sex offenders would not take the risk of getting caught in that kind of a situation. I work in the courts and have worked on sex offense cases. It is very rare to have a stranger molest a child although those cases when they occur are widely publicized. I'm not saying that it hasn't happened, it has but it's extremely rare. As a mother of an 11 yr and an officer of the court, I have let my son go into the men's bathroom ever since he felt uncomfortable with the women's room. When he first started going to the men's bathroom there was a time at our local theme park when he was taking too long and I was concerned. I waited for a father and two young boys going in and gave a description of my son and asked him to please check on him. He came out laughing and said the reason it was taking so long is my son wanted to wait for a stall (privacy reasons) but that he should be out soon because he was in the stall "going" and singing Away in a Manger at the top of his lungs (in July).
What I'm trying to say is don't panic and be cautious. Keep your child informed on these kinds of things without creating alarm. Assess the situation to see if it's busy or he will be in there alone possibly, stand in view of the exit areas of the bathroom. If you are at all worried about how long it's taking or someone walking in, pop the door and yell in at your child by name to "hurry up" so whoever is in there knows someone is paying attention or do like I do and ask a father assisting his own sons in the bathroom.
In secluded areas such as a highway rest stop, unless my father is there to go with my son I would insist that he go in the ladies room even at age almost 12. Even I feel uncomfortable in those places.
 
i think your son should not go into the ladies room at that age, i would let him use the restroom for men, but i would make it clear, go in, talk to no one, wash hands and come right out, and i would most definitely be planted right outside the door until he came out.
 
but how often is there a line in the men's restroom? I have yet to see one in WDW in 31 years of attending........men's room that is.
Regardless...of singing etc. I am still doing, as you should, what is best for your family. I could care less your comfort level...we spent all day Easter Sunday next to "English"men (and I am English men) who let their 6-10 year old girls naked all day long lounging about!!
So whatever.... I am going to always be selfish when it comes to my children - if you dont like it, I am sure I'll hear about on the DIS...
 
webray said:
I think 10 is much to old to still be going into the ladies restroom.

You can stand right outside the door of the mens restroom and wait for him. I would think he would be embarrassed to have to use the ladies.


I completely agree with this statement 10 is to old to be going in the women's bathroom

if your still uneasy with only standing outside the bathroom entrance give him a stun gun or mace :rotfl2: (just kidding) it sould be fine just make sure he knows if someone trys to approch him in a bad way to make a scene and hit the guy in the balls :thumbsup2

see ya
Mike
 
sorry I don't buy this - what about the 20 yr old's and up....that are attacked in bathrooms? I guess mamma didn't teach 'em?
#1_Donald_Duck_Fan said:
I completely agree with this statement 10 is to old to be going in the women's bathroom

if your still uneasy with only standing outside the bathroom entrance give him a stun gun or mace :rotfl2: (just kidding) it sould be fine just make sure he knows if someone trys to approch him in a bad way to make a scene and hit the guy in the balls :thumbsup2

see ya
Mike
 
I'm still laughing at the person that said why don't you just take your son into the men's room. That's makes perfect sense.

I have a 7 year old that wouldn't be caught dead in the ladies room. We never go anywhere busy like the airport or WDW, I know stuff like that CAN happen but I really don't worry about it, I'm sure the chances are very slim. I think it's more important to keep them informed what to do. Something could happen to someone of ANY age. I also have a 4 year old that lately has been asking to go to the mens room. Oh brother. He is too little to go by himself since he can't even reach the sink. Usually we are at the grocery store or somewhere where I can stand and whatch him in the doorway at the mens room if he insists on going in there. I'm sure he gets that from his big brother. If it was somewhere where I felt really uncomfortable like the airport (we never go there so it would never happen) I would have him stand with an attendant if I had to go.
 
A 10 year old boy in the ladies room, are you joking!! That kid by 5-6 should be using the men's room by himself.

:banana: :banana: :banana:
 
I wonder what everyone would think if a dad was bringing his 10 yr old daughter into the mens restroom because he didnt feel safe letting her go on her own to the womens restroom.. :scratchin
 
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