Little boys in the women's restroom

[PrincessTiffany]

I think this is one of those times where you put the safety of the child first and not worry what others will think. You'll never see any of them again anyway. I would take my 7 year old son in the women's restroom with me.

I completely agree.

 

[wifey1220]

My son is 7 and hates to go in the lady's room with me. We were at an NHL hockey game and he had to go to the bathroom. Both mens and women's doors were next to each other, when we got next to the doors he ran in the mens room. I was so MAD!. I waited outside thinking he would be right out. It doesn't take long for a little boy to pee. Well I waited and waited. And started to panic. I ended up opening the men's room door and yelling for him. It turned out he had to poop and this was taking a long time. Now when we get near the bathroom I grab his hand, I am not going thru that again. It is better to take him with you. Who cares what someone might think. His safety and your peace of mind are more important.

 

[jacksmom]

I agree that taking him with you is a good idea! I don't think I let my ds go into the mens room unattended until he was about 10! He is 11 now and I still prefer using a family bathroom! You just never know who might be in a mens room (I guess I worry to much ) !

 

[lilrooster]

My son has been allowed to use a restroom on his own since he was about 5 1/2. I find is disgusting when women take boys into the womens room after 5 or 6. I feel the same way about young girls in the men's room as well.

If your going to force this issue, then use a family restroom. I'm sorry, but I don't feel comfortable unzipping when little girls are standing there. I know my son does not feel comfortable at all in the ladies room and he is only 6 1/2.

 

[all4fun]

Wow, I would never send my 5-1/2yr old into a public mens restroom alone. Sorry, there are too many weirdo's and whacko's out there, and I am not going to be lulled into some false sense of security that they are not at WDW too. Actually there are probably more there than people even realize.

And I also fail to see what is "disgusting" about it. After all, women use stalls so there is at least a little bit of privacy there. When I have to take ds into a ladies room, we do our business as quickly as possible, wash hands, and leave. There is no horse play allowed. And as long as we keep it that way, we generally have no problems and no one bothers us about it.

When at WDW, we see lots of little and some big kids of the opposite gender in the restroom. I've personally never thought anything of it, as long as they are behaving themselves.

edit to add: there are no "family" restrooms at WDW. The ones people are usually thinking of are "companion" restrooms. They are actually Handicapped accessible bathrooms for people that either can't fit their eqmt in a standard H/C stall in the regular restroom, or need a companion (sometimes of the opposite gender) to help them out, so it wouldn't be appropriate in that case for a man to go into a ladies room or visa-versa. Anyone can use them but that is really what they are intended for.

Another option may be the bathrooms in the baby care centers. They have regular restrooms there. Since this facility is staffed, and the bathrooms are very small with only one entrance and exit, I would feel more comfortable sending my ds into one of these bathrooms alone. But there is only one baby care center per park, so that is not always convenient.

 

[ilandrazdsw]

My son has been allowed to use a restroom on his own since he was about 5 1/2. I find is disgusting when women take boys into the womens room after 5 or 6. I feel the same way about young girls in the men's room as well.

Personally I wouldn't care if a 10 yo boy was in the ladies room because there are stalls. I'll wash my hands infront of anyone.

Girls in the mens' room without stalls...that's another story, but DH will bring DD3 in with him if need be...put his hand over her eyes and lead to a stall.

If you are worried about him even in the ladies room have him stand right agains the door to your stall...you see his shoes you know he is there.

I don't let DS in a public restroom if it is obviously crowded and it is an unfamiliar place. Also he likes to wash his hands so it would mean asking someon to tell him to come out. With the kids I'll use a family restroom if available.

 

[lntsmom]

My younger son had turned 7 just 3 weeks before our trip last year. I have an older son, so most of the time I sent the two of them in to the men's room together.

However, on two of the occasions when I took him with me I got comments. Mind you, my children are off the charts as far as height goes. (The 13 year old is 5' 7". The 7 year old is 4' 6") But, if you look at his face you can easily tell that he's a little kid.

The problem is, the women who were nasty about it didn't judge him by anything other than his size. In both cases I simply stated, "He is 7 years old and that is too young to use the men's room alone."

One woman apologized. The other didn't.

Did I care? NO!

Way too many people these days think they are capable of running the universe. I don't waste time being kind to idiots.

So, I say, take him with you. Don't apologize in any way. Be prepared to be straightforward in defending his right to be there...but don't be surprised if the comments are few and far between.

 

[Mouse House Mama]

Forget that it is a bathroom. Who would leave a 7 year old unattended in a public place? I certainly wouldn't. Take him in. I agree with the PP. I will wash my hands in front of anyone.

 

[SCHBR'smom]

Way too many people these days think they are capable of running the universe. I don't waste time being kind to idiots.
QUOTE]

 

[gaelic grace]

Seven is usually old enough to begin going to the restroom by themselves- at a small restaurant where you can see the door and so on. I think it is still too young to take a chance at some place like Disney, state fairs, malls etc., there are too many stories of people deliberately exposing themselves and so on. There isn't anything in a women's restroom that would be disrupted by a young boy in a stall or waiting for someone outside the stall. We have a seven year old daughter and it is a harder decision for my husband. In a men's restroom there are things that could be embarrassing to both parties. When they are out alone he looks for a family restroom and in worst case scenario's will wait until a restroom is empty and just explain to anyone coming in that she is in there and would they mind waiting. He has never had any problems with it and most people are very understanding and appreciated not being put in an awkward situation.

 

[karen624]

It would not bother me at all to see a boy or 7 in the restroom. Safety first!

 

[JenLanDisney]

Forget that it is a bathroom. Who would leave a 7 year old unattended in a public place? I certainly wouldn't. Take him in. I agree with the PP. I will wash my hands in front of anyone.

Thank you for simplifying this. I completely agree. I believe that adults who have a problem with children of the opposite sex in a restroom will get over it in 5 minutes. My child will not get over it if something awful happens.

 

[mjmoon]

ABSOLUTELY take him into the woman's room with you!!!! No way I would let a 7 yo go alone in the men's room. I've read way too many horror stories about predators waiting in prey for little boys in restrooms.

A funny thing happened at Outback with my FIL one time. He excused himself to use the restroom and when he returned he was beet red. Apparently, a woman entered the MEN's room with her young boy (7 or 8) to allow him to use the restroom. She had the nerve to give FIL a dirty look, as if he shouldn't have been in the men's room using the urinal. He couldn't figure out what he had done wrong.

 

[Teresa Pitman]

I have seen two different situations that have made me very cautious. One was in a Macdonald's near my home. A family was there having lunch, the little boy (7 years old, I think) wanted to go to the washroom and went off, alone, into the men's room. Nobody thought anything about it until they realized he hadn't come back after quite some time had passed. The father went into the washroom and found the boy sobbing in a stall - he had been sexually assaulted. This was reported in the newspapers - they did eventually catch the guy.

The other case involved my daughter. We were swimming at a rec centre - I was watching my daughter (6 at the time) and my 3 boys as we swam in the pool. My daughter wanted to go to the washroom. I didn't want to drag the 3 boys out of the water so I told her to go alone. Well, she didn't come back and didn't come back, and finally I rounded up the boys and we went into the washroom - where a teenage girl had my daughter in a stall with her. My daughter was crying and trying to get out. I intervened in a BIG hurry and rescued her, and the teenager ran out of the washroom.

But those two incidents are why I would never, ever let a young child go to the washroom alone. Just isn't going to happen. I'm not the least bit interested in what other people think about it, either.

Teresa

 

[miprender]

Teresa, that is such a tragic story.
Now I agree with the other posters I would take the 7 year old with me. As a mom there is no privacy anyway, so seeing a little boy in the ladies bathroom wouldn't bother me.

 

[DISNEYNV]

Just to be safe... I would take him in with you. I really don't think anyone in the womens room would really mind. It's very family friendly at DW! If you are weary anyway there is always the family restrooms available.

 

[mom23boys]

I have three boys they have seen the inside of so many ladies rooms. Just tonight, I was by myself with the three (my oldest was with some friends but at the same resturant) and the little one had to go, I did not want to bother the oldest so I took him to go the the ladies room. A grandmother was waiting for her granddaughter to be finished and we were talking about how she remembers those days of taking them in with her.

I firmly believe there are too many weirdos out there and I would rather be safe than sorry.

Most times my oldest does take the younger ones, if DH is not with us, my oldest DS is 14 and he is 6'4" and 240 pounds, not many people would mess with him.

 

[aussietravellers]

Well I take my son to the ladies restrooms and will continue to do so (although maybe not when he is 18 ) But at 8 and 9 and when I go somewhere on my own, I still take my DS in with me to the ladies. If he is with a male then obviously he can go into the mens, and if there is a group of boys, then I will let them go in together to the mens and they are to wait for each other and I will wait outside. But if it is just me and I have my DS and even a friends son also 8 or 9, then they still come in with me to the ladies. I do not want them waiting outside by themselves or going into a men's room alone. If I'm on my own with my DS and I need to go and he doesn't well I still take him in with me and he waits inside (or we use a family restroom if there is one).

I do not think twice when seeing a boy in the ladies, as many have already mentioned, safety first and really, we ladies all go into a closed stall so all the boy sees is a lady washing and drying her hands or putting on a little lipstick. There are so many stories these days of things happening to children and I'm just not prepared to take the chance with my DS or friends DS when they are in my care.

Enjoy your trip and don't think twice about taking him into the ladies with you, I did it all the time on our last trip to WDW and I didn't notice any funny looks (actually saw other boys in there)

 

[dislal]

My DS8 goes in the womens restroom with me when DH is not with us. He goes into the stall next to mine and no one has ever said anything to us. I did let him go into the mens room by himself a few times, when the womens room is full and he really has to go, but I will open the door and ask if anyone is in there then I will look to make sure no one is in there, I send him in and stand in front of the door like I am supposed to be there or like it is closed so no one will go in.


Please do not let him go into the mens room by himself!!!

 

[SueM in MN]

For what it's worth, a DIS poster made a webpage about WDW restrooms (Ladies rooms).
She took lots of pictures and noted which ones had more than one entrance/exit.

The Companion Restrooms are few and far between. Also, the provide no privacy for the person using them. Most Family Restrooms I have been in have a sort of anteroom that people can wait in while someone else uses the toilet, which is in another room or in a stall. The Companion Restrooms are just a single room containing (minimally) a raised seat toilet and a sink. There is no privacy except for the 2nd person in the room turning their back while the other person uses the toilet.