Little Girls in the Mens Room?

[cgbsilver@hotmail.co]

That's right, us child-free folk are just second class citizens who should keep our silly opinions to ourselves!

Hit a nerve there did I. I meant no disrespect. Obviously childless people are entitled to their opinion, no matter how silly they may seem to the rest of us. LOL

 

[tlens]

Third question: How is your son safer if you bring him into a women's room, versus you bringing him into a men's room?

So you shouldn't have any problem taking younger boys in there yourself. Right?

That answer is completely obvious to any woman.

A grown woman does not belong in a men's room. The statment is ludicrous. No woman will vountarily go into a room with men with their *****' hanging out. Period. You have no arguement against this since you are a man and cannot possibly understand.

Statistically, women don't sexually abuse children as much as men and and even lower percentage abuse children who are not known to them. I feel comfortable sending my 8 year old girl into a woman's washroom by herself (with me outside the door). I will not feel comfortable sending my 8 year old son into a men's room by himself. (even moreso since I read the Sen. Craig thread. ICK)

As a woman, I don't have issues with 8 year old boys in the women's rest room as there are stalls. In a changeroom, I feel more uncomfortable. I am fortunate that I have a husband who will take my son into the boys changeroom at the pool and I don't have to think about the alternative when he gets older. SIngle mom's have a harder time with that.

 

[PilotWife]

We (DH and I) try our very best for DH not to have to take our 3 yr old DD - and he never has had to, HOWEVER, if he was alone and he left my 8 yr olf daughter outside by herself - I think that I would be VERY UPSET - but that also depends on the childs maturity level.
I think that that father was probably just being causious.

Jennifer

 

[JEmaryland]

Hit a nerve there did I. I meant no disrespect. Obviously childless people are entitled to their opinion, no matter how silly they may seem to the rest of us. LOL

Child-free, not childless. Childless is implying we want something we can't have.

 

[madalex]

Would you hear about it? Or would the Disney lawyers pay off the victims so quickly it would make your head swim... frankly I think Disney can accept someone becoming worm food on a roller coaster and not see any big drop in visitors... but you have one story about a kid getting raped in a restroom and you'll see people canceling their trips....

The odds are that things have happened in the restroom, but most likely it has been swept quickly and quietly under the rug.

What factual basis to you have for contending that there is a vast conspiracy to cover these things up or for your statement that the odds are these things have been swept under the rug? I can't prove a negative, but I will say again that if this was really happening on a regular basis, we would hear about some of these occurrences. Since we have not, that suggest the prevalence of such occurrences is extraordinarily small, if not nil.

 

[rudy7696]

I strongly agree with some of the posts posts. Disney should seriously think about putting in "family" facilities within their parks. Especially in times like this when there seem to be more and more pedophiles, at least something as small as this would put parents mind at ease. I know that some department stores are starting to do this, in fact I know Target Stores have family bathroom inside their stores.

 

[StratMan]

As a dad with a young daughter, I want to clarify something that I think is important to keep in mind. When I take my daughter into a public mens room, it is very stressful and uncomfortable for me and I'm well aware that it may be just as uncomfortable for the men and boys around us. I don't do it because I think the world revolves around me, I do it because it is the only reasonable option I have when her mom isn't with us. My point is that parents aren't trying to blur the gender rules because it's fun. Believe me, it isn't.

 

[aubriee]

Would you hear about it? Or would the Disney lawyers pay off the victims so quickly it would make your head swim... frankly I think Disney can accept someone becoming worm food on a roller coaster and not see any big drop in visitors... but you have one story about a kid getting raped in a restroom and you'll see people canceling their trips....

The odds are that things have happened in the restroom, but most likely it has been swept quickly and quietly under the rug.

I seriously doubt that. WDW restrooms are always full of crowds. The vast majority of those crowds are moms, dads, and grandparents. You can't tell me that if some pervert even looked crosswise at a child, much less make a move toward them, that those moms and dads (as well as grandparents) wouldn't be all over him (or her). Think about it. If some kid came into the restroom alone, and someone said anything other than Hi! to him, wouldn't you be all over him. Now if the restroom was empty that might be another story, but I've never seen a restroom at WDW that wasn't full of people.

 

[peemagg]

I am going to go against the grain here. If I saw a man with a young girl coming into the ladies room, I would have no problem with it if he went into the stall also with her. If he was to be just standing around then there would be a problem. In fact I would then volunteer to help the child so that he could wait outside. I think the same thing goes for women in the men's room. More likely than not the adult does not want to be in there anymore than you want them there, but they make the sacrafice for their child. If the adult is not doing anything to creep me out, then I don't care. Little boys or girls in either restroom can do things to embarrass the others in the restroom.

My sister has already said that she wil not ever take our niece to the restroom again because of the things she was saying while in there and the child is only 3.

It is a matter of comfort for the parents and what right does any of have to judge them for doing what they feel they need to for their family.

 

[asmit4]

That answer is completely obvious to any woman.

A grown woman does not belong in a men's room. The statment is ludicrous. No woman will vountarily go into a room with men with their *****' hanging out. Period. You have no arguement against this since you are a man and cannot possibly understand.

Statistically, women don't sexually abuse children as much as men and and even lower percentage abuse children who are not known to them. I feel comfortable sending my 8 year old girl into a woman's washroom by herself (with me outside the door). I will not feel comfortable sending my 8 year old son into a men's room by himself. (even moreso since I read the Sen. Craig thread. ICK)

As a woman, I don't have issues with 8 year old boys in the women's rest room as there are stalls. In a changeroom, I feel more uncomfortable. I am fortunate that I have a husband who will take my son into the boys changeroom at the pool and I don't have to think about the alternative when he gets older. SIngle mom's have a harder time with that.

Our local pool actually has a posted rule about this and they are very strict. In the changing room area, no child over the age of 3 (4 and up) can go into the opposite sex area, regardless of reason. They even hire staff to help the parents in a predicament out by taking kids into the washrooms and helping them change their clothes and such. Apparently a few years ago this was becoming a huge issue. Moms were taking their even preteen sons, into the female areas to change clothes. Women were feeling very uncomfortable with this as swimsuits are often taken off and it is not uncommon for women to walk from a changing room naked into the shower area or be in various levels of nakedness while changing.

Of course the above is a very different situation than a bathroom, but I just wanted to throw it in there.

 

[Megsmachine]

There is no 'back in the day where everyone loved each other and did no harm to children', statistically it is more likely that the parent leading the child will do harm to them than the stangers in the 'rest room'.

At what age do you leave children to go to a rest room themselves then?

I should have noted my sarcasm when I said "back in the day..." Secondly, I am not going to do my child harm. I also am not going to put them in (potentially) harms way. I realize we as parents can not protect them from everything, but you can be darn sure that I will protect them when I can and until I feel it is no longer necessary.

 

[cgbsilver@hotmail.co]

As a dad with a young daughter, I want to clarify something that I think is important to keep in mind. When I take my daughter into a public mens room, it is very stressful and uncomfortable for me and I'm well aware that it may be just as uncomfortable for the men and boys around us. I don't do it because I think the world revolves around me, I do it because it is the only reasonable option I have when her mom isn't with us. My point is that parents aren't trying to blur the gender rules because it's fun. Believe me, it isn't.

I could not agree more.

 

[eventsdj]

My dad used to take me into mens restrooms all the time, at ballgames and such (things my mom wouldn't go to).
He'd always yell out "Little girl coming in" and most men would stick to the wall like glue, and he'd put little blinders over my eyes with his hands.
Then, he'd stick me in a stall, tell me to face the wall (which I did) and use the urinal.
No one ever said anything, and its a pretty funny memory.

I don't want to debate the age it should stop, but I'd KILL my husband if he left my 5 year old hanging out outside a bathroom by herself cuz it was a "Mens Room".
And sometimes, even for guys, you just HAVE to go!

 

[tlens]

Our local pool actually has a posted rule about this and they are very strict. In the changing room area, no child over the age of 3 (4 and up) can go into the opposite sex area, regardless of reason. They even hire staff to help the parents in a predicament out by taking kids into the washrooms and helping them change their clothes and such. Apparently a few years ago this was becoming a huge issue. Moms were taking their even preteen sons, into the female areas to change clothes. Women were feeling very uncomfortable with this as swimsuits are often taken off and it is not uncommon for women to walk from a changing room naked into the shower area or be in various levels of nakedness while changing.

Of course the above is a very different situation than a bathroom, but I just wanted to throw it in there.

Ours has as well but the age is 6. They have put in a family changeroom though for dads to take their daughter or mom's their sons. The unwritten rule though is that it's the kids changing, not the parents. I don't know how they do it but at least the option is there. I guess if a woman wanted change in full view of the dad's in there, that would be her choice.

 

[asmit4]

As a dad with a young daughter, I want to clarify something that I think is important to keep in mind. When I take my daughter into a public mens room, it is very stressful and uncomfortable for me and I'm well aware that it may be just as uncomfortable for the men and boys around us. I don't do it because I think the world revolves around me, I do it because it is the only reasonable option I have when her mom isn't with us. My point is that parents aren't trying to blur the gender rules because it's fun. Believe me, it isn't.

I do feel for you and other parents like you. I think the issue for most isn't about it occuring- it's about the age of the child and that it's STILL occuring. I do feel that at age 9 or 10-even younger, going to a bathroom alone is doable. I did it without issue. Now, some parents might feel that even 10 or 11 isn't old enough. At 11, I was babysitting...at 11, I was riding my bike 3 miles from home, at 11, I was dropped off at swimming lessons and picked up 2 hours later...at 11, I was told to 'come back for lunch' when at an amusement park with friends and family, I was certainly capable of peeing by myself for 2 minutes.

 

[ilovefishsticks4]

well to think that in 3 years they could be dating other boys, that is defiantly not right...

 

[JEmaryland]

Not to freak out the men here, but many girls are getting their periods by age 10 or 11. I highly doubt they'd want to deal with that in the men's room.

 

[asmit4]

Not to freak out the men here, but many girls are getting their periods by age 10 or 11. I highly doubt they'd want to deal with that in the men's room.

I would have DIED if I had to pee with my dad at 10...I would have had to be dragged kicking and screaming. In fact, I would venture to say that my dad would have been chewed out by my mom if I told her that dad made me come into the mens bathroom to pee.

 

[eventsdj]

I didn't think this is so much about the little girls having to go, I think most dads can deal with sending them in a potty, and waiting outside the door for them.

This is about when dad REALLY has to go.
I'm sorry, but like I said, I would never, ever, ever expect a dad to leave his little girl standing by herself outside a mens room for lord knows what to happen. (and it does happen)

That being said, I'm sure a CM would be happy to entertain a child for 2 minutes.

 

[Kies99]

I'm a dad with 2 daughters, 6.5yo and 5yo respectively.

I have no issue sending my 6.5yo into the ladies room by herself. She's quite mature for her age and can handle everything with no problem. I just wait outside the door and I feel perfectly comfortable with it.

My 5yo I take into the men's room. If necessary I may cover eyes/divert her attention, but it's really a non-issue. I wait in the room, outside the stall and everyone's happy. If the 6.5yo is with us, I make her come in and wait as well.