I have a son that just turned eight, and I feel like we are at an awkward stage when it comes to public restrooms. I also have two daughters, and when we are out and about and someone has to use the bathroom, we all file in to the restroom together. When my son was younger, no one would look twice when I brought him in with us. I don’t feel like women particularly care now either, but he is definitely becoming more aware of gender etiquette and I feel it is starting to become uncomfortable for him. Unfortunately, I am still not comfortable with the idea of him being alone in a male restroom at this age either!
So, the question is, how old is too old for young boys to be using female restrooms?
Recently a photograph of a sign started making it’s way around social media. It was placed in a public facility and asks that all boys over the age of 6 use the male restroom. It’s not a demand, and they are asking nicely, but to be honest, I would still take my son in with me. Am I the only one who does this?
IMAGE SOURCE: OKLAHOMA CITY MOMS BLOG VIA FACEBOOK
Many malls and public venues now offer family restrooms which is wonderful because it takes the guesswork out of everything! However, there just aren’t enough of them. It was very awkward when my husband would take our girls out by himself because he would have to take them in to the men’s room. This is something he avoided like the plague! Another issue? What if Dad needs to change a diaper? Men’s rooms rarely (if ever) offer the convenience of a changing table!
Share your thoughts! How do you handle it in your family, and what age do you feel it’s appropriate for boys to stop using the female restroom?
Maybe this is why more stores and shopping malls these days have “family rest rooms.” It just makes sense that either parent should be able to take a child who needs to “go.”
It can be a problem, letting a child use a public restroom alone. (Of course a six-year-old boy or girl would not want to use a potty chair in the family car.) When my children were not of the age when I thought they could use a public rest room alone, I took them with me. The trust issue with grown men is huge. But a father would probably be able to ask a kind-looking mother if she wouldn’t mind keeping an eye out for his little girl. What I find offensive are little children of either sex who get down on the floor and look under the stall to the other side, infringing on one’s privacy. This usually happens when they are in the stall with their mother!
Wow no one said it better. This all goes through my mind whenever we are out in public. I even threw the training potty chair in the back of the car…figured we could use that! It’s our ‘family’ restroom. As for your son going into the women’s restroom, you are his mother, with what’s going on in this day and age I say take him with you until he’s 40! Lol! You are looking out for his well-being. Your his mother…your his mother!
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