Men changing babies.

Nannan2

Of course, I meant females who change in the washroom area of ladies toilets, not the actual toilets which are usually far too small to accommodate that activity.
Young women often used to go out straight from work and still do. It made sense to change and do your hair/make up in the washroom.

Of course men should have access to changing rooms for baby, young children, doesn't even need discussing.

Where we go swimming with dgd and dgs, in Surrey, no probs at all, easy changing, you go in, there is a loo and a changing table, and you exit to the swimming pool side.

Can’t understand all the probs really, we should have individual unisex loos plus changing, etc n 2018, especially when building new shopping malls, etc. We are the 5th wealthiest country in the world, no excuses!

Feel sorry for all the dinosaurs who say ‘yes, we used to balance baby, on a towel on our lap or the floor, etc’ .... then was then, and now is now! ?✅

About 60 years ago I read a very funny article about a man trying to find a lady to take his little girl into the Ladies. It has obviously been a problem for fathers for a long time.

Portugal is on the Continente but there are usually separate male and female toilets. Although I remember turning right into the Ladies at Porto Airport and there were men washing their hands so I hastily withdrew to be told both sexes were using the Ladies as the Mens were out of action.

Another occasion also at Porto airport my 91 yearold disabled Mother needed the loo and we went to the disabled one to find it occupied. 10 minutes later out walked an air hostess who had been getting changed. Grr. In the shopping centres they do tend to have family changing facilities and also a room for feeding. But not so in local cafes and restaurants

?? love that GillT57

A 'family' room would solve the problem. I remember visiting swimming pools which had larger cubicles between the male and female sides to cater for families or a single parent with children. Similar could be used to provide suitable changing and feeding areas, however I have seen these type of facilities used inappropriately for religious observance which brings the question where does the provision of private areas in public places end.

Bring on unisex loos a la le continent - despite Brexit!!

I'm with Gabrielle!

I am assured by a friend who used to work as air cabin crew that this story is true:

Uptight, upper class passenger in First class with crying baby. Baby needed stinky nappy changed. Said passenger clicked their fingers for cabin crew, gave smelly, crying baby to young, very camp air male steward and demanded that he change the baby as it is crying

Steward came back with different, clean, quiet baby ( with parental permission of course) and asked will this one do modom?

Cue laughter, cue furious complaint.....

Of late, there's been an increase in single user facilities here in the US that are available to everyone. Likely a response to a controversy that occurred two or three years ago. It seems all hell broke loose when a transgender female (with the appearance of a male) went inside the Lady's loo.

These newer (surprisingly very clean) facilities are gender 'neutral', and may or may not have (fold out) changing tables. They do have to be equipped for the handicapped and be ample enough in size for a wheelchair.

Since they're 'one at a time' only, queues are inevitable, yet the worst I've had is one or two people in front of me. Also, in larger public settings (hospital) there are usually several of them located on a given floor and not far one from the other.
They are a perfect solution for the parent with a small child of opposite sex.

Oh Grandtante Your last paragraph made me smile!

I think there should be totally separate baby changing facilities, with a toilet, which can be used by either men or women.

DS1 was at a motorway service station with his just-3 year old daughter who was desperate for a wee, so he went into the Ladies with her. She went into the cubicle alone while he stood to one side. He explained to the next lady to come in why he was there and nobody complained or thought it at all odd. He said men would have been far more 'put out' by a woman entering their domain, and the mens toilets are rarely clean enough to take a little girl into.

Here in Denmark we usually do have changing rooms for babies where both mothers and fathers can change their babies' nappies.

If that isn't possible there probably is a table in the gents' as fathers are expected to take just as much responsibility as mothers for looking after their children.

As to who would want to take a child into the gents' the answer is obviously any man, father, uncle, grandfather, older brother out with a baby, as he can't go into the ladies', can he?

Here men take their small sons and daughters into the men's changing rooms at the public baths if the children's mother isn't with them. Once girls are about 7 the father will usually ask a female attendant to keep an eye on her in the women's changing room.

Fathers commonly bath toddlers by sharing the shower with them. One man I know bought a non-slip bathmat for the shower, after his two year old slipped and grabbed the part of Daddy he could reach and which was dangling at his eye level. OUCH!

That was my point about not taking a baby into men’s loos as they are often disgusting and pretty smelly (so I’m told).
Some good suggestions on solving the problem but in an emergency a lap/knees is I think a reasonable alternative.

To answer the OP's question - a father out on his own who needs to change his baby's nappy and or use the loo?

Just back from Belgium and France where mixed loos appear to be common - all done sensitively. Seems to me it's us that have the hang ups. Personally my biggest concern is that the facility is clean.

Just on another note about disabled toilets, some can only be used if you are in possession of a RADAR key so it would not be appropriate to put baby changing facilities in those. I am "ambulant disabled" so can use ordinary toilets if they have the appropriate cubicle included (most don't) otherwise I'm searching for a disabled toilet. The lack of provision of public toilets is another problem.

This is not a new problem, when our daughter was a baby 25 years ago my husband was out and needed to change her, he was in mothercare so peeking in the "Mother" and baby room to make sure it was empty he went to go in and was promptly turned away by staff saying couldn't go in! He said it's empty but the woman said what if a woman wants to feed her baby! My husband was furious he wasn't going to be long but no so he came home. Things haven't changed much I believe. Men are so much more hands on now. I don't think changing facilities should be in disable toilets there should be parents changing rooms. For both sexes.

My son looks after his daughter full time, maybe it depends where you live but where they are there really aren't many places he can go to change her nappy and what about when she is a bit older and needs to use the toilet, it's either take her into the mens or use the disabled toilets.

Great solution Gabriella except that facility was not available which is why the issue was raised ?
Times change and expectations too! We now would like to be able to change a baby's nappy with some privacy in a suitable environment. Many forward thinking places do provide a non gender specific space for a parent/ carer to change nappies. Too many places still assume it will be a female doing that task.

Equality is the word. I can't see anything wrong with a man wanting changing tables in the gentlemen's lavatories. Have you never thought that the gentleman concerned might have been a single parent? On which planet are you living it is 2018 not 1960's things change (excuse the pun)?

Unisex loos with proper changing facilities should be everywhere. A dad should be able to take his children to the loo and/or change a baby without having to spend an hour finding out where he can do it. How can we expect men to take equal resposibility if we don't give them the facilities?

Minerva, I have Type 1 diabetes and have blood tested and injected in public toilets all over the place. As long as they are clean (usually in stores ) there is no problem at all. You can just sit down, check things and inject. No problem at all. Always carry hand gel for afterwards. I know this is slightly off topic!

I do wonder sometimes what century I'm in. Surely in the 21st century we should be more inclusive? Dads do a fair share of childcare these days but the dire lack of facilities to enable the fairly simple - and VERY common - need to change a baby is ignored; as is the provision of public toilets in general!! But don't get me started on THAT topic

three children later ( including a set of twins) always changed them on my lap so much easier anywhere. - except the gets loo!

When my sister and I were very young and sometimes out with Dad we two had to go to the ladies' loo without a grown-up. We were scared of getting locked in. At least we could go together as we were twins but men with daughters have a problem.
Men are more hands on these days and braver about complaining. Although Dad took us out he would have drawn the line at pushing a pram.

I don’t think it’s a great response. Surely things are supposed to be getting better, otherwise we’d still be shoving children up chimneys. I wouldn’t want to change a child’s nappy on my lap, and certainly not on the floor. Shopping malls make lots of money, so they should be responsible for making sure everyone who uses them is catered for: parents with small children, disabled people, men, women, transgender or whatever. I don’t understand some of the mean minded posts on here.