Men changing babies.

My DH has looked after all of the DGC several times on his own when they were babies and had/has no problem at all doing nappies. Mind you if am around he wouldn’t volunteer

Disabled loo with changing table is the way to go for everyone changing babies and also for Dads needing to take DD to loo. As a poster upthread said, this is becoming more common.

Having said that, like others, I have changed nappies on my lap in trains, pubs, shops etc. and the world is still turning.

I do think things are changing - I notice a lot of separate unisex changing facilities now, or mens' with facilities.

My son in law is very hands-on, in fact he was the first to change Gdd's nappy when she was very new - dd was unsure of what to do!
A far cry from a bloke we used to know (our age) who positively boasted that he'd never once changed a nappy - and he had 3 children.

Not necessarily typical, though - I certainly remember my father (born 1916) routinely changing younger siblings' nappies.

My son has care of his daughter a couple of days a week whilst his wife has a day with her friends or goes to the gym,he thinks nothing of changing little one in the female changing area he has been praised by ladies who see him as a very good hands on dad,his baby's comfort is more important to him than what people think.

Cherrytree how easy is that if you dont have a car?
Gabrielle can we change bladders I think mine has been in nearly every toilet in England ?

I did change a baby once and only once. My wife and daughters almost always sit on a chair with baby on a mat on the floor where it can't wriggle off or wee on it and do what is needed. As for breast feeding its common almost fashionable to see in cafes, feeding baby and chatting to friends or reading a book, anywhere you can sit down and relax.

I think my local John Lewis has a baby changing area outside the women's toilet area. I agree with others, if there is enough space, a gender neutral area would be ideal. It's feasible that the father may be the only parent, or the one that does the majority of child care, or simply be out with the baby for the day.

I think this topic has come up before and I suspect I mentioned the parents' room in our local shopping mall. It has seats, including a couple in cubicles for breastfeeding mothers who want privacy, a nappy changing area, a microwave for heating bottles and a kind of playpen with a television to keep slightly older children safe while the babies are being seen to. There are facilities for washing hands but I think the loos are next door.

I can't remember ever changing a baby in a toilet area.

I have on few occasions accompanied my DD to Mothercare in order change to DGC's nappy in their baby changing facility.

If I have needed to change a DGC nappy whilst out and about,
I have done so in the car
using a travel changing mat with a nappybag close to hand.

Years ago mothers were expected to breastfeed out of sight in the ladies toilets!
I remember a newspaper or magazine article headline....
'Would you be happy to have your meal served in a public toilet??'

There aren’t any changing facilities in women’s toilets any more either. It’s not sexist and he is doing it for attention seeking.
Changing tables are in the disabled/accessible toilets.
There’s not need for the fuss he is making.

I seem to remember when our children were small, there was a children’s toilet on Brighton seafront. It had a female attendant and I think over 12s weren’t allowed!
I thought it was a good idea, and meant the older children could go on their own, and saved the whole family having to pack up if there was only one adult present.

Momof3

Yes where I am most of the facilities are either in the ladies loo or disabled. There's also no room for your pram in the ladies!

I used to leave mine outside and just take the baby and changing bag but had my fold up buggy stolen so refused to do that ever again!

I don't know why more places don't do what a lot of coffee shops do now which is to just have three separate toilets which can be used by both genders rather than two rooms with cubicles for seperate genders? It makes life easier with only one queue and they're normally larger which would help with this problem!

I haven't watched the video mentioned in the OP, but sympathise with the father. Unlike some on here, I never mastered changing a baby on my lap. In fact, DS2 was so wriggly and strong that even doing it in a large surface like a bed was difficult, and at only 3 months old, despite my best efforts to control him, he fell off there in the middle of the process.

A lot of moms and dads use the disabled toilets because it big enough to take the pram/pushchair in with us.

If mom has more than one very small child with them again

Hidden non visible Disabilities

The baby changing is very often in the disabled toilet

I would like to unisex changing rooms between ladies/gents for small children. My sons, and son in laws take the children/babies out on their own often or indeed when their wives are with them it's still sometimes their turn to do a change. A change from my generation but a welcome one.

We don't need unisex changing rooms. Just put one of the folded changing stations up in the men's loo as well! It isn't rocket science.

I used to hate being out with my husband and I had to do all of the changing. He went through a phase where he didn't like going out with her as he had nowhere private to change her and when he did "do it on his lap" people moaned.

It's simple thing that you bolt to the wall. Just do it.

I agree with this dad, baby changing facilities are needed for dads. I myself see nothing wrong with unisex loos but thats me. We went camping for a week with my 7 yearly gd and I ended up in hospital on day 2 for the rest of the week. OH was left with the problem of showers for our gd but luck was on our side as she was very self sufficient.

There were more toilets then - and it was mostly women who did the baby changing! Aepgirl I remember changing our baby in the pram - there weren't so many buggies in those days

It seems to me that everybody wants everything tailored to their needs today. However did we manage 40-odd years ago?!!!

Gabriella, how did you find these immaculate 'facilities'? You don't seem the kind of person who would wander into a public lavatory on the off-chance that they would offer you freshly laundered towels, etc. Was there some publication (Good Loos Guide) that you could consult?

* Gabriella* are you a writer for Mills & Boon?

You must have remarkable bladder control if you don't use public lavatories Gabriella. Not everyone else does and babies or toddlers will insist on needing the toilet, or their nappy changed. That's the reason decent facilities are needed, for all those ordinary folks out there.

Baby changing facilities should be unisex and ideally not in the disabled loo.

I've never understood why small establishments have separate male and female loos - often there is one of each and always a queue for the ladies while the gents stands empty! Why not just toilets for whoever to use? Often in Europe there are unisex loos - as another post mentioned - what's the fuss? You don't have to look!

Our shopping mall has a large room where you have facilities for changing nappies, microwaves for heating bottles and private cubicles for women who want to breastfeed without spectators. It also has loos. How good is that?

I never use public loos anyway, not anywhere, trains, planes or roadside squats.
I have used two places in my 20s and 30s. One was a public lavatory in Southport, on Lord Street. Immaculate, fresh flowers, highly polished brass fittings and sparkling taps, a freshly laundered hand-towel for each visitor and comfy chairs to sit and feed baby with a changing table which was wiped over by the uniformed attendant with a Milton soaked cloth after every use. She might even offer you a cup of tea if you left a few pennies in her tips saucer.
The other place was the train station at Victoria.
An attendant handed out freshly laundered bath towels and a cake of soap if you wanted a bath, or hand towels for use after the lavatory.
Those kind of places are long gone and sadly missed.