Boys in ladies changing rooms at the gym.

Sago

My gym visit was ill timed today, as I was changing the mums came in with their boys and girls.
I was most surprised to see the ages of the boys who were in the changing rooms, I would guess the eldest was 9/10.
Is it just me or are they old enough to go into the male changing rooms?

Was it communal or cubicles?

It's not just the adult women is it. A 9 year old girl should not be expected to change in a group changing with boys of that age.

As the mother of five boys I am well aware that changing rooms are a problem. DH was rarely around to take them into the gents changing so from 7ish the lads went into the changing rooms alone. To be perfectly honest by then then they would have been mortified at the thought of changing in the ladies. By that age they are used to changing for PE so they should be able to change alone.

Ladies toilets are a bit different. I see no problem with an older boy using the ladies. There is nothing to see. It depends on the location really. I kept the lads with me in the ladies on busy railway stations. Often the toilets entre/exit onto two platforms. That was something that worried me.

He might be younger, one of my sons was a 10lb baby, over 6ft at 12. People always thought he was at least 2 years older than he was, well not when he was a baby but then they thought he was months older than he was.

I also think 9 is too young to be tackling the men's changing rooms alone. When I took children swimming the boys (aged 7+ had to use the men's changing room. I quite often had to go in to sort something out (the pool staff. always seemed to be missing). Sometimes a boy would have lost an item of clothing and be standing half dressed or crawling round hunting a sock. I always banged loudly on the door and announced I was going in before I did it. They at least had the comfort of a group, a boy on his own would be completely lost.

My grandson is 10. I don't think he'd even go in a men's changing room. It's a tricky one. They are still quite young at 10.

I think a 9 year old boy is too young to use the male changing rooms without an accompanying adult.

i think what silverbridge has posted is quite universal, they arent allowed to go the toilets under 8 alone either.

This is what my local pool says:

There are showers in the female and male group changing rooms. You can bring children of the opposite gender into the group changing rooms with you. This helps adults with children of different genders to wash and change:

• boys up to 8 years old into the female group change
• girls up to 8 years old into the male group change

Is there a "family" room they can use?
This is too old on my opinion.

They should definitely not be allowed in ladies' changing rooms at that age.
Some mothers don't like their sons going into the men's changing rooms but that is a problem for the gym to sort out.