AIBU to use a family changing room left occupied by a buggy?

You did right.

Not my proudest moment. Swim club. Bane of my bloody life. My child has SEN and hates showers. So they’d come straight out to get changed. Without fail all the cubicles would be reserved by people waiting for the showers.

During a bout of severe PMT and emboldened by braver souls than me on here I finally snapped, emptied a cubicle and used it. Had to put up with a lot of bleating on when the original occupier got back but I think she saw the look on my face and decided not to push the issue.

I just find changing room hoggers rude and entitled. We’d all be out a lot quicker if they were used as necessary.

In that case it is absolutely ridiculous that they reserved a changing room like that. I could sympathise if it was a new mum struggling with a very young baby (we've all been there) but this is just lazy and entitled! I hope you reported them to reception!

YANBU at all OP. People doing this are so rude! At my local pool I ended up in a weekly battle with one person who always left their clothes in one of the four changing rooms to reserve it (including used undies hanging on the peg ). The first time I explained they can't do that and pointed to the signs, then showed how everyone just uses the lockers but without paying to lock them. They didn't care to stop and would just come and wait at whichever cubicle they'd ''reserved' as a way to queue jump - infuriating. So I started putting their clothes in a locker myself as lots of shivering kids were peering into the 'reserved' cubicle and not using it as it seemed occupied, all the while this person was doing their swim. After I started moving their clothes they were then getting out and doing their queue jump routine, only to find the cubicle empty of their stuff when it vacated. Then they'd start looking along all the lockers, eventually find their stuff where I'd put it, then join the back of the queue. Every week. They never actually thought to put their things in a locker themselves and save the bother of hunting for it.

Also infuriating are the parents that go and lay out towels and clothes five whole minutes before swimming lessons end for their children when there's only four cubicles. All the children who are out first and quick in the showers now have a choice between jumping into those cubicles and risking a scene with the entitled parents, or shivering and waiting for them to vacate. The pool supervisors stop it when they can but it happens so much they can't stop.it all.

I had this once when my youngest was little. I took the buggy out of the changing room. It was gone when I came out so someone had moved it but no one said anything.

I wouldnt have left it in there while I used it.

YANBU

But can we take a moment, a buggy in the changing areas? As in the same wheels that roll through the streets on the tiled floor where people walk barefoot? 🤢 Our local pools all have buggy storage at the front. I thought this was normal. Buggies in the changing rooms is gross!

YANBU! Did they bring all of their kids out of the pool to challenge you too? Or did they have another adult to help them? They were being V unreasonable, but if they had an additional adult with them make that VVV unreasonable!

I would have wheeled the buggy out so I could use the room. YANBU though!

People are so entitled. Cubicles are there to be used, not reserved. I always told both my kids at swimming lessons if there was no cubicle available, remove items, place on bench and use the cubicle. That's exactly what they did, handling irate cubicle reservers with aplomb.

In our pool - if you tell the staff they will remove the items.

Reserving cubicles makes me furious. I've been in the position of getting 3 children changed without a cubicle in the past then having them stay together while i get changed in a single as one came free because half were reserved with noone in sight (8+ so safe to be left). The one I eyed up was vacant the entire time.

That’s super cheeky, on their part. Speak to the venue and explain notices need to go up that there is no reserving cubicles.

They can’t reserve a changing room. Being in the pool is cheeky.

i had something similar in an Asda store. There was an empty till apart from the lady being served, so I started putting my shopping on. There was a basket full of stuff on the floor at the end of the till which I assumed had been abandoned. However, as I was waiting my turn, a mum and child came back and glared at me. She didn’t say anything but I guessed she thought I’d stolen her till. The cashier gave me a sympathetic you’ve-done-nothing-wrong look.

Found this when I took the kids swimming this week too. Selfish twats.

I think the right thing to do would probably be to take their stuff out to reception and explain.

Of course they’re in the wrong. I move stuff all the time in our local pool and only once has someone ever said anything and I just lied and said oh it was free when I got here, it must have been the staff.

I did the same OP. There were signs everywhere saying not to leave any items in the changing cubicles, I was supervising 4 kids and didn't want to leave them on their own. The mum came back and hammered on the door, she was away drying her daughter's hair. 🤷‍♀️

I had similar this week, our pool is open changing except for 5 cubicles, currently only 2 of them have curtains.
I was with my boyfriend’s 11 year old daughter - so not appropriate for her to strip in front of me. Someone had left a pile of things in 1 of the 2 private cubicles.
we waited to make sure everyone was out of the showers, then I moved the pile to one of the cubicles without curtain. I was surprised when an iPhone and Apple Watch tumbled out! There are about 300 lockers in these changing rooms so I think the hogger was foolish on two counts!

Taken kids swimming many times/places and never seen anyone bring a buggy in (if it was for a disability, obviously that's different) and it seems quite dirty-it's been pushed through everything on the streets. Many people take shoes off/leave prams at the door in their own house to avoid street mess all over the floor so they shouldn't have brought it in; they're obviously just using it as a sunbed towel!

Not unreasonable at all. Buggies aren’t allowed in the changing rooms at my gym. Have to be left in a the office behind reception
Most parents aren’t stupid enough to bring them

You can't "reserve" cubicles lol!!!

What an absolute eejit! I hope you didnt apologise to them

Well done for sensibly putting your kids needs before a buggy

In our gym/pool you are not allowed to reserve changing cubicles. Any items left in the cubicles are removed asap by staff. No exceptions.

To me this is CFery...

Only two changing rooms at our local pool and people do this, I'm one that has taken clothing out and left it on the side bench before.

Speak to reception. Our local pool put up notices saying this was not allowed. Then if the only free cubicle had stuff in it, we just used it anyway. You had three young children, there was no other family changing, you were more than justified in using it.

How selfish and entitled of them. I would have done the same as you. Cf's.