Aibu feeling uneasy about men taking little girls to the toilet in the womens toilet?

Don’t think using the disabled toilet is in any way ‘morally wrong’ in these circumstances…. In fact seems the perfect option.

I bet the same women arguing this isn’t okay would still bring their sons into the women’s. Hypocrisy.

As a non-Brit, I've always found this prudish hand-wringing about loos a bit embarrassing for those who do it. It's a loo. You have a private cubicle. No one will see you there. You can't exactly send a small girl to the loos alone, and disabled toilet isn't always an option.

It’s absolutely ridiculous my dad had to mind me and my sister a lot when we were kids. He brought us to the men’s toilets . If girls shouldn’t be in the men’s neither should little boys or little boys shouldn’t be in the women’s changing rooms either . What do they think will happen with the dad right there?

Then he shouldn’t be taking her in the men’s either.

Yes but they go in a cubicle in the ladies, rather than young girls having to walk past men with their penis hanging out at a urinal.

I would love you to point to the part of the law that makes this illegal. You’ll actually find the Equality Act gives a specific example of a man entering a female space with a child under 10 being appropriate.

YABVU Safeguarding of children trumps everything. Dads absolutely should be able to accompany their little girls if necessary and young boys should be able to accompany their mums if necessary.

In the UK, there is no direct legislation that prevents a parent or guardian from bringing a child of the opposite sex into a public restroom with them. It is generally understood and widely accepted that safeguarding and supervising a young child takes precedence over strict single-sex bathroom rules.

No parent should ever put the safety of their children second to a MN thread and the fact remains nobody is ever going to do anything about it anyway. It takes 2 minutes to go to the loo and supervise handwashing.Most times I’m in the ladies I rarely see anybody.

Do what you need to do as a parent to keep your children safe.

What is it you think a man with his small child to the toilet is going to do? Leave her in the cubicle while he goes around sexually assaulting everyone? There are things to have issues with and things to move on a find something more important to worry about.

If the child is very little then either the mens or disabled/family. No way should a man enter female toilets with his daughter.

I can’t even put into words how much I disagree with you and think YABVU.

Men’s toilets have urinals. Why should a little girl be faced with penises of other men, rather than a cubicle with her dad in a normal bathroom?

Insane.

The problem is most places have ONE disabled toilet. The more other groups we start sending that way the harder it becomes for those with disabilities, especially disabilities impacting bowel and bladder function, to actually go out at all.

The disabled toilet is often barely suitable anyway (and completely unsuitable for too many people with disabilities who require changing places toilets) and every person who uses it when they aren’t disabled and can access the main toilet blocks make life even harder.

please think before just jumping into the disabled toilet.

It's illegal and my dh managed fine with our dd when she was little. Only a certain type of man goes into a female only space. Absolutely sick of this argument.

You are allowed to use the accessible toilets. It’s not ‘Morally wrong’
My local shopping centre is being renovated, and there are no family rooms atm.
Am I not allowed to use the toilet now while I’m with my newborn, toddler and a buggy?
They are there for anyone to use, they nearly always have a baby change there, which again indicates they are for families to also use.

I personally have no problem with him in there if there was not family or accessible toilet, though it would have been a much more comfortable option for both of them. Maybe he didn’t use it, as it was occupied and she really needed the toilet?
I would much rather him in the women’s then her in the men’s.

It seems such a double standard to take such offence to a man with his young daughter being in a woman's toilet but finding it totally acceptable to expect a young girl to feel comfortable being in a men's toilet. Fathers are so often berated for not pulling their weight with their kids. I see this as an example of how we don't make things easier for them. If you feel that strongly about it then maybe actively campaign for family toilets, not make a poor bloke taking his daughter to the toilet feel like he's encroaching on some sacred womens space.

It seems to be a social media trend for fathers to do this. Most use the disabled toilet. I have had to occasionally take my disabled adult son into the ladies when the disabled toilet was out of order or there was no disabled toilet. He isn’t physically disabled just but he’s non verbal and very vulnerable. Some older pubs don’t have a disabled toilet.

I don’t mind this at all when it’s absolutely necessary. Child really needing to go and two young to go by herself or hold it. Not ideal but I think it’s fine for them to pop into a cubicle and be as swift as they can about it.

My DH will take our daughter into the men’s if absolutely necessary but he hate doing it. It's his choice though, and he would not go into the women’s.

I think this is absolute nonsense.

There's absolutely nothing wrong with a father taking his little girl into the female toliets and it's a far better option given the urinals in most men's toilets.

People give out about absent fathers yet critise the men looking after their kids in situations like this.

What's the risk? What's the threat?
There is none.

Disabled toilets exit for a reason and should not be used instead.

Men can't do anything right according to MN!.

They are accessible toilets. A young child is not able to use the potty by themselves.

Therefore the disabled toilet is exactly where they should be.

Why not? She's with her dad, she's perfectly safe.

My dad took me into the gents and DH took DD. My brother took my nieces.

I bet if there was a massive queue, as there often is for the ladies facilities, a man with his daughter would decide she is ok going in the gents after all. Or maybe not, maybe he'd decide he is entitled to push to the front of the queue?

I was going to say YABU as sometimes the men’s isn’t practical for a little girl. However then I saw there’s a designated disabled toilet which would have been the appropriate option in this scenario. I can’t imagine why he wouldn’t have used that. There’s often a changing table and it’s fine to use for this purpose.

The new EHRC guidance is going to help end this kind of issue by requiring gender neutral additional facilities to be created. Which is actually going to help with inclusion generally for many people, such as parents with opposite sex children and opposite sex carers.

No, a man should not enter the women's single sex space because he's with his daughter. A man should not enter the women's single sex space at all.

And should a very young boy be afforded the same comfort when out with his Dad??

I don't understand why people seem to think a girl shouldn't go into the gents with her father. My daughter is now early 20s but when she was small her father always took her into the men's when he was alone with her and it was never an issue. At that time it was unheard of for a man to go into the ladies with a child.

I very much do care about men in the ladies facilities and I can't use them if a man is in there. I don't think men should be able to push me out of the women's facilities.