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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Disabled/baby change

585 replies

Babyred457 · 22/06/2016 13:10

Have NC for this as I have spoken to friends about it and don't want to be outed!

DH and I are members of the gym and pool at a local hotel and take baby DS (4 months) swimming there. It's not a large pool and has small communal changing rooms for men and women and then a separate family/disabled changing room. This is the only one with a baby change table and nappy bin so it's the one we always use when we take DS. It has 4 lockers in it so obviously if you use them then you take the risk that you might have to wait for someone else to finish before you can get in and get your stuff.

Today when we were swimming there was only one other person in the pool, a woman in her late 50s/early 60s. We left the pool and went into the family changing room and had just started getting DS changed when the woman started banging on the door, shouting that we had to let her in as she was disabled and this was the disabled changing room. DH opened the door, said that it was also the family changing room and that we were changing DS but that we'd be as quick as we could. She carried on shouting that we shouldn't be using the changing room, that she was disabled and we had to let her in. She was incredibly rude and was making such a scene that I said to DH just let her go first, so we wrapped DS in a towel and waited, poor DS was kicking off but so was this woman and I tend to back down when people challenge me. DH however was fuming and went and spoke to the manager (dripping everywhere!) who agreed that it was both a family and a disabled changing room and that it's first come first served, no one has priority.

FWIW the woman no obvious physical disability (although MN has taught me that not all disabilities are obvious) and I don't think there was any reason why she couldn't have waited five minutes, she was also extremely rude. Had she approached at the same time as us I'd probably have let her go first anyway but she saw us leave the pool and go in there with DS (you can see the changing room from the pool!) so clearly then took a deliberate decision to get out herself at that moment and start banging on the door in an extremely aggressive manner.

So who was BU? It's difficult because almost all the restaurants etc I go to have the baby changing facilities in the disabled toilets. I would always happily fold a buggy or get off a bus for a wheelchair user etc but should a person with a baby have to exit a disabled loo or changing room mid-change for a disabled person? After all what would the disabled person do if another disabled person was already using the facilities?

OP posts:
GardeningWithDynamite · 23/06/2016 12:52

Maryz - upset by what actually happened or by what other people said they'd do?

Pagwatch · 23/06/2016 12:53

Gardening

She had already discussed it with enough people in real life to feel they was a real risk of being outed but still felt she needed all the support that a post in AIBU would provide? Really?

I don't think providing facilities for people that need them is singling them out.

Maryz · 23/06/2016 13:02

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

LifeInJeneral · 23/06/2016 13:02

I have a genuine question related to this but slightly off topic so please don't flame me for asking....when I go shopping with the buggy and I need the loo I tend to use the disabled because I can't fit the buggy in a normal cubicle and if I take him out it would generally be difficult to try and hold him whilst getting trousers down etc...is this wrong? What do people generally do in this situation? I have wondered this quite a few times

Maryz · 23/06/2016 13:03

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Maryz · 23/06/2016 13:04

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Pagwatch · 23/06/2016 13:06

LifeinJeneral.

The disabled toilet is for people with disabilities.
It's pretty straightforward.
I have three children aged between 23 and 13 and have never had to use the disabled toilet when out with them in their buggies. I am a human miracle.

Mummyme1987 · 23/06/2016 13:07

Life. As a wheelchair user it can be very hard to actually get in a disabled loo when I need one. Often mums are in there. Sometimes I really can't wait. Blush accidents then happen. I'll leave it to you to work out your answe

Pagwatch · 23/06/2016 13:07
GardeningWithDynamite · 23/06/2016 13:07

Pagwatch - that's something that could be discussed with the swimming pool then. A service they could/should offer for the money they take?

AIBU? Supportive????

For those that know then (and I apologise if I'm asking to be educated) is there a campaign for greater accessibility in building design/ staff training that actually helps, rather than just paying lip service that we could support?

MarcelineTheVampire · 23/06/2016 13:09

Maryz yes, good point. I'll shut up now, promise Grin

Mummyme1987 · 23/06/2016 13:10

To be honest lots of people use it as its less of a wait. How do I know? Because that's what they often say when they see me sitting outside waiting

Pagwatch · 23/06/2016 13:12

Gardening.

Yes. The op could have discussed it with the swimming pool.

AIBU is patently not supportive. It is the home of trolling, bun fights and shit storms. Which was kind of my point.

Disabled people campaigned for decades to get facilities. They did that. The problem is that now parents have decided they quite like using the facilities which disabled people fought hard to get. And they like to be arsy whilst benefitting from the hard work done by disability campaigners.
So whilst it would seem logical for parents to be involved in getting their own changing spaces and larger toilets and buggy spaces it's hard to escape the conclusion that they don't care. They are happy to co-opt disabled spaces and force disability campaigners to start all over again to get to use the spaces they fought for.

Maryz · 23/06/2016 13:13

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Mummyme1987 · 23/06/2016 13:13

Oh sorry but you know the queue for the ladies is so long, and my parking ticket/ lunch hour/etc is nearly up.

SauvignonBlanche · 23/06/2016 13:14

Oh, for the love of God! Shock
LifeinJeneral the disabled toilet is for people with disabilities.
Difficult is not the same as impossible.

Mummyme1987 · 23/06/2016 13:14

Each journey etc but is going to be 4099! Grin

Pagwatch · 23/06/2016 13:16
Grin

Although - It's fucking relentless isn't it.

GardeningWithDynamite · 23/06/2016 13:16

All too true Pagwatch - it's definitely a convenience thing and I think businesses contribute to this by advertising facilities as "parent friendly" that are legally there for disabled use.

Maryz · 23/06/2016 13:16

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Mummyme1987 · 23/06/2016 13:17

So what you are saying Jason is that we need another thread about it? Grin

Mummyme1987 · 23/06/2016 13:19

Life hope that answers your question. Grin

fuckincuntbuggerinarse · 23/06/2016 13:20

This reply has been deleted

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Mummyme1987 · 23/06/2016 13:20

Oh and do t forget to read the threads about disabled loos being used to take dumps in private so the normal loos don't smell

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