To use the disabled loo when I'm with my son?

[RestingBitch]

My sons 9 months and obviously still in his pushchair. The majority of the time it's just me and him when I go into town/visit places. When I need the loo I get an attack of conscious, I normally use the disabled loo so I can bring him in with me.
Can't use a regular loo as I can't get him in the cubicle in his chair. Don't want to take him out of his pushchair and plonk him on the floor as the floors are manky and he will eat whatever is on the floor. He'll also probably try and crawl under the gap and interrupt someone else. Don't really like the idea of leaving him in his pushchair whilst I nip in the cubicle, so providing there isn't someone waiting for the disabled loos, AIBU to use them? I'm usually in and out and so far I've never encountered anyone waiting for one, or the impatient rattle of the door. If I am being unreasonable, short of pissing myself what's the options?

Not a troll, and don't work for any newspapers :).

Thing is, I think legally they are called accessible toilets. Not "disabled toilets". They are provided so there are toilets that people with disabilities can access - not so that they have a toilet which no-one else can use.

And the waiting thing is a bit weird anyway. People keep talking about hidden disabilities - surely the only reasons you would NEED an accessible toilet would be if 1, you are in a wheelchair or have another significant disability which meant manoeuvring in a small cubicle was very difficult or 2. if you need extra privacy because you have a uri bag or something like that. If your problem is IBS - when I need to go I need to GO can't you just go in a normal cubicle?

I would have thought the number of people who both need the extra space and need immediate access are very small.

Garden, if I use a disabled toilet in a new building that is not adequate (frequently too small to fit my chair in and for me to manoeuvre from chair to toilet) can I blame you personally?

Oh and of course those that when you get a chair in, you can't close the door!!

(Wales millenium centre, I'm talking to you! )

I do if they have have a baby change in them but don't if they do not. I've had to do a few wees with the toddler wedged in the cubicle with me and the door half open because of the baby in the push chair

I don't think yabu and I do the same. In complete fairness, 8/10 times the disabled is also the baby changing toilet so where do you stand then? I do try to kill two birds with one stone and use the loo after changing DD if I'm on my own

The reason I said it is because people are going on about how nobody should use an accessible toilet and actually there are some places (particular smaller places) where the customer toilet, baby change and accessible toilet are the same thing.

The businesses have made a decision to do that rather than have more than one smaller cubicle. I personally think that's actually much better for everyone.

As ever, context is everything. Just because a toilet may be accessible doesn't mean it is for exclusive disabled access. (Obviously, if it was clearly, men's, women's, accessible then you wouldn't) . E.g. I was in my local hospital the other day and the only toilet in the unit was also accessible. Staff direct everyone to use it. I'd have been annoyed if leaving that toilet somebody was going to suggest I was unreasonable for following staff direction and expect me to ignore the staff and wander the hospital to find another department when I'm waiting to be called for an appointment in that department.

The wc wheelchair/semi ambulant (from 5.26) looks great to me and is the ideal kind I use. The semi ambulant one (from 5.48) are the difficult kind I have found. From looking at those images, it looks to me that some companies are ticking their "accessible" box using the versions that aren't designed for wheelchair users

(The one in the WMC was smaller than even the smallest there. No idea why I didn't complain at the time - I might now )

But it is clear from the op that she is talking about an accessible toilet that has regular toilets alongside (as the op says, they can't fit in the regular toilet) I don't think anyone is saying not to use the multi use toilets like you have in Costa etc, or the sort Garden Geek designs.

I have looked in our 2 local hospitals for a toilet with larger changing facilities, and have yet to find them, so end up laying ds on the toilet floor.

YANBU

sometimes in life we have to wait for someone else to exit the loo. to all the BU-ers who want you to leave your baby unattended

No I did it when my son was that age.

I always look for alternatives. In our shopping centre they have the ladies toilets with a massive 'double buggy' cubicle that I use now. I have a single pushchair but as they have now made the toilet out of order for several months in the baby change I prefer that one. It pisses me off when people come out though who don't have a baby at all.

With regards to your issue. I always choose the very very last cubicle on the end so nobody needs to walk past it to get to another one, leave the door ajar and put the buggy in that tiny gap. I've never peed quicker but it works. I do the same in changing rooms if I can't fit the buggy in

The problem with people using the disabled loos when they don't have a disability isn't that that type of person (entitled, living in their own selfish bubble where their own needs are the only ones that are of interest to them), it's that they're that person in all aspects of life.

They're off making things just a little bit harder for everyone. They're that person using disabled loos, that person at school, that person in the supermarket, that person at the hospital.

So there's no point trying to explain to them. Other people are of no interest to them. They don't care. It's all about them and how their lives are affected.

Aaaaaand I totally messed up my first sentence as I deleted a bit as I was overly ranty. You get the gist, I hope. Still ranty.

Maybe oh please don't be silly! It's not trans bashing. The guy had a beard and a short dress on, with hairy legs. Of course she jumped out of her skin! She's 11 and it's not normal for hairy men with beards to be wearing dresses and using women's toilets.

People like you make me lose the will to live, what the f is happening to this world?!?

Interesting on everyone's view on this one.

HazeyJane. I've seen a campaign for those who have older children who need to be changed whilst out and say changing on the floor is awful, and the level of difficulty that goes with lifting a teenager from a chair to the floor to change. I honestly feel sorry for people in this position.

For those saying plan my trip better... I can only think of one family toilet which is located at an outlet shopping centre. Not sure if all future trips should be planned at this location. There plenty of places which have a feeding area, which has a changing table, BUT annoyingly they don't have a loo. . Although our local park does have a lovely big toilet and I can squeeze the baby in his pushchair in, but I do need to sit sideways on the loo .

If my son could stand that's a whole different cattle of fish. I could realistically leave his pushchair outside the cubicle and use a bigger loo and make him stand and hope to hell he doesn't open the door whilst my undies are round my ankles .

You're being a prat. You're not disabled and have no need to use that toilet. Do you park in disabled spaces too?

Why can't you put your pushchair directly outside the cubicle door

I could... he wouldn't cry whilst I went for a wee and would probably smile and giggle at the person who decided to help themselves to him.

And to the person who said about disabled toilets not being for those with toddlers, he's not a toddler. He's a 9 month old baby. He can't stand.

How many baby kidnqppings have there been from ladies loos where the baby was right at the cubicle where their mother was having a wee?

'The guy had a beard and a short dress on, with hairy legs. Of course she jumped out of her skin!'

A beard and hairy legs. Yes ok.