to feel uncomfortable that dd2 shared a changing room with a boy

[Kitti]

DD2 aged 8 (9 next month) has started swimming and today she tells me she was sharing her changing room with a friend a boy and that they had had a conversation on the way up to swimming that they wouldn't laugh at each other and would just get on with it when getting dried (sounds similar to what I tell the husband b4 sex ) - however I can't help but feel rather uncomfortable with the idea of her sharing with a boy - he's a perfectly nice boy but in MY day we were always split up boys and girls. I'm thinking that the teachers are using one changing room because they're female and obviously need to keep the boys with them but shouldn't they stick boys with boys in the individual cubicals if they have to share??? Or am I being overly sensitive here?? I know at 8 and 9 they're young but still some kids can be quite mature at that age and I've even heard of girls as young as 9 having their periods so... is this acceptable??

I think that's on the verge of being unreasonable of the swimming school tbh

I think nearly 9 is too old for mixed gender changing for all the reasons you've put

I think the age when most kids start to feel awkward about it it the point they should be split - no need to torture them! Doesn't that body consciousness start around 7 ish?

Gosh, I hated getting undressed in front of the other girls even, if there had been a boy I'd have hidden in a locker!!!
I would not allow this, mind you I get teed off when a woman brings her 8 year old boy into the ladies changing room at our local swimming pool. He just STARES, although not really his fault! I do feel he could go in the mens on his own.
I may be repressed?

Most swimming pools have an 8 and above rule about mixed changing. I would be angry about that one. But then I would be angry about my 8 year old boy being left to it in mens changing rooms.

Our school has the school caretaker attending when it's changing time. They are quite lucky. Otherwise, can't a male member of staff be hired to watch the boys

DS is only 6 and they have had separate changing facilities for boys and girls since this year.

OTOH Miggsie - I don't know what I would do with DS if I took him swimming on my own. I would feel very uncomfortable myself with an 8 year old boy staring at me getting changed but on the other hand I would be very uneasy letting DS go into the mens changing rooms alone. It's a tough one.

I think they are too old when they start noticing the difference.

Ds is 6 and I know they all get changed together for swimming together and are remarkably unfussed. At his party recently in the local church hall, one of the boys wandered in on one of the girls having a wee and said "oh, hurry up, I need to go now" and she just sat there with her party skirt all bunched up saying "oh, I'm just doing a wee, you'll just have to hold on" and neither of them gave an absolute stuff about it. But that doesn't sound the case here.

I think she was quite mature about it (and the boy) but I'm the one throwing a wobbly!! She said it was because the other changign room was being used by another class but I don't know if this is a one off or not- she is reluctant to talk about it now because she knows I'm not very happy. I think she's scared I might go into school and complain.

At our local pool, 8 is the cut off for mixed changing.