Mums of boys - public toilets?

[marthamoo]

At what age do you send your son into a public toilet on his own? Been meaning to ask this for ages as when we went to Chester Zoo in the summer there were signs up in the Ladies' toilets which said "We suggest that boys over the age of x [and I can't actually remember but it was younger than ds1, I know, and he's 8!] use the men's toilet facilities." It vaguely pissed me off (I disregarded it anyway) - I think it's up to me when I no longer take my sons into the ladies with me, not some faceless official at Chester Zoo It's hardy like it was full of delicate laydeez in various states of undress fainting at the sight of a gentleman in the inner sanctum.

But I think it's quite interesting - I do still take ds1 in with me, but he is at the age now where he's a bit groany about going in the "girls" toilet, so I suspect he will be off on his own soon.

So - when do they go solo? I think, for ds1, pretty soon (though not in park toilets - he goes in a park toilet alone over my dead body )

hovely- I said that- and I think she mentioned it to them. It will affect me in a couple of years so I may start letter writing now

Yeah, that makes sense really, www. Do you make him take a bowl of hand knitted organic muesli in with him though - to distract the paedophiles ? Sorry - pissed on two glasses of wine (bad day!)

X posted with you responding to Donbean - definitely not being flippant about that. It's awful and the reason why so many of us are so cautious.

haha moo, I am smugly sober as I drank loads of wine at my sister's house last night and feel shite as a result today. I am not always organic handknitted brown rice you know, today I have eaten 2 bacon sandwiches, 1 chicken sandwich, a bar of chocolate, a packet of prawn crisps and 3 pieces of KFC with chips, washed down with Sprite. Hangover food you see!

My takeaway curry is on its way as I type...chicken dhansak, pilau rice, bhajis...

My DS1 is 5 and normally comes to the loo with me, but on the odd occasion he wants to go in the gents, I'm one of those awful women that will stand in the door way (outer doorway) of the gents and open the inner door slightly so's not to see anything and keep talking to him and asking if he's ok. I couldn't give a monkeys ass if theres men in there or not, I'm watching my son not their dicks and I told one or two guys as much before.

In fact I've had an arguement with one chap about it, until I said would you like your daughter in this loo with all these men and horrid loo's he said no she goes int he ladies on her own, so I politely said well there are some nasty women out there as well as men, you cant be too careful. Low & behold I saw him standing in in the doorway whilst his DD went to the loo

bubble 99. thats just made me feel sick.!!! especially when most people( myself included) tend to think shopping centre loos appear safer!!! scary!!!

will always make mine go in disabled. on that programme - police proecting children they showed a convicted paedoophile entering mens loos with rucksack, (had used rucksack in previous crimes if i remember right to carry sick tools of trade ) and he spent quite some time in there. They showed a young lad go in and when the lad did come out after what would seem a normal time frame they sent undercover man in, few minutes later boy emerged unscather - paedo had not done anything on this occaison - but police were powerless to do anything as no crime committed.

My DS (4) still comes in with me and will until he's too big for me to drag in - he will NOT be using mens on his own. And my DH hates taking him to mens as they are always much dirtier - how he knows this I am not too sure!

Anyone who commented on me taking DS to the Ladies would get a right rant - and I can RANT!

I'm with bugsy and marthamoo on this one. Couldn't believe it when I was out at a park with a friend and she took me to task for sending ds1 (age 8) behind a bush rather then using the public toilet.

This is one of the reasons that I think accommanied toilets should be more common, basically another disabled maybe with two toilets - child sized and adult sized. I can't remember where I saw this once and thought strange but then great. Parent with pushchair or pram could use, or parent accompanying a child and either parent or child could go.

Our problem is dh has a day off in the week and if he wants to take dd (aged 5) out on his own he plans it around where disabled toiets are without radar keys because he will not take dd in the gents nor do we think she is old enough to go on her own.

On a school trip to the zoo, I had one boy and two girls to look after. I always said to the boy to go in the disabled when there was one, and if not I kept a stand outside with a foot in the door. The two girls I let go in the ladies together - they made so much racket I could hear them from outside anyway!!

call me stupid. but whats a radar key?

It's a key that disabled people get to allow them to use locked disabled toilets. The idea being that there will always be a clean toilet to use (or in my case I will be able to take ds1 to the toilet even as a teen/adult without being arrested!)