what is the correct etiquette for Dad's taking girls to loo in public toilets????

[rbmilliner]

Hi

Can anyone help us with what's the correct way of Dad's taking daughters to public toilets.

Recently started toilet training DD and her Dad didn't know what to do when she wanted to go when he took her out. Should he take to the ladies or the gents. He said that the gents aren't that pleasant and didn't want to take her in there but wasn't sure if he could go into the ladies.

Not a major issue I know but just wondered if there's some sort of etiquette surrounding toilets in public places and how would you feel if a male took his daughter into a female loo?????

If at work and the same issue comes up I have to say the disabled to customers but that’s not fair to the next disabled customer who will come in and ask me why it’s locked (Sod’s law means that’ll happen everytime)

Why is it a problem if someone's using it when a disabled person comes in? People who use the non-disabled toilets often have to wait so why shouldn't disabled people occasionally have to wait too? I personally think disabled toilets are toilets which are accessible to anyone, you might give priority to someone who specifically needs that toilet, but I don't think they're exclusively for the use of disabled people.

In many family friendly establishments there are accessible toilets which generally double up as changing facilities and have room for prams and/or wheelchairs. I’d opt for those but if they aren’t available, it needs to be the men’s toilet or he can stand outside the women’s whilst your daughter goes in alone. My three year old was able to use the toilet competently and without any issue so it won’t be long before your newly toilet trained daughter will be fine by herself.

For the odd pps mentioning unisex toilets solving this - from my experience they just all end up as nasty as the men's so we all have dealing with it 🤢
Even at professional events they end up minging so not even the excuse being drunk at a pub / club set up. God knows why.

DH will use disabled / baby change where appropriate or men's with our DD's if not. Although at Disney this summer I noticed a few men bringing daughters into ladies and no one seemed bothered. Not sure if different nationalities have a different attitude.

My dad used to take me into the men’s toilets when I was little. As far as I’m aware I never saw a willy. Men don’t stand their with everything hanging out. Even when they’re using the urinals they have their backs to the room.

Your dh can go prepared with loo paper/baby wipes to clean the seat if he needs to incase they’ve run out of loo paper.

I am disabled. Under these circumstances I wouldn't mind a Mum or Dad taking their child in there. These are accessable toilets.

It's not the men/women's/non gendered WC thing.

It's the fact that more or less every unisex WC I have been forced to use have piss in a pool on the floor in front of the pan. The (down) loo seat is awash with it.

As a result, it stinks.

Under the OPs circumstance, personally, given that ladies WCs are all cubicles, I'd have no problem with the father using a ladies WC for for his DD.

ozymsndiasking I was thinking about suggesting disabled WCs but wouldn't, as a non-disabled person have been so presumptuous! 😊

I'm sure your daughter doesn't want to see (or smell) men standing at the urinals and I'm sure they don't want to see her.

She's potty training, she would only care if someone tells her it's a problem. Men are going to be a lot less bothered by a toddler in the gents' than women would be by an adult male in the ladies'.

That's why I always identify as a woman before taking my daughter to the ladies' toilet I use the men's, but there certainly have been odd occasions where I have had to use a disabled loo because the gents' is too filthy or even too small.

Why has this only now come up? Has he been leaving her outside the men’s toilets all by herself when he goes, because she wasn’t toilet trained?!

Given that adults generally have better bladder control than potty-training toddlers, it’s perfectly possible that the situation has never arisen, even with a very involved father. I can certainly get through a trip to the shopping centre, cinema, swimming pool etc without needing to use the loo; my 5yo will want to go at least twice

I have a boy agee 5 and a girl 7, if they are with me they go to the ladies toilets, if they are with their dad the mens. This has happened since they were in nappies.

Men are going to be a lot less bothered by a toddler in the gents' than women would be by an adult male in the ladies'.

This.

I’m irritated by suggestions that it’s ok for men to accompany children into the Ladies’, because the Gent’s is dirty. Why should women lose privacy in order to fix the problem of men being unsanitary?

I wouldn't mind a dad, knocking on the door and just asking to use the girls toilet for a wee in a cubicle. My husband uses the girls toilet to change our daughter nappy at our favourite pub as they only have baby changing in the girls!