Can we have a campaign for baby-changing facilities for men please?

[MrsTittleMouse]

There's a bit of a bust-up going on in AIBU at the moment about whether men should be able to change babies in the Ladies because often there aren't facilities in the Mens.

About the only thing that we're agreeing about is that there should be facilities for women and men. How about a MN campaign?

It's not just nappy changing. What happens when men take their dds to the toilets, the little girls have to walk past the urinals or the Dads have to loiter outside the Ladies.

Seconded

Agreed. Equality law and basic human consideration needs applying here.

Increasingly men look after children and need the same facilities afforded to mothers. To only provide baby changing facilities in the Ladies toilet is wrong and is discriminatory. Either provide equal access to a unisex facility or provide a changing facility in both Ladies and Gents toilets.

Men understandably feel uncomfortable going in Ladies toilets to change a child and women understandaly feel uncomfortable about men going in the Ladies toilets.

The issue is simple to deal with and needs addressing.

I agree

I'd support this wholeheartedly, time we started treating men as equals and valued.

in agreement here too.

good plan - we recently decided DH couldn't take DD to the hospital as if she needed changing he wouldn't be able to do it - never occured to me he could and should go in the ladies'!

Absolutley agree, having changed both kids on awkward ledges and my lap in dirty cubicles more times than I care to remember.

It's really an issue of old-fasioned sexism, both in terms of assuming that nappies are primarily a mothers concern and fathers are somehow a secondary parent.

Boots in Durham used to have a sign (and maybe still does?) on the door of the baby room saying words to the effect of "fathers are welcome to use the facilities having first checked with a member of staff that they are free"
It still makes me angry, as if fathers are unable to knock before walking in to a room that is maybe being used for feeding!

ooh I'm in durham will have a look next time I'm in and let you know
(I didn;t even kjnow they had toilets untiol mum mentioned a few weeks ago )

SPB, it was there in summer '08, when we moved away, but maybe it's gone now and i'm ranting for nothing...wouldn't be the first time...

Part M of the building regulations needs to be revised such that it places far more importance on suitable sanitary facilities being available to ALL, regardless of their age.

Town Planning departments should be denying any new build or rebuild that does not meet Part M (as it stands) and does not meet the criteria of having unisex Baby Changing, or alternatively Baby Changing available in both female and male sanitary facilities.
Part M already says that Baby Changing should not ideally be placed in facilities designed for the Disabled - so places which do put baby changing there should be encouraged to remove it.

How can we start a campaign for this? Could a letter be drafted that could be sent to every local council planning department to insist that they deny planning approval for public facilities which do not make baby changing facilities available for both men and women to use?

Bumping for evening crowd.

What is needed is a family toilet facility that is unisex, has baby changing facilities and is big enough to get a buggy inside and shut the door. This would address several issues that are currently a problem for parents.

Yes, they have thins in the shopping centre in Leamington Spa, with nice rocking feeding chairs.

Brilliant facility.

I'd support this campaign.

On the whole, the only ones that I have come across that means either parent can change their child are located in the disabled toilet which is just the company/council concerned costcutting rather than putting a unit in both the male and female toilets.

I dislike having to use the disabled facilities for nappy changing.

Agree.

There should be unisex loos big enough for buggies.

Agree!

I definitely agree. There should be changing facilities in gents too. Surely it's sexist to have them in the ladies only in today's society of equality. If no facilities then men should be able to use ladies - after all what about single dads?

interesting nannynick - if this is already in place for new builds, then it should start to be rolled out for all public facilites to be updated as well.

There should be a whole room for baby facilities - with a loo cubicle as well as baby changing for more than one baby at a time. And obviously enough room for more than one buggy.

As an aside from the campaign I wrote to two local shopping centres where the parent facilities were crap & to my amazement both places got upgraded so if you are unhappy with any places near you try a bit of pester power as it only takes a min or two to send an email.