Children of the opposite ______ in restrooms

[bobjl527]

Hello friends. My wife and I just returned from our annual trip to WDW. I saw something there, and would be interested in hearing the opinions of my fellow Disney fans.
While waiting for my wife while she was using the restroom at the exit of Splash Mountain, I watched a man exit the mens room with his daughter. I know that in this day and age that we are concerned with leaving our children alone, but his daughter looked to be at least 11 or 12 years old. She looked capable of using the restroom by herself and seemed old enough to wait for her dad while he used the restroom. The other thing is that I noticed there was a family restroom between the mens and womans room. I thought that maybe this would have been a more appropriate choice for the two of them. I witnessed this once before, not at WDW but at another public place. There I was using the facilities. I turned around to find a little girl around 10 years of age looking right at me. I was a bit embarassed and a little disturbed to say the least. I don't know what happened at MK. For all I know, maybe they were in the stall together and she was within his sight at all times. I just find this very strange. What do you think? Am I wrong for thinking this is inappropriate behavior?:shrug:

 

[tigsmom]

Inappropriate? Maybe not, but definitely a poor choice in my opinion.
I have no problems letting ,y kids go to the restroom alone while I wait outside, but if they were not comfortable with that then the Family restroom would be the way to go.

 

[figmentmom]

Another vote for the family restroom, if a parent is uncomfortable sending a child into a restroom alone.

 

[EPCOT Explorer]

:lookaroun This could get hairy....:lookaroun:lookaroun:lookaroun

 

[cameronmouse]

I feel that up to a certain age its fine to have a child of the opposite ______ in the restroom but 12 years old is a little extreme. I also agree that family restrooms is a great idea, they have them here in new york in malls why not in the theme parks.

 

[The Mom]

The Women's bathrooms have only stalls, so unless little boys start looking through the cracks, they can't see anything.

A Men's bathroom has urinals, where a little girl might see quite a lot. (Depending upon the guy) I don't think a girl (regardless of age) belongs in there. I don't understand why he didn't use the family restroom, or why he didn't send her in to the Women's room alone.

From the time my son was school age, I sent him into the Men's room, and just waited outside the door. He knew to yell if anyone got too close, and I would step in if I thought he was taking too long. :lookaroun There is no reason this guy couldn't have just stayed within shouting distance.

There are so many families going in and out of the facilities at WDW that I really had no concerns with sending my son in alone.

 

[Phonedave]

A Men's bathroom has urinals, where a little girl might see quite a lot. (Depending upon the guy)

Look at The Mom working on the blue end of the spectrum


Seriously though. I am a single dad of two girls, 7 and 9.

At this age they go into the womens room by themselves. I go to my own bathroom and meet them right by their door. If they take to long I can allways yell into the bathroom.

When they were younger it was the family restroom.

If a family restroom was not available, I woul take them into the mens room. There really is not much to see in there unless you wander over to the urinals. They would use a stall.

One thing that I don't understand is when women (grown women) bring their young sons (I assume they are sons) into the mens room. It has happend to me a number of times. A woman bring a young boy into the mens room. She stands just inside the door and then waits has he takes care of business.

Maybe, just maybe, I could understand if the kid really really really had to go and the line for the ladies room was uber-long but even then, its really pushing it.

-dave

 

[colliera]

Which restroom is it?

I had understood the restrooms were "companion" not "family." Meaning the purpose was for someone that needed assistance using the restroom. Really, which is it?

 

[MGMBoy]

I had understood the restrooms were "companion" not "family." Meaning the purpose was for someone that needed assistance using the restroom. Really, which is it?

Either term really means the same thing as far as I'm concerned. Companion restroom is just a place to go if someone needs another person that is unable to accompany them into the standard stall.

I feel that up to a certain age its fine to have a child of the opposite ______ in the restroom but 12 years old is a little extreme. I also agree that family restrooms is a great idea, they have them here in new york in malls why not in the theme parks.

They do have Companion Restrooms throughout the parks. They're easiest to find at DAK.

 

[Goofy Tourist]

:lookaroun This could get hairy....:lookaroun:lookaroun:lookaroun

haha, funny!

 

[accord99cutie]

What really drives me nuts is when A mother will have her young son go into the ladies room alone... why they dont send them to the MENS room is beyond me, but it happens at work all the time to me. (I work at Walmart) I come out the stall to see a 7-10 year old boy walking in with his mother just outside the door...

 

[Phonedave]

I had understood the restrooms were "companion" not "family." Meaning the purpose was for someone that needed assistance using the restroom. Really, which is it?

I guess if you want to get down to it, a kid is someone who needs assistance, in the form of a companion.

I don't think you will see a "family" as in mom, dad, brother, and sister all in there for a gang toidy. At least I hope not.


-dave

 

[Lokheed]

I know you say the girl looked capable of using the restroom herself and/or waiting outside for dad, but it is possilbe she had a non-obvious impairment. If she was, for example, autistic then she might look completely normal and even appear normal to a casual observer, and yet not have the skills to be trusted to go by herself into the bathroom or certainly not have the skills to safely wait outside without wandering off while dad went. I am not saying that is what happened, your observations might be completely correct, but I am telling you from far too much direct personal experience that things are not always as they appear.

 

[CubsRock]

:lookaroun This could get hairy....:lookaroun:lookaroun:lookaroun

I would word that differently if I were you.

 

[TubaGeek]

What really drives me nuts is when A mother will have her young son go into the ladies room alone... why they dont send them to the MENS room is beyond me, but it happens at work all the time to me. (I work at Walmart) I come out the stall to see a 7-10 year old boy walking in with his mother just outside the door...

?!?
If ANYONE can give me ANY reason this makes sense, I'll change my picture to a Universal Studios picture for a month.

 

[Rob562]

I know you say the girl looked capable of using the restroom herself and/or waiting outside for dad, but it is possilbe she had a non-obvious impairment. If she was, for example, autistic then she might look completely normal and even appear normal to a casual observer, and yet not have the skills to be trusted to go by herself into the bathroom or certainly not have the skills to safely wait outside without wandering off while dad went. I am not saying that is what happened, your observations might be completely correct, but I am telling you from far too much direct personal experience that things are not always as they appear.

Which is entirely possible. But in that instance, I believe the Companion Restroom would have been a more appropriate place, as long as there was one around. (They're more readily available in some parks than others)

And while we're on the subject of sending younger kids into bathrooms, sometimes you need to make sure that there's only one entrance and exit from the bathroom. There are some, like the "Restrooms of Confusion" between Fronteirland and Adventureland where the common area outside the restrooms has two exits.

Similar to that would be bathrooms at the Studios that serve two restaurants. The ABC Commissary and the Sci-Fi Dine-In share bathrooms, as do Hollywood & Vine and 50's Prime Time. It all depends on which way you go in the hallway. An adult would realize the mistake right away, but a kid might not. Best to have the parent camp out within sight of the actual bathroom door.

But the ones to watch out for are where the bathroom itself has two exits. The only one that pops to mind is by Pizzafari, but there may be more. The Pizzafari one has entrances from both the outside and into the restaurant. (Most people don't realize this because they exit the way they came in) The ones in the Fantasmic amphitheater have two doors (I believe they're designed as an "in" and and "out", but people don't always follow it), but they both come out near each other.
I'm sure there are a few others out there, too.


-Rob

 

[The Mom]

?!?
If ANYONE can give me ANY reason this makes sense, I'll change my picture to a Universal Studios picture for a month.

Hope you have a nice picture.

How to make this family friendly. :lookaroun Certain activities have been known to occur in Men's rooms from time to time that a mother would not want her son to chance upon. Maybe she knows something about the one in the store mentioned? :shrug:

There are certainly some Men's restrooms that I would not allow my son to use, and others where I wait outside the door if my husband isn't with us, after instructing my son to yell if he encounters anything "strange" going on.

 

[unkadug]

OK... everyone chant...

" TubaGeek TubaGeek TubaGeek "



Where's that new avatar? :lol:

 

[J_Krafty24]

Hope you have a nice picture.

How to make this family friendly. :lookaroun Certain activities have been known to occur in Men's rooms from time to time that a mother would not want her son to chance upon. Maybe she knows something about the one in the store mentioned? :shrug:

I believe he was questioning why the mother would wait outside the womens restroom while the boy went in by himself instead of going in with him.

 

[The Mom]

I believe he was questioning why the mother would wait outside the womens restroom while the boy went in by himself instead of going in with him.

Maybe she had the last sale item in her basket, and was afraid someone would take it, so wanted to keep one eye on her son, and one on her stuff? Maybe there was sleeping baby in the cart, and she didn't want to bring it into the restroom? Or she was watching for another, older child who was shopping/trying on clothes and they wouldn't be able to spot each other if she went inside the restroom? :shrug: