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It’s a tricky situation – dad’s out with his young daughter and she’s busting for the loo. There’s no parent’s room nearby, so what’s the choice? Use the women’s or the men’s public toilets?

One dad says he’s no longer torn about which public bathroom to use for his daughter. He simply takes her to the women’s toilets. And he has a whole host of valid reasons why, and some tips for other dads who want to do the same.

“As a dad being out with daughters I never thought the bathroom would become as big an issue as it is,” explains blogger Muhammed Nitoto. “Usually we would go places and they have FAMILY bathroom which are meant for people with children but what I found was most places don’t have them and dads are left to decide between taking their daughters to the men’s bathroom or the women’s.”

Muhammed says initially when he was faced with the choice, he took his daughter to the men’s public toilets.

“Now I’ve been to a men’s bathroom millions of times but walking in with your daughter makes you look at it completely different. Men’s bathrooms are DISGUSTING. They smell like pee and nothing is setup for a woman or a person with a child. The changing table was right next to the urinal which means my child literally would be next to where men pee which she’s being charged.

“Not to mention that their are men going in and out while you’re in there. After doing that one time I decided I’d never take my daughter’s to the men’s bathroom again.”

The eye-opening experience left Muhammed without any doubt he would never take his young daughters into a men’s restroom again. “I use the women’s bathroom when I’m out with them. They are too young to go on their own so I have to go in with them.”

Restroom rules for dads

But, he’s come up with some respectful practices that mean both he and the women using the toilets feel more comfortable.

“I try to be as respectful to women as I can while doing so which consists of knocking on the door before entering and announcing myself. Making sure if someone is inside that they know I am a dad coming in with his daughter and making sure they are comfortable with that.

“Now once inside our stall I still am aware of the door and whenever I hear it open and someone new is coming in I announce myself again and make sure they know I’m inside with my child so that they aren’t surprised.

“Women’s bathrooms are so much cleaner and setup prefect just incase they have children. The changing station is usually insure a stall instead of just in the open and it’s always clean. As a girl dad I can’t help but want to protect my daughter’s from all things that aren’t for them and the men’s bathroom is 100% one of those things. Am I the only one? Ladies how does this make you feel?”

Dive into the comments and let us know what you think about this approach. How does your family handle this tricky situation?

  • Good for him. Woman are in a cubicle behind a closed door where as the men are out in the open. A young girl doesnt need to see that. I have no problem with how he is handling this.

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  • Good on him ! He is very sensible and considerate

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  • This dad is awesome. I really like his approach when going in, very considerate.

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  • Love this idea, what a great guy doing what’s best for his daughter and the women who enter the bathroom. If a male walked into a bathroom with his daughter it wouldn’t bother me.

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  • I think this makes sense – he is doing the right thing by announcing himself. Parents/disabled toilets are not available everywhere.

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  • Or use the disabled toilet?

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  • This poor guy. Imagine having this worry everytime you step out of the house. Family bathrooms are such a good idea, but not many places have them. His daughter is very lucky to have a him for a dad!

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  • I think that he is bringing up something very important and also what if the child had been snatched you wouldn’t want them taken into that persons male or female toilet. You have to safe guard the children too from being taken into a toilet they don’t know.

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  • I find his approach very thoughtful & respectful to women in the bathrooms & definitely the right choice not taking his young daughters to the male bathroom

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  • Good on him. I would never let my kids go to a public tiolet unattended. An adult always accompanies them.

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  • I applaud him, I wouldn’t want my toddler in a men’s bathroom at most places

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  • I think he’s being very careful about his daughters and very respectful of women. What a great Dad they have

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  • I hate going public toilets when my kids were little. I always ask them to go to toilets before leaving the house.

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  • Hadn’t thought about this.

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  • We generally use handicapped toilets but he’s definitely got a good point and sounds like he’s very respectful.

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  • definitely something I hadn’t really considered as there have always been a parent toilet when hubby was with the kids.

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  • This seems like a very sensible and well thought out approach.
    I feel for Dads in these situations. Often there is only one toilet in a family change area, so if you have a slightly older child who just can’t hold it while it is occupied this may be a great solution.
    I conferred with my 9 and 5 year old girls and my hubby has just taken them in the mens when he needed to…their response was Dad can’t go in the ladies.

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  • My husband did the same thing when our girls were little, but due to feeling like he was being judged & people looking at him with accusing eyes he avoided the situation as much as he could.

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  • Such a gentle respectful man who gets back respect as well – a very simple common sense idea that no-one could possibly object to. Great tips for other new dads, too.

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  • It makes a lot of sense and I have no problem with it.

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