There’s a LOT of chatter on Facebook these days about signs that are popping up around the country saying that young boys under a certain age MUST use the men’s restroom.
There are definitely comments on both sides of this issue, but recently I was faced with it personally.
Last summer Connor took some private swim lessons and learned how to swim in one week! It was amazing, but since we haven’t been in a pool since August, he’s since forgotten.
I decided that maybe he should start taking some swim lessons now so that he could get a jump on summer.
I joined the local YMCA and signed him up.
That first day when he got finished I walked him over to the restrooms to change into his regular clothes (it’s been cold here in Central TX) and I saw this sign.
Public Restrooms
The sign says there’s a family restroom in the lobby, but there’s another sign on the pool door saying you can’t come out of the pool area if you’re wet…and the family restroom is on the other side of the building from the pool.
So being the rule follower I am, but against my mommy gut, I sent my newly 7 year old in.
I made sure to tell him to find some place to go into (like a stall) to change his clothes…because knowing him he’d just change in the middle of the place.
I looked at my phone so that I could check the time and not freak out after 2 minutes.
After 6 minutes…I started to get nervous. I knew there was a door on the opposite side of the bathrooms and my brain started going places…what if someone took him out the other side…I’d never know.
I sent my 5 year old son in to look for him. He came back out and said he couldn’t find him. I told him to go back in and call his name.
He came back out and said he still couldn’t find him. I looked at my phone…it had been 10 minutes.
FULL ON MOMMY FREAK OUT LOADING…
I start to walk towards the door and a man walked out of the sauna next door and started to go in. I asked him to please look for Connor and tell him to come out. Two minutes later, he did. He said he was in a shower stall and never heard anyone calling his name.
That was the first of 6 swim lessons…the last 5 times, I made him walk out in the cold in his wet swim suit.
I’m really pretty shocked that a family focused place like the YMCA would have a such a rule.
Really? 5 year olds must go into a restroom with adult men all alone?
I joined the YMCA so we would have a place to learn how to swim and to play in the summer. I was trying to do the right thing by sending them to swim lessons so they could be safe around the water, but in order to do that I have to risk them encountering a dangerous situation any time they have to go to the bathroom…and I don’t think I can do that.
More than likely we will finish out our swim lessons and cancel our membership before summer because of this.
Where’s the Line?
So what do you think? Where’s the line? Do you take your son into the women’s restroom with you? What if you’re a dad, do you take your young daughter into the men’s room? What if a family restroom isn’t an option?
Are we being overcautious? Or are we being good parents?
