It’s a very, very common occurrence for parents. You’re out with your kid, having a good time (hopefully) and it’s been a long enough time that you need to change their diaper.
If you’re a mom it’s pretty simple. You take your kid in the bathroom and there’s a 95% chance that there’s going to be a changing table there. You plop the kid down on the table, wham bam thank you diaper, and you’re on your way.
As a dad, however, when I have to take Isaac to change his diaper, I’m looking at probably a 2% chance there’s going to be a changing table. So you know what I do? I find a place to change his diaper and really don’t care where it is or who can see it. You don’t want to see me changing my kid’s diaper in your establishment? Put a changing table in the men’s room and we have a deal.
But there are some places where I expect more from them.
One place is at church. They recently redid the men’s restroom, but didn’t put in a changing table. I was hopeful they would, but my hopes were dashed when I saw the finished product. Now it’s up to me to mention my feelings to the pastor and see if they’ll do anything about it.
The second place, and this one shocked me, is The Motherhood Center. Erin went to prenatal yoga last weekend, so Isaac and I went and ran some errands. We came back to pick her up and I went up to change his diaper. There wasn’t a single doubt in my mind as I opened the door to their restroom that there would be a changing table…and yet there wasn’t. I understand it’s called The MOTHERHOOD Center, but I just assumed that it would be family friendly enough to have changing tables in both restrooms. Silly me.
Now this post isn’t just about complaining that there aren’t changing tables in enough men’s rooms (though there definitely aren’t), but rather realizing the need for men to speak up about it. I’ve been bothered that the restroom at church doesn’t have a changing table for months, yet have done nothing about it. I could have said something at The Motherhood Center, but I didn’t. In order to make any changes at all, we’re going to need to speak up.
Talk Enough and Maybe We'll See More of These
You’re right. I’ma start talking about this, too.
Dude, you’re singing my song. This is the ENTIRE reason I started blogging to begin with. That’s why I started my site. It’s also why I’ve spent the last year literally BEGGING dads to start submitting restrooms with changing stations in them, so other dads could look up the my site and find a dad-friendly place in their locale.
It’s been a slog, and I don’t have enough stations to even remotely say that I’ve got dads covered…but with your help and the help of ALL OF THE OTHER MEN out there we could start making a difference.
Hi Adam! I’m sorry you were unable to find a changing table when you recently visited The Motherhood Center. The main bathrooms you mention are not part of the Center; however, we will mention your concern to the building management. While there may not be a changing table in the men’s restroom, we do have a changing table in the Center available for all parents to use as well as a play area near our photography studio. Please ask the Front Desk and they can direct you. We hope you will visit again soon!