Baby Berto

A lot of places have the “family restroom”. Never fear this place. It is the nicest of all public restrooms (in most places). Plenty of room to set her away from you but still in good reach. Working in food service I see a lot of dads bringing car seats into the restroom because they have to. Obviously, there are the sanitary concerns, in which case always travel with Purell or Purell wipes. But you always want to keep her safe, close to you, and within reach in case you need to react quick.

Handicap stall and arse gaskets. Use the handicapped stall, placing Kylah at the opposite end of the stall where there is less likely to be any urine on the floor. Place the toilet seat covers on the floor where the car seat will rest, ensuring less chance of car seat to urine soaked floor contact. Make sure that your are seated during #1 so as to keep Kylah from any unintended splash… You also get the added benefit of being able to keep your eyes on her at the other end of the stall!

You could also look for one of those “family” bathrooms which is just a single bathroom and follow the same tact. It should be cleaner than the men’s room when one is present. Happy hunting!

You are stuck like Chuck, man. The baby goes with you… I dealt with the same issue and it came down to this: no one ever knew there was a serial killer next door. Think aobut it – when the TV crews interview the neighbors of the latest psycho in the news, they rarely comment that they s/he was nuts. Crazy people often look normal. So that option is out.
Choice two presents its own issues. Namely, no one likes to be stared at when they are doing their business. My solution was that the baby goes in with me but was rotated around to protect her from whats going on in there and me from her prying eyes. Just remember to hit the seat with some Lysol wipes when you get a chance.
Looking forward to a post about changing tables in men’s rooms… although it is inconvenient when you need one, it is also a great excuse when mom or an aunt is there. “Wow, this one smells like hell’s jockstrap… Sorry, no changing tables in the men’s room. Looks like you’re up”

Such detail. I love it.

And I’ll remember the ass gasket trick. Maybe I’ll carry one of those emergency ponchos with me when we go out, lol… 

When I’m out with my wife, I guarantee you that the restroom doesn’t have a changing table (true story: I changed her on a desk at the car dealership today while waiting for an oil change).

Even as a mother of a child with Disabilities who often fights the good fight for all things ADA, ETC… I would much MUCH rather a Dad & baby use a Disability stall or a Family Restroom, if available, than EVER EVER have him hand over his child to a stranger, even just for the few minutes a “potty break” takes!

Disability stalls in a Restroom are NOT the same “protected by law with a fine” space as Disability parking spaces. If you need the extra space & make quick use of the stall, by all means use that Disability stall and keep your little one close to you and SAFE!

My bigger concerns come about when Dads are out on their own with their daughters of walking & talking age! What to do then??

Family restroom with your daughter facing the other way while you do your business. I didn’t have a phone with games like dads can now, when my kids were young. I’d give my young daughter a game to play on my Android while I answered nature’s call. I would imagine it would be similar for mom’s and their young sons out and about.

There are often little boys in the Women’s restroom…but the idea of bringing something along to keep their attention while facing the other way is BRILLIANT FORE-THOUGHT!!!

[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Tshaka Armstrong. Tshaka Armstrong said: Commented! RT @geekgiant: I need some help from the parents and #dadstalking out there. How do I go to the bathroom? http://bit.ly/ghxBM5 [...]