Toilets!

[OceanPrincess]

So I'm curious about toilet usage!

Specifically disabled toilets and the ones in parent's rooms (with the little loo for your little one ).

At work, we have many loos. There'd be 12 I reckon, in each bathroom. There is one bathroom near each lift lobby and there are three lift banks on each floor. 9 floors in the building. So that's a lot of loos. There is one disabled toilet near each bathroom, outside the bathroom. So three per floor.

I just went to the bathroom and saw someone coming out of the disabled. Not a disabled person, as far as I could tell. Sometimes I see people coming out in their gym gear or with a bag like they've gotten changed, fine. I can see a need for a bit of space if you need to get changed. But this woman had none of that.

Do you think it is ok to use the disabled loo, if you are reasonably confident that a disabled person won't need it? Under what circumstances is it ok?

What about toilets in a parents' room?

My fave shopping centre made a very bad decision when planning their big upgrade: they put a disabled toilet and a parents' room together, but no general access bathroom. The nearest bathroom is a few hundred meters away. I often see people walk in to the parent's room looking for a toilet, they see the toilet that is meant for parents and kids and prams and they use it. I hate it.

My DD is not long out of nappies and if she says "Mummy I need to do wees" then we need to high tail it to the bathroom, pronto. I will generally always have DS with me and either a pram or a trolley. The normal bathroom is not ok. We need the parents' room or the disabled. And if someone is in there, we have an agonising wait with me saying "Not long bub, just hang on!" And oh boy, if the person coming out is encumbered by nothing more than shopping bags, they get a death stare from me and sometimes a snappy comment.

I have actually started telling people at this shopping centre where the toilet is. Am I overreacting???

[Miss.September]

Hmmmm, is the lady at work that used the disabled one claustrophobic? Could be a reason why. I had a friend at school who couldn't even use the shower at home as it had a curtain, not glass, so it freaked her out. She bathed every day. But other than being disabled, I can't see any other reason for using it.

The toilets in the parents room at shopping centres, I do use but only if DD is with me in a pram/trolley and I have nobody else to stay with her. Otherwise, I just use the normal toilets. Same goes if she's on foot. Into the normal toilet. But I'd be pretty snappy too if I saw someone coming out with no kids. What are they doing in the parents room anyway?

[UntoldAngel]

I was in the parents room yesterday feeding and changing DD, and two old ladies came in, one to use the toilet, the other to change her outfit... They both took about 10mins. The poor mother with two kids in tow who were busting for the toilet went out to the normal toilets

I've also seen teenage girls use the parents room to get dressed and do their makeup

[Mak]

My pet hate too - although I have used the disabled toilet when I have had 2 kids/pram and the parent's room toilet is occupied but I wouldn't use it just for myself. At a major shopping centre this am and saw people parking in disabled spot without sticker and parents with prams without any kids. Sadly I think it is a reflection on the impatience of people in general.

[LuluHB]

I've made the same snappy comments. I was waiting for the parents & kids toilet once when both my girls needed to go and there were three women in the queue in front of me, and their friend using the toilet. Not a child, trolley, pram, walking cane in sight. Poor DD2 was nearly turning purple with the effort of holding the wee in, and in the end I pushed the girls into the toilet in front of two of the women. They made a comment about how rude, and I made a very snarly comment about can't they read the toilet is for parents and kids, so they're the ones who are rude (after making comments to the girls while standing in the line). The worst part was that the general toilets were just next door.

I never have a pram these days and rarely a trolley when I'm shopping with the girls so we try and use the general toilets. If they're desperate then I will take them into either the disabled or parents' toilets if there is no queue. If DH is out with the girls by himself, then he uses either disabled or parents toilets.

[Phteven]

I let DS1 use the disabled loo if there are no parent's ones because he doesn't like using the women's and I get a big edgy about letting him use the men's on his own.

[Novella]

our local shopping centre has designed the 'parents' room really poorly a pram wont fit into the toilet and the disabled toilets oddr is heavy and awkward a lot of the older ladies with frames use the parent toilet as it is easier to access! I was peeved at first seeeing all these older people using the parents toilets but then tried to use the disabled toilet one day to fit the shopping trolley in and it was bloody heavy and awkward.

If its just the girls and I and no extras (trolley/pram) we use the regular toilets. I make DD2 come in the cubicle with me as I dont trust her not to get distracted and wander and I keep talking to dd1 so I know where she is

[Cranky Kitten]

That'd irk me too, probably not enough to make an issue of it though. Mind you, I'm also the sort that generally tries to avoid using disabled loos - I'll use the one in the parent's room but if that's occupied and I'm desperate I'll hightail it for the normal loos and just stick DS's pram half in/half out of the door in front of me (I do try to get a cubicle as far away from the main entrance as possible) while I do my business. Bit harder to do with any more than one kid in tow I'll admit.

I do think it's general impatience that leads to people indulging in quite selfish behaviour - I did have to chuckle at the look on a mother's face when I noticed her standing behind me in the queue for the loos with her little girl who was doing "the dance" and offered to let her go ahead of me despite my being very heavily pregnant. I think a stiff wind would've knocked her over she was so surprised

[misty]

My DH will take the kids into the disabled rather then the male toilets, because he says the mens are always filthy and he doesn't want the kids in there (even the boys). I tend to use the normal toilets more often then not, even with the pram - as I don't usually have to wait as long. I just par the pram (with kids) near the stall I'm in. The kids just keep the door open while I wait outside it.

[Calluna]

This is a pet peeve of mine.
last year, during the school holidays we actually complained towestfield centre management because high school students were using the parents rooms as a hang out and were being so noisy DS wouldn't feed to sleep.

After we complained we noticed the security staff often did inspections of the parents room and kicked any one out who wasn't supposed to be there.

as for other people using the disabled bathrooms and parents rooms, I think, unless they have a very good reason, it is extremely selfish and rude. They are there for a reason, not just in case you (they) can't be bothered waiting in a short line or walking the extra 3 metres!

[Maruschke]

What if they were so busting they were about to wet themselves? I've ducked into a disabled toilet when I didn't think I'd make it to the adults.

[[M]umma[M]ia]

ahh.. the joys of them being PUBLIC toilets.

[wysiwyg]

Any "Curb your Enthusiasm" (TV Show) fans)? There is a whole episode about using or not the disabled toilet - very funny.

I think if you are about to wet yourself or worse and there are no other toilets around that are free then is acceptable to use the disabled as just a lone adult, and there may not be an outward sign of being disabled. There are occasions when I think it is ok for non parents to use the parents room toilets also but not many - I remember once on Southbank approaching parents room and the toilet next door to it was occupied and this guy was clearly busting to go - I said to him I will check and if no one else is in the parents room he was free to come in and use it - in my mind there are not many things that are worse than not being able to find a toilet when you really need it - he was very grateful. Actually I have never come across people using parents rooms who shouldn't be apart from at sports grounds.

At AAMI park they have a strange parents room, and you often get drunk people in there wanting to use the loo, this one lady made all these kids wait so she could use it (mind you some of these were old enough to be using the normal toilets in my opinion (but toilets at sports stadiums can be very dirty/tricky so fair enough maybe) - I tried to explain to her it was a parents room but she was too drunk to understand. They also have a dumb set up where two identical cubicles, one is a toilet, one is a feeding booth, have never seen anyone feed in there (always just sit other side) but so many parents/kids queue up for the toilet thinking there is one in the booth (they should just put another toilet in there really).

[teamalchin]

I use the Disabled toliet due to a bad back & the side handle helping getting up &down. I get a lot of strange looks & have only had to explain to one person why however saying that If theres a line up or in use I just go to the normal ladies.

[meow]

I waited and waited for the baby change room/disabled toilet in a shopping centre once when my son really needed a nappy change. After quite some time a young couple walked out. After giving them daggers I went in and used the room with their sweaty body imprints on the floor. True story.

[NaeNae]

I have actually snapped rudely at a couple of young women at a servo one time.Two of them decided they would use the baby change facility/toilet rather than walking less than 5 meters to the grown up toilet. Dd was squirming and grizzly because she had a really big stinky nappy. When these two idiots came out you should have seen the look on my face - they started laughing and I said really loudly "its a *profanity* baby change facility I hope you wiped each others backsides you silly little *profanity*"

Man was I wild, I HAD to wait ages for them too.

I will use the disabled toilets if DD is with me pram or not, the toilets int he parent change rooms usually smell really bad - worse than a urinal sometimes, I feel dirty just walking in them and breathing

WHen I was working I only used the disabled toilet rather than the other public ones because they were often the cleanest

[Maruschke]

I have actually snapped rudely at a couple of young women at a servo one time.Two of them decided they would use the baby change facility/toilet rather than walking less than 5 meters to the grown up toilet.

WHen I was working I only used the disabled toilet rather than the other public ones because they were often the cleanest

Don't you think that is a little hypocritical? I mean, if you have excuses you think are reasonable for using a disabled toilet rather than a normal toilet, then why can't they? Trying not to be rude but it doesn't compute to me. Maybe they were using the baby change area because it was cleaner? Servo toilets are gross.

[NaeNae]

No not really baby change facilities are for parents and babies not two teenage girls having a giggle fest for over 10 min (yes that is no exaggeration)

At work the disabled toilet was smack in between the male and female loos AND the only time you were able to use the facilities at all was when there was no one else there ie no customers otherwise you had to hold it (also it wasonly 2 dorrs verses3so you could actually hear better for customers)

ETA - I don't mind if people use the facitilites ifthey are quick about it ...its when there are perfectly good toilets sooooo close by that they can use instead rather than holding up those who only have one option.