We often hear of there being a discernable lack of public facilities for breastfeeding mums, but what about dads who need to take care of their little ones?
One such frustrated father is Chris Mau. The father-of-four was on a day out with his son and three daughters when his youngest, 8-month-old Kali, started to cry.
Realising that she had a dirty nappy, he took her to the bathroom to change her, but there was a major problem- there was no area for dads to change diapers.
“I’m getting pretty sick of having to change my daughter on a disgusting floor because the only changing table in the place is located in the women’s bathroom," he wrote in his now-viral post. "It’s crazy to imagine, I know, but there are guys who take care of their kids too.
"If it’s a public place with public restrooms, in the generation of equality among genders and races, then how about making sure us fathers can change our children’s diapers on a damn changing table like the mother’s can? Am I asking too much?"
Explaining the post in detail to Love What Matters, Mau says that his fiancee took the other children to a playground while he went to change the nappy. What he found in the men's bathroom was less than ideal.
"As I entered the wash room, I noticed the two sinks crammed in the small counter space and a urinal across from them, and then behind another door was the toilet. I took my daughter out of her seat and grabbed the diaper bag and entered the stall, only to find nowhere to change my daughter.
"I was immediately frustrated with the ignorance of the facility and with Kali crying I had to make the hard choice between either making her wait until we found a facility that had a changing station, or ease her discomfort and change her in the bathroom anyway."
He had a choice, either find a bathroom with a changing station or make the best of it. with his daughter clearly distressed- he decided to make the best of it.
"The condition of the bathroom was less than sanitary, but the crying of my children eats at the very fibre of my being and I had to help her. So I grabbed the towel, laid it out and changed her in the stall, all while my mind raced at how unnecessary and preventable this entire situation is."
He continues to say that the lack of changing facilities in men's bathrooms is archaic.
"I felt like they honestly don’t think a father is responsible for diaper changing or whatnot, and I recalled times in the past where we had travelled and run into similar situations where the public restrooms did not have changing stations resulting in the hassle of trying to change a diaper in the car, on a floor or looking for another place to try, hoping they had one."
Still venting, he shared the ordeal on Facebook, where it instantly went viral. Parents from all over the world were agreeing with him.
"It’s solution is simple to instal and rather cheap, so in this day and age there is no excuse to why there isn’t a changing station in every public place with public restrooms. After all, being a parent is the most challenging and rewarding job you’ll ever have, and with the good will come the bad, but to have to form a last second plan for a diaper change in a public bathroom that decided not to instal a changing station is unnecessarily unacceptable. It takes an entire village to raise a child."
He hopes that his post will help public spaces make more informed decisions when it comes to installing changing facilities.
"I honestly hope this post will reach all the right people and good things come of it for all parents and children alike.”
What do you think? Are dads discriminated against when it comes to changing facilities?
