Swimming pool changing rooms

BoatMad

adr wrote: »

I am actually quite surprised by majority (so far) opting for a male changing room. So basically you are saying it’s better for a little girl to be surrounded by dangling junk than a dad minding his business , looking at the floor and helping his daughter to get changed being in female changing room? My point is an adult can look away, 4 years old girl cannot.

Next question then. A dad needs to bring his 4 years old daughter to a toilet. Do they go to men’s or women’s toilet? Is it different to changing rooms and why?

Im sorry , but the sensitivities are adult and not a kid typically under the age of 10.

Hence the adult is abiding by the adults sensitivities and that appropriate ( even if rather sad).

the mere sight of genitalia of either sex, is of little interest to small kids and even if it is, so what

KERSPLAT!

If I had a daughter I would bring her to the men's changing room, same would go for the toilet if she wasn't old enough to go in by herself

harr

adr wrote: »

I am actually quite surprised by majority (so far) opting for a male changing room. So basically you are saying it’s better for a little girl to be surrounded by dangling junk than a dad minding his business , looking at the floor and helping his daughter to get changed being in female changing room? My point is an adult can look away, 4 years old girl cannot.

Next question then. A dad needs to bring his 4 years old daughter to a toilet. Do they go to men’s or women’s toilet? Is it different to changing rooms and why?

So you think it's ok for a grown man to enter a female changing room where there would be teen and pre teen females changing... A little girl has no hang ups over in your words dangling junk ...it would not make a blind bit of difference to the child...it sounds like you would have the issues with the dangling junk not the child ...

qo2cj1dsne8y4k

adr wrote: »

This could have been discussed before but after a quick search I don't see anything.
A dad goes to a swimming pool with a 4 years old daughter (dad is not going to swim) and there is no family changing room. Do they go male or female changing room?

Male

daheff

Westernyelp wrote: »

It's not appropriate for an adult male to be in a female change room.

its no more appropriate for an adult female to be in a male changing room

eviltwin wrote: »

There is an expectation that a female changing room will be female only so highly inappropriate for an adult male to enter. Women would be in various states of undress and it would cause a lot of upset and hassle. .

there is the same expectation of a male changing room and equally males would be in various states of undress. In terms of upset and hassle, do you think that males would not have these feelings if a female turns up 'unannounced'?

adr wrote: »

Next question then. A dad needs to bring his 4 years old daughter to a toilet. Do they go to men’s or women’s toilet? Is it different to changing rooms and why?

I absolutely bring my daughter to the female toilets. Never have had any tutting or complaining.

KERSPLAT! wrote: »

If I had a daughter I would bring her to the men's changing room, same would go for the toilet if she wasn't old enough to go in by herself

Wouldnt bring my daughter to the mens toilets. Generally the toilets themselves are in a worse state than the womens.

duffman3833

Its an interesting question as when i was last in swimming pool changing room, a man and his daughter, probably about 4 or 5 were getting changed and didn't really bother me or them. I just got changed the same way and off i went home. To answer the question, bring the child into the changing room you go to normally (if you a male and child is female, go to male dressing room). No harm done

BoatMad

The issue of toilet is somewhat different, female and male toilets have "private" cubicles , swimming pool changing rooms often do not , nor are people in a total state of undress in a toilet etc . There is no comparison

eviltwin

daheff wrote: »

there is the same expectation of a male changing room and equally males would be in various states of undress. In terms of upset and hassle, do you think that males would not have these feelings if a female turns up 'unannounced'?.

The female in this case is a little kid, totally different from a sexually aware teenager or adult woman entering a male changing room.

ThisRegard

For toilets, I'll usually bring my daughter to the toilet that's wheelchair accessible, unless she's about to burst then it'll be the mens.

Can't believe there is even a debate happening on this. A man should bring his daughter to the male changing rooms or a woman should bring her son to the female changing rooms. I have regularly seen small girls in male changing rooms with their dad's and it wouldn't appear out of the ordinary at all, I can even remember my own sisters changing in male changing rooms when my dad would bring them swimming.

A grown man entering a female changing room or vice versa would be frowned upon to the level of getting thrown out of the pool I would imagine.

Same goes for the toilet if a girl is too small to go to the toilet alone she should be brought to the male toilets by her father, again its a thing you will see regularly where a dad brings his daughter to the toilet in a male toilet.

Yardleys Lavender

If a man came into the women's changing room and I was in there with my bits out, you wouldn't be worrying about the child seeing nudity, but the child would witness me thumping the bejaysus out of the father.

Children under 7 or 8 can enter the opposite sex changing rooms as they need a little help with drying, dressing etc but older than that they are on their own - in the leisure centre that I use anyway.

qo2cj1dsne8y4k

When I was a child out with my dad he would bring me to the men's toilets.
I wouldn't mind a father bringing his daughter into the ladies toilets tbh. They're all cubicles, infact I'd rather that than him bringing her past a urinal with a couple of men at it.

But swimming changing areas, no way. I'd have a heart attack if a man walked in to the changing area unannounced with people, (myself) with no clothes on.

BoatMad

Same goes for the toilet if a girl is too small to go to the toilet alone she should be brought to the male toilets by her father, again its a thing you will see regularly where a dad brings his daughter to the toilet in a male toilet.

I would have sympathy and see no issue with a man bringing a small girl into a female toilet, the situation is entirely different to a swimming pool changing room .

qo2cj1dsne8y4k

And the same goes for dads out with babies. He should absolutely use the ladies bathroom for baby changing facilities if there is none available that's communal or in the male toilets.

dub_skav

LexieOnRale wrote: »

infact I'd rather that than him bringing her past a urinal with a couple of men at it.

BoatMad wrote: »

I would have sympathy and see no issue with a man bringing a small girl into a female toilet, the situation is entirely different to a swimming pool changing room .

Now I really don't get this. You both think it would be OK for a man to avoid bringing his young daughter to a toilet with urinals, but think it fine to bring her to a male changing room?
Can you expand on your thinking there?

dub_skav

LexieOnRale wrote: »

And the same goes for dads out with babies. He should absolutely use the ladies bathroom for baby changing facilities if there is none available that's communal or in the male toilets.

You'll find that is surprisingly common actually, that the baby changing facilities are in the ladies.
That would in fact drive men to bring children into the ladies and I believe sets the precedent for acceptability.

KERSPLAT!

I'm a bit confused myself now. Its OK to use mens changing rooms but not mens toilets, even though its more likely to have a cubicle in the mens toilets that can be used than a cubicle in mens changing room...?

qo2cj1dsne8y4k

dub_skav wrote: »

Now I really don't get this. You both think it would be OK for a man to avoid bringing his young daughter to a toilet with urinals, but think it fine to bring her to a male changing room?
Can you expand on your thinking there?

Because without putting too fine a point on it, in a changing room nobody is standing with their penis in their hands.
I don't know about changing rooms for males but I'm sure if there's a little girl present, men will make an effort to be discreet in changing. Like I would if there was a little boy changing in the ladies.

It is inappropriate and unacceptable for a fully grown male to feel like he has the right to walk into a female changing area where there's a lot of naked women and children. When I use changing rooms I'm taking my clothes off with the understanding men aren't free to waltz in.

qo2cj1dsne8y4k

KERSPLAT! wrote: »

I'm a bit confused myself now. Its OK to use mens changing rooms but not mens toilets, even though its more likely to have a cubicle in the mens toilets that can be used than a cubicle in mens changing room...?

It is fine to use men's toilets. But if the dad and daughter are more comfortable using the female toilets, then that's ok too because it's all cubicles so it's not like the dad is making anyone uncomfortable. I wouldn't be bothered at all seeing a male que with his daughter in a female bathroom

KERSPLAT!

LexieOnRale wrote: »

Because without putting too fine a point on it, in a changing room nobody is standing with their penis in their hands.
I don't know about changing rooms for males but I'm sure if there's a little girl present, men will make an effort to be discreet in changing. Like I would if there was a little boy changing in the ladies.

It is inappropriate and unacceptable for a fully grown male to feel like he has the right to walk into a female changing area where there's a lot of naked women and children. When I use changing rooms I'm taking my clothes off with the understanding men aren't free to waltz in.

We don't generally stand there waving our bits about either. I've been in hundreds of mens rooms and can, thankfully, say that I have rarely seen another mans bits while in them

duffman3833

KERSPLAT! wrote: »

We don't generally stand there waving our bits about either. I've been in hundreds of mens rooms and can, thankfully, say that I have rarely seen another mans bits while in them

Its not that we don't see them, its we don't look (well i don't go looking at other men when changing), just get on with getting changed.

KERSPLAT!

LexieOnRale wrote: »

It is fine to use men's toilets. But if the dad and daughter are more comfortable using the female toilets, then that's ok too because it's all cubicles so it's not like the dad is making anyone uncomfortable. I wouldn't be bothered at all seeing a male que with his daughter in a female bathroom

That's fair enough. On thinking about it more, toilets wouldn't bother me either way and it would be more to save my own blushes that I would be bringing a girl to the mens I suppose

qo2cj1dsne8y4k

Well I don't know what a men's toilet is like because as an adult, I only use female bathrooms and if a father is comfortable taking his daughter into the men's bathroom that's fine but if he wasn't then I would think he's more than welcome to use the female bathrooms, that goes for needing to change the baby too. If you don't really see anything at the urinals well then, no big deal either way

LegacyUser

As a young child my dad always brought me into the mens changing room in our local swimming pool. I always had my swimsuit on under clothes so was out in and in the pool before you could blink. I can't recall any bits dangling or otherwise as too excited to go swim. I remember the day I was deemed old enough to change by myself and felt like such a grown up even though I was like 6 and I still went into the mens to give my dad my clothes to store in his bag. I see plenty of mothers bringing their sons into women's changing rooms at my local swimming pool and 99% of the time it's no issue but one mother brought her clearly old enough to change by himself son in (he was 14) and several women asked he use the mens que massive row with the mother. I think kids changing with parents is fine but there's a cut off around 7 or 8 when they should be able to change by themselves.

As for bathrooms, couldn't give a toss. Smaller venues might only have one cubicle in the mens bathroom so I can understand if theres a que why a father might look to bring a daughter into the womens rather then stand in the mens waiting to use it cus unlike with going swimming when a kids needs to pee they need to pee now and you don't have time to think about bathroom politics.

intheclouds

Hard to believe this is even a question.

Adults are not allowed in the opposite sex changing room. Children of either sex can be in either changing room up to the age of 7 or 8 depending on the individual rules of the place.

There was a case in the news quite recently where a man successfully sued a hotel health club because an adult female cleaner would regularly be in the male changing rooms and saw him naked more than once. He sued the hotel and won.

The toilet thing is a bit of a red herring - women are not naked in ladies toilets and men are not showing much of anything at the urinals so it really doesnt matter where a child is brought.

One eyed Jack

harr wrote: »

Such hang ups about nudity still in this country, the father should bring his daughter into the male changing room ... Definitely not acceptable for the male to enter a female changing area.....
Find a quiet corner have her in her swimming costume before hand and afterwards she can be changed discreetly with the help of a large towel. Its really not a big deal I see dads with their daughters the whole time in my gym and my wife would have no issues changing our lad (6) in the ladies changing area if I was not with her... Just don't make a big deal of it in front of the child.

You appear to be complaining about the hang ups in this country around nudity, while maintaining your own hang ups there about nudity?

Sure if I'd a daughter on my own she stays with me, my son stays with me too. If our son is on my own with his wife, he stays with her. Once our son was 8 or thereabouts, he wanted to go into the men's changing rooms on his own while my wife went into the women's. I'd be doing the same if we had a daughter.

AryaStark

seamus wrote: »

Yeah, male definitely.

Your other option is to dress her in her gear with a tracksuit over it and then you can just pop the tracksuit off and she jumps in the pool. Afterwards, towel her off and put the tracksuit back on till you get home, stick the heat on in the car!

I don't think this is a very good idea... better to take off the wet clothes (would be ok in a hot country where you don't have to put anything on over it)

BoatMad

dub_skav wrote: »

Now I really don't get this. You both think it would be OK for a man to avoid bringing his young daughter to a toilet with urinals, but think it fine to bring her to a male changing room?
Can you expand on your thinking there?

A man can bring his young daughter into either mens or women toilets as he thinks fit. This is because the availability of private cubicles in toilets.

On the other hand , unless specifically invited or allowed , it would be inappropriate to have a man in a female changing rooms, particularly where cubicles are not provided and therefore its not acceptable for a man and his young daughter to be in a female pool changing room.

my logic is based on adult sensitivities not a child under the age of 10s sensitivities

AryaStark

BoatMad wrote: »

oh the hangups around nudity, I dont look fetching naked in either the mens or the womens !!

I find Ireland (I am Irish!) so backward on this type of thing. I lived in Germany for a while and used to go to a sauna/pool a couple of times a week. Clothing was not allowed in the saunas and everybody was naked ... I used to feel so comfortable and love going.

Come back to Ireland and people are wearing their bathing suits in the sauna, sweating all over them and then jumping into the pool ... so dirty.

I think that in this case the Dad should bring his daughter into the male changing rooms.

One eyed Jack

AryaStark wrote: »

I find Ireland (I am Irish!) so backward on this type of thing. I lived in Germany for a while and used to go to a sauna/pool a couple of times a week. Clothing was not allowed in the saunas and everybody was naked ... I used to feel so comfortable and love going.

Come back to Ireland and people are wearing their bathing suits in the sauna, sweating all over them and then jumping into the pool ... so dirty.

I think that in this case the Dad should bring his daughter into the male changing rooms.

Different cultures have different social expectations. Ireland isn't backward with regard to nudity just because we don't share the same social customs as Germans. It's just a difference of culture and neither is any more backwards or progressive than the other in this regard.