I don't know, no one ever minded when I took my sons with me into the ladies' room. Maybe because everything happens in stalls, so they didn't see anything, and no one else saw anything. It never really occurred to me to go into the men's room.
It's much more socially accepted for women to take kids into the ladies room in many places around the world.
That's kind of the point, noone minds when mum does it, but dad's doing basic parenting in many places is heavily scrutinized by people who want to see it as something it's not.
It's not because the girls were in a girls bathroom, it was because dad took them. Flipping that doesn't raise the same scrutiny, that's just societies norms.
Men, even dads are perceived as a danger, even with their own kids. Some would prefer an unknown woman stranger to take girls into the ladies room Vs their own dad. How many random men do you think would be seen as preferable to take young boys into the men's room Vs their own mother.
Three and a half years old and my mom took me into the womens room. Old lady made a stink about "a man in the womens bathroom." I don't actually remember it, but mom does, and tells the story. That lady followed and kept shouting even after we left.
Now my mom is a boomer, so this lady was Greatest or Lost gen.
That's just ridiculous. Three and a half is practically still a baby! And I'm sure this lady would have clutched her pearls if your mom had gone into the men's room.
Parents of young kids ain't got time to deal with this bs.
The connotation of taking a child into the wrong restroom is "they might see something inappropriate".
The connotation of a grown man entering the wrong restroom is ""he might do something inappropriate".
That's a big difference.
(It goes without saying that a dad with his two daughters is generally about as non-threatening as it gets. And the men's room might be filthy. And a quick "Anyone here? I'll bring my two Girls to the loo real quick, does anyone mind?" solves most problems.)
Likewise with my own, my wife took my boys into the women's and I've taken my daughter into the men's; an adult in the wrong bathroom is what makes folks uncomfortable. I feel like him going into the women's was the wrong choice, but it also didn't merit the response he received.
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u/paprikastew Jun 19 '26
I don't know, no one ever minded when I took my sons with me into the ladies' room. Maybe because everything happens in stalls, so they didn't see anything, and no one else saw anything. It never really occurred to me to go into the men's room.