# Children and public restrooms...

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/children-and-public-restrooms/519616>\
**Category:** In My Humble Opinion\
**Created:** [December 1, 2009, 7:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/children-and-public-restrooms/519616 "2009-12-01T19:45:44Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 3\
**Page:** 2

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**Author:** ![BigBertha](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/d78d45/32.png) [@BigBertha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigBertha)\
**Post date:** [December 2, 2009, 7:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/children-and-public-restrooms/519616/21 "2009-12-02T07:41:40Z")

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Not sure if theres an exact cutoff age, but I find mothers taking toddler boys into the womens room is well accepted but not the opposite. Women are assumed to be less predatory, obviously.  
Hell, I didn’t go into a mens room until I was over 18! and then only in an old school which was changed from a school to a cultural center so no one was in there.

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**Author:** ![Lynn\_Bodoni](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e47c2d/32.png) [@Lynn\_Bodoni](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lynn_Bodoni)\
**Post date:** [December 2, 2009, 7:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/children-and-public-restrooms/519616/22 "2009-12-02T07:49:27Z")

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> [@Giles](#):
>
> I think as soon as they are able to go to the toilet by themselves at home they can go to one in public, and that would be no later than 5 years old, unless they suffered a severe mental or physical disability. Daddy can wait outside the ladies’ room while his daughter goes inside, and if she hasn’t come out after a few minutes, can send a woman in to find out if anything’s wrong, but she shouldn’t be going to the men’s room at that age.

I’d say that about five or six should be the cutoff age for those without disabilities. After all, that’s when kids start school, if they haven’t been in preschool or preK, and they need to be able to use a public restroom by themselves.

I guess I’d consider the aforementioned firebugs to have mental disabilities. They should probably be kept on a leash at all times.

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**Author:** ![Rushgeekgirl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rushgeekgirl/32/3715_2.png) [@Rushgeekgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rushgeekgirl)\
**Post date:** [December 3, 2009, 9:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/children-and-public-restrooms/519616/23 "2009-12-03T21:13:06Z")

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She may have special needs. She may be afraid to go in alone because of a previous experience.

Otherwise ten is way too old for a father to be that protective.

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