# Mothers, please teach your daughters... **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [May 2, 2011, 1:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mothers-please-teach-your-daughters/580472 "2011-05-02T13:51:50Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Muffin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muffin/32/4341_2.png) [@Muffin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Muffin)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2011, 3:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mothers-please-teach-your-daughters/580472/21 "2011-05-02T15:41:34Z")
> [@VinylTurnip](#): > > 45 stalls were evacuated simultaneously? What is this, a horse race? Perhaps Lieu dropped a real stinker. ---
**Author:** ![Ellen\_Cherry](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellen_cherry/32/3600_2.png) [@Ellen\_Cherry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ellen_Cherry)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2011, 3:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mothers-please-teach-your-daughters/580472/22 "2011-05-02T15:44:26Z")
Were there _really_ 45 stalls? I thought she was exaggerating for effect. ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2011, 4:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mothers-please-teach-your-daughters/580472/23 "2011-05-02T16:32:45Z")
Having learned in a previous thread on this that handicapped people don’t just need the extra space, but they often have to go in a bigger hurry than a non-handicapped person (thanks, Broomstick!) I don’t use the handicapped stall if I think I won’t be able to get out before someone else needs to get in. I was in a regular stall last week that was so small that I had to squeeze in next to the toilet to close the door (I see this more and more; don’t know why). I was in another one a few weeks ago where I had to lean to one side on the toilet because the sanitary disposal box was up against my shoulder. **If** there are no handicapped people around and the bathroom is relatively empty, I will often use the handicapped stall, figuring the odds of someone coming in who needs it is extremely small, and I’m extremely fast. Most often it’s used by mothers with youngsters. I’ve never held up anyone who needed it. Is it possible the 13-year-old girls were changing their clothes? It seems odd. ---
**Author:** ![brainstall](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/35a633/32.png) [@brainstall](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brainstall)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2011, 4:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mothers-please-teach-your-daughters/580472/24 "2011-05-02T16:40:49Z")
Why single out females? Does this mean the don’t use the handicap stall if you don’t have a disability rule doesn’t apply in the men’s room? I almost always use the handicap stall if it’s available. I like the extra space. Guess my momma didn’t teach me right. ---
**Author:** ![DianaG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/7ab992/32.png) [@DianaG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DianaG)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2011, 4:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mothers-please-teach-your-daughters/580472/25 "2011-05-02T16:43:31Z")
> [@Alice\_The\_Goon](#): > > Who promised handicapped people that they’d never have to wait for a stall like the rest of humanity? If you’re that incontinent, then you need to be wearing a bag. I’m claustrophobic, and I will use the handicapped stall if it’s available. And I won’t feel bad about it. Yeah, handicapped people can just fuck right off, unless they’re claustrophobic, and understand what _real_ suffering is. ---
**Author:** ![C3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/c3/32/3108_2.png) [@C3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/C3)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2011, 4:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mothers-please-teach-your-daughters/580472/26 "2011-05-02T16:52:40Z")
Boy, am I glad I only have sons. I teach them to just pee wherever they happen to be standing. ---
**Author:** ![VinylTurnip](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b2d939/32.png) [@VinylTurnip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VinylTurnip)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2011, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mothers-please-teach-your-daughters/580472/27 "2011-05-02T16:57:49Z")
> [@hermette](#): > > Are you a doctor to have instantly detected that Precious herself didn’t have a hidden disability? Maybe she used that one, because it was the only one that she could use, too. What kind of “hidden disability” requires a wheelchair-accessible stall? Telescoping coccyx? Riverdance Syndrome? Spontaneous mermaidism? ---
**Author:** ![Muffin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muffin/32/4341_2.png) [@Muffin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Muffin)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2011, 5:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mothers-please-teach-your-daughters/580472/28 "2011-05-02T17:02:44Z")
Being a teenager is a disability. ---
**Author:** ![Machine\_Elf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/82dd89/32.png) [@Machine\_Elf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Machine_Elf)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2011, 5:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mothers-please-teach-your-daughters/580472/29 "2011-05-02T17:09:26Z")
> [@Muffin](#): > > You’d better watch out for colostomy bags flying over the stall wall. 😕 How does the bag-launcher know that the person currently in the HA stall isn’t actually H? ---
**Author:** ![purplehorseshoe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/purplehorseshoe/32/2996_2.png) [@purplehorseshoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/purplehorseshoe)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2011, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mothers-please-teach-your-daughters/580472/30 "2011-05-02T17:17:44Z")
> [@VinylTurnip](#): > > What kind of “hidden disability” requires a wheelchair-accessible stall? Telescoping coccyx? Riverdance Syndrome? Spontaneous mermaidism? Those sound like the side effects of Stephen Colbert’s products. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Muffin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muffin/32/4341_2.png) [@Muffin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Muffin)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2011, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mothers-please-teach-your-daughters/580472/31 "2011-05-02T17:21:45Z")
> [@Machine\_Elf](#): > > 😕 > > How does the bag-launcher know that the person currently in the HA stall isn’t actually H? Doesn’t. One of life’s risks. ---
**Author:** ![LegsAkimbo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f1d935/32.png) [@LegsAkimbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LegsAkimbo)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2011, 5:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mothers-please-teach-your-daughters/580472/32 "2011-05-02T17:34:05Z")
I’m trying to figure out what kind of restroom could possibly have 45 stalls? That was surely a gross exaggeration; I think the largest I’ve ever seen had perhaps 12 stalls, which made for a long row. Of course, that wasn’t the point of the post. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2011, 5:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mothers-please-teach-your-daughters/580472/33 "2011-05-02T17:35:40Z")
> [@LegsAkimbo](#): > > I’m trying to figure out what kind of restroom could possibly have 45 stalls? That was surely a gross exaggeration; I think the largest I’ve ever seen had perhaps 12 stalls, which made for a long row. > > Of course, that wasn’t the point of the post. Football/baseball,etc stadium. ---
**Author:** ![Dangerosa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/22d042/32.png) [@Dangerosa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dangerosa)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2011, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mothers-please-teach-your-daughters/580472/34 "2011-05-02T17:40:32Z")
> [@VinylTurnip](#): > > What kind of “hidden disability” requires a wheelchair-accessible stall? Telescoping coccyx? Riverdance Syndrome? Spontaneous mermaidism? Anything that makes you dizzy which might make the handrails and extra room welcome. ---
**Author:** ![Arnold\_Winkelried](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Arnold\_Winkelried](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arnold_Winkelried)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2011, 5:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mothers-please-teach-your-daughters/580472/35 "2011-05-02T17:42:27Z")
> [@Alice\_The\_Goon](#): > > I’m claustrophobic, and I will use the handicapped stall if it’s available. If it’s not available, will you use a regular stall? IMHO, if the extent of your mental disability is such that you are unable to use a regular stall, then using the handicapped stall is OK. P.S. Is there any treatment for severe claustrophobia? My wife for example doesn’t like small enclosed areas but she is capable of using a “normal” bathroom stall. ---
**Author:** ![Living\_Well\_Is\_Best\_Revenge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/6bbea6/32.png) [@Living\_Well\_Is\_Best\_Revenge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Living_Well_Is_Best_Revenge)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2011, 5:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mothers-please-teach-your-daughters/580472/36 "2011-05-02T17:44:04Z")
> [@brainstall](#): > > I almost always use the handicap stall if it’s available. I like the extra space. Guess my momma didn’t teach me right. You’re right. She didn’t. ---
**Author:** ![Living\_Well\_Is\_Best\_Revenge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/6bbea6/32.png) [@Living\_Well\_Is\_Best\_Revenge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Living_Well_Is_Best_Revenge)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2011, 5:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mothers-please-teach-your-daughters/580472/37 "2011-05-02T17:45:42Z")
> [@Alice\_The\_Goon](#): > > Who promised handicapped people that they’d never have to wait for a stall like the rest of humanity? If you’re that incontinent, then you need to be wearing a bag. I’m claustrophobic, and I will use the handicapped stall if it’s available. And I won’t feel bad about it. If you are \* that \* claustrophobic you probably need to medicated, if that’s possible for your condition. What you are doing is rude. ---
**Author:** ![Yllaria](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yllaria/32/3452_2.png) [@Yllaria](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yllaria)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2011, 5:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mothers-please-teach-your-daughters/580472/38 "2011-05-02T17:47:11Z")
> [@VinylTurnip](#): > > What kind of “hidden disability” requires a wheelchair-accessible stall? Telescoping coccyx? Riverdance Syndrome? Spontaneous mermaidism? Since the handicapped stalls are the ones with the rails to help you stand back up, that would include: arthritis in the knees, MS, conjestive heart failure, unsteady gait, etc. Basically anything that causes unsteadyness, loss of balance, fatigue . . . ---
**Author:** ![Ruby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/13edae/32.png) [@Ruby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ruby)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2011, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mothers-please-teach-your-daughters/580472/39 "2011-05-02T17:51:08Z")
> [@Alice\_The\_Goon](#): > > Sorry, no. There’s a difference between handicapped _reserved and handicapped accessible. Now run and teach your daughter that_. No where did I say it was _reserved_ for me. I only said out of **common courtesy** , leave the handicap stall when you have other options. I don’t _have_ any other options making me wait while Precious likes the extra space is just plain rude. > [@Alice\_The\_Goon](#): > > Who promised handicapped people that they’d never have to wait for a stall like the rest of humanity? If you’re that incontinent, then you need to be wearing a bag. I’m claustrophobic, and I will use the handicapped stall if it’s available. And I won’t feel bad about it. Claustrophobia IS a handicap, for crying out loud. I’m not talking about Stephen Hawking here. Handicaps come in many forms. > [@Lacunae\_Matata](#): > > I totally agree that if there are other stalls that can be used, and you don’t need the handicap-accessible stall, use the others available. But, if we’re playing devil’s advocate (and I usually do,) many, many businesses put their fold-down diapering stations in the handicap stall (and that’s often the only logical spot.) With a 1-year-old, that’s often my only option besides changing the baby on the floor or in a more public spot. Naturally, if someone wheeled in right behind me, I’d wait for her before changing the diaper, but I often have to use that stall. See above…in my world, having a one-year-old IS a handicap. Of course you need the extra room. > [@Ellen\_Cherry](#): > > Why jump to the conclusion that she’s an entitled brat? Maybe the other stalls were full when she came in. Uh, no. All three places where this stood out were completely and totally empty when I arrived but for the one stall that I could use. > [@hermette](#): > > Are you a doctor to have instantly detected that Precious herself didn’t have a hidden disability? Maybe she used that one, because it was the only one that she could use, too. If she had something like Juvenile Rheumatoid Arthritis or another unseen affliction, then I concede. Based on my unprofessional non-doctor opinion, all three girls were just your average 13-year-olds. > [@Ellen\_Cherry](#): > > Were there _really_ 45 stalls? I thought she was exaggerating for effect. OK, you caught me. I didn’t count the fricken stalls. I was at the mall, a large multi-plex theater, and the Coliseum…I’m guessing 10-15 stalls on each side of the aisle and a single handicap stall at the very back. In two of the locations, the girls had to walk past ALL of the available stalls to take the one handicap one. > [@needscoffee](#): > > \Is it possible the 13-year-old girls were changing their clothes? It seems odd. No. None of them were carrying clothes or any bags. > [@brainstall](#): > > Why single out females? Does this mean the don’t use the handicap stall if you don’t have a disability rule doesn’t apply in the men’s room? > > I almost always use the handicap stall if it’s available. I like the extra space. Guess my momma didn’t teach me right. I singled out women’s rooms because I don’t make it a habit to use the men’s room. Since boys pee wherever they want, it didn’t seem like there would be much issue in the men’s room. > [@DianaG](#): > > Yeah, handicapped people can just fuck right off, unless they’re claustrophobic, and understand what _real_ suffering is. See above. Do you have some anger issues or is your post a whoosh? ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2011, 5:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mothers-please-teach-your-daughters/580472/40 "2011-05-02T17:56:02Z")
> [@Ruby](#): > > See above. Do you have some anger issues or is your post a whoosh? She was being sarcastic to Alice The Goon. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mothers-please-teach-your-daughters/580472.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mothers-please-teach-your-daughters/580472.md?page=3)