# Naked in the parking lot. WTH is with parents?! **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [March 2, 2013, 8:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/naked-in-the-parking-lot-wth-is-with-parents/651846 "2013-03-02T20:36:25Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![AngelSoft](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/angelsoft/32/440_2.png) [@AngelSoft](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AngelSoft)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2013, 8:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/naked-in-the-parking-lot-wth-is-with-parents/651846/1 "2013-03-02T20:36:25Z")
So I was at the grocery store with my daughter this afternoon, picking up a few things. We’re heading back to the car and I notice something strange in the open spot in front of my car. A grown man, slowly toddling behind a little girl of about 2 years old. Who also happens to be completely naked from the waist down. I stood there a minute in just disbelief, while my daughter kept asking why the girl was naked. It was pretty obvious he was trying to get her to pee in the parking lot. So finally, I said “You know, there’s a bathroom in the grocery store…” He looked up at me and said “Oh, she’s new to potty training and scared of the toilet.” Wtf? So the solution is to prance her around naked at a public parking lot? Being pretty non-confrontational, I just left it at that and drove off but…wtf people? Who in their right minds would think that’s a good idea? What the hell is wrong with parents these days?? ---
**Author:** ![Filbert](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/filbert/32/3433_2.png) [@Filbert](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Filbert)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2013, 9:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/naked-in-the-parking-lot-wth-is-with-parents/651846/2 "2013-03-02T21:23:33Z")
Eh, while working a zoo tropical hall, I had to ask someone not to tell their child to piss on the plants. At least the kid in the OP was outside. ---
**Author:** ![JerrySTL](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e274bd/32.png) [@JerrySTL](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JerrySTL)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2013, 9:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/naked-in-the-parking-lot-wth-is-with-parents/651846/3 "2013-03-02T21:40:25Z")
Were you shopping at a Wal-Mart Super Center? Google People Of WalMart for some shocking stuff. ---
**Author:** ![AngelSoft](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/angelsoft/32/440_2.png) [@AngelSoft](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AngelSoft)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2013, 10:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/naked-in-the-parking-lot-wth-is-with-parents/651846/4 "2013-03-02T22:02:14Z")
Surprisingly no, it wasn’t Walmart. I briefly thought about taking their license plate and calling the cops but then I realized, that however stupid it was, there was probably nothing illegal about it. :\ ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2013, 10:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/naked-in-the-parking-lot-wth-is-with-parents/651846/5 "2013-03-02T22:05:16Z")
So the guy was walking his daughter. What’s the problem? ---
**Author:** ![alphaboi867](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alphaboi867/32/3898_2.png) [@alphaboi867](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alphaboi867)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2013, 10:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/naked-in-the-parking-lot-wth-is-with-parents/651846/6 "2013-03-02T22:16:13Z")
In Mainland China that’s considered normal. Which is one of the reasons Mainland tourist are unpopular in Hong Kong. ---
**Author:** ![Rhiannon8404](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rhiannon8404/32/17929_2.png) [@Rhiannon8404](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rhiannon8404)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2013, 10:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/naked-in-the-parking-lot-wth-is-with-parents/651846/7 "2013-03-02T22:19:33Z")
He was encouraging her to pee in the parking lot? That’s wrong to me. I don’t care if babies are naked, though I never took my kid out undressed. You teach kids where to go to the bathroom and it’s not the parking lot. I don’t care who’s peeing, kid or adult, the parking lot is the wrong place. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2013, 10:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/naked-in-the-parking-lot-wth-is-with-parents/651846/8 "2013-03-02T22:24:18Z")
Hey, better the parking lot than the produce section. ---
**Author:** ![miss\_elizabeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/838e76/32.png) [@miss\_elizabeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/miss_elizabeth)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2013, 2:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/naked-in-the-parking-lot-wth-is-with-parents/651846/9 "2013-03-03T02:17:14Z")
Birds shit in the parking lot. I mean, he probably shouldn’t have done it, and is most likely a fucknugget. But mostly, I don’t think it matters. ---
**Author:** ![DataX](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@DataX](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DataX)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2013, 2:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/naked-in-the-parking-lot-wth-is-with-parents/651846/10 "2013-03-03T02:23:50Z")
It wouldn’t be ok if a dog peed in the parking lot - cant see why it should be for a kid. Spend money on diapers, go in the woods, or don’t leave the house. Certainly not the worst thing in the world, but strikes me as being very selfish ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2013, 2:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/naked-in-the-parking-lot-wth-is-with-parents/651846/11 "2013-03-03T02:36:40Z")
I was at the Barber’s a couple of months ago, and there was a Mother there who had no control whatsoever of her irritating little brats, one of which, a six year old boy, kept pulling his pants down. It was bizarre. ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2013, 2:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/naked-in-the-parking-lot-wth-is-with-parents/651846/12 "2013-03-03T02:42:30Z")
> [@AngelSoft](#): > > I said “You know, there’s a bathroom in the grocery store…” He looked up at me and said “Oh, she’s new to potty training and scared of the toilet.” My daughter developed a terror of public toilets, specifically their loud flush, around the age of 3. Once when I stopped at a rest stop on a long car ride, I took her into the family room (a large bathroom with a private stall in it), and sat her down on the bench just inside the door, where she wept in terror as I went into the stall to do my business. I promised her I’d not flush until she was outside the door, but the fear took over and she started flat-out screaming, and somehow got the door open and took off. So there I was, racing out of the bathroom after my daughter, fumbling with my trousers and shouting for her to come back. Got some looks, I’ll tell you what. While the dude was obviously in the wrong, I have a bit of sympathy for him. ---
**Author:** ![hogarth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hogarth/32/1773_2.png) [@hogarth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hogarth)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2013, 2:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/naked-in-the-parking-lot-wth-is-with-parents/651846/13 "2013-03-03T02:51:20Z")
> [@alphaboi867](#): > > In Mainland China that’s considered normal. That was my instant reaction: if you don’t like kids going around bottomless (or in split-crotch pants), don’t visit China! ---
**Author:** ![China\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/779978/32.png) [@China\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/China_Guy)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2013, 3:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/naked-in-the-parking-lot-wth-is-with-parents/651846/14 "2013-03-03T03:20:05Z")
> [@alphaboi867](#): > > In Mainland China that’s considered normal. Which is one of the reasons Mainland tourist are unpopular in Hong Kong. You have a cite for this being a reason that Mainland tourists are unpopular in Hong Kong? I lived in HK for 5 years, and it’s certainly not uncommon for Honkie kids to whizz in public. The split pant thing is declining as China modernizes by the way - especially in the top tier cities. Disposable diapers are a big business. ---
**Author:** ![njtt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ecd19e/32.png) [@njtt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/njtt)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2013, 5:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/naked-in-the-parking-lot-wth-is-with-parents/651846/15 "2013-03-03T05:00:06Z")
> [@DataX](#): > > It wouldn’t be ok if a dog peed in the parking lot In what universe is that? ---
**Author:** ![madmonk28](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madmonk28/32/20811_2.png) [@madmonk28](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madmonk28)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2013, 6:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/naked-in-the-parking-lot-wth-is-with-parents/651846/16 "2013-03-03T06:10:55Z")
I’m not a parent, but it’s a little weird that the parent was walking the kid pretty much the same way I walk my mutt, but I don’t think the kid being naked is a big deal. Aren’t kids naked a lot at that age? ---
**Author:** ![chizzuk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e36b37/32.png) [@chizzuk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chizzuk)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2013, 8:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/naked-in-the-parking-lot-wth-is-with-parents/651846/17 "2013-03-03T08:14:18Z")
I’m not a parent, but I thought the whole idea of potty training was to, you know, _train_ kids to go to the bathroom 1) in the right place and 2) at the right time. Naked in a public parking lot is neither of those things. What potty training is going on there? Dropping trou and taking a leak in the middle of a public place is no better than just going in your pants. If she’s that terrified of the toilet, maybe you should go back to diapers for awhile. Edit: When we were little, my parents kept a little portable toilet in the back of our minivan on longer car trips in case of emergency, because little kids often suddenly have to go RIGHT NOW MOMMY!!! Why not do that? ---
**Author:** ![Sateryn76](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e4f/32.png) [@Sateryn76](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sateryn76)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2013, 4:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/naked-in-the-parking-lot-wth-is-with-parents/651846/18 "2013-03-03T16:22:58Z")
> [@chizzuk](#): > > I’m not a parent, but I thought the whole idea of potty training was to, you know, _train_ kids to go to the bathroom 1) in the right place and 2) at the right time. Naked in a public parking lot is neither of those things. What potty training is going on there? Dropping trou and taking a leak in the middle of a public place is no better than just going in your pants. If she’s that terrified of the toilet, maybe you should go back to diapers for awhile. > > Edit: When we were little, my parents kept a little portable toilet in the back of our minivan on longer car trips in case of emergency, because little kids often suddenly have to go RIGHT NOW MOMMY!!! Why not do that? Because parents now expect the world to conform to their children, instead of teaching their children how to exist in the world, including instances that involve leaning HUMAN WASTE just anywhere the kid wants. I find it bizarre when parents “potty train” their kids by letting them go how ever they want, like always going in the backyard on a tree until they “get the hang of it” . That’s not potty training, that’s just weird. ---
**Author:** ![johnpost](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f17d59/32.png) [@johnpost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/johnpost)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2013, 4:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/naked-in-the-parking-lot-wth-is-with-parents/651846/19 "2013-03-03T16:29:32Z")
just give the kid a squeeze. ---
**Author:** ![kushiel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/bbce88/32.png) [@kushiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kushiel)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2013, 4:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/naked-in-the-parking-lot-wth-is-with-parents/651846/20 "2013-03-03T16:45:37Z")
So I realize the OP is in a warm climate, but my mind automatically imagined someone doing that here and went RED ALERT RED ALERT because we still have inches of snow on the ground and subzero temperatures. That poor baby would have a very cold bum! [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/naked-in-the-parking-lot-wth-is-with-parents/651846.md?page=2)