children in communal changing rooms

MrsE_2

Ruby_woo wrote: »

I haven't commented on this one as my son is 17 now so don't have this particular worry anymore lol, just other bigger worries..

Anyway my take on this is the following:

Tomorow mark bridger is in the crown court for his part in the alleged murder of April jones who went missing when she was 5 last October. If by having younger children in the changing rooms with their parents saves just one child from possibly being abducted then its fine by me. We never ever know who are lurking around in public places and swimming pools are perfect places for strange folk.... I understand that people will say it will never happen, but it does occasionally. Thank god it is only occasionally.

To be fair I'm very laid back about nudity and I understand not everyone is.

My 17 yr old son still walks into the bathroom when I'm in there and it doesn't bother me.

I do however totally get the worry over the mobile phone camera thing.

Ruby

For the umpteenith time.

There are large private family cubicles.
If there weren't I wouldn't mention it, because as a mother I can understand a mothers fears.

The woman is a god damn chatter box who talks non stop & can't tear hereself away from her friends for 10 mins to use the family facilities.

While it may be fine for your son to see you in the bathroom, he doesn't want to see other middle aged women, or at least they won't want him seeing them!

PS, the lad in this case is not a small boy! He's a junior school aged boy.

thunderbird

Have you spoken to the management about it yet?

pigpen

Ruby_woo wrote: »

....

Tomorow mark bridger is in the crown court for his part in the alleged murder of April jones who went missing when she was 5 last October. If by having younger children in the changing rooms with their parents saves just one child from possibly being abducted then its fine by me. We never ever know who are lurking around in public places and swimming pools are perfect places for strange folk.... I understand that people will say it will never happen, but it does occasionally. Thank god it is only occasionally.

....

It is not really the same scenario is it? A small girl playing in the street with access to every member of the public passing to a closed space with cameras on reception desks at least and with private facilities for children with their parents.

I've never heard of a child being abducted from a leisure centre but lots from just on the street... though not all get reported I'm sure. I do get your point.. children should be safe wherever they are but parents should have the good sense to make use of the facilities provided for them.

There was a guy here sent to prison many years ago for wiggling his man bits at young boys in the mens changing rooms. Which is more of a reason to have younger children in with their parents be they male or female though use of family changing rooms should be compulsory for any with school age children until they are able to go in by themselves... though most by the time they are able to go in to change by themselves will not want to be going swimming with parents anyway.

lobbyludd

when ds was 7 he was entirely oblivious to the gender of people he was changing in front of, he wasn't keen on changing in front of anyone, but was pretty unphased by other people's bodies, family or strangers. In fact I think it's a good thing for children to see and understand in a non-threatening, non-sexual way to the natural diversity of human bodies, children are not damaged or uncomfortable about it, and if they are they are free to not look, or wriggle themselves into clothes under a towel! 7/8 year old boys are prepubescent, to my mind it is the same as getting changed in front of a 7/8 year old girl. Nor do I check the sexuality of the post-8 year old female strangers I change in front of. if it's a camera phone that someone is worried about, both boys and girls are capable of snapping a picture.

make your thoughts known to the management, if they have received other similar thoughts from customers they can consider changing the rule, if not, it's probably just you, and you'd be better off finding somewhere to swim with rules or cubicles that don't make you uncomfortable.

after all, no matter how much of a "chatter-box" this woman is (which is irrelevant) or how much time she devotes in the changing rooms to talking to her friend (again irrelevant) she is going to a place where the rules suit her and abiding by them rather than trying to change other people's behaviour to suit her moral code.

I dislike intensely the common changing room culture, there are never enough benches or places to hang things while I change, clothes get wet and towels go astray, so I only go to swimming baths with individual large cubicles where i can change and keep an eye on my stuff without messing about going in and out of lockers (the one I usually go to has no male or female areas just a lot of very large cubicles straight off the pool, with a bench to sit on each and plenty of hangers - perfect)

MrsE_2

thunderbird wrote: »

Have you spoken to the management about it yet?

Yes.

The rule is up to 8.

I spoke to the pool BEFORE I posted on here.

thunderbird

MrsE wrote: »

Yes.

The rule is up to 8.

I spoke to the pool BEFORE I posted on here.

I meant with regards to asking them if they could put up signs asking families to use the designated cubicles and/or assign an area of the changing room to adults only.

owen_money

A lights 'on' or 'off' person I wonder..

moomoomama27

I find it very unsettling that grown adult women are that threatened by a small child being in a changing room, or toilet! I think that's quite sad and just goes to show how sexualised our world is!

I will continue to be the type of parent that puts my child's safety over prudish reactionary women!

Torry_Quine

moomoomama27 wrote: »

I find it very unsettling that grown adult women are that threatened by a small child being in a changing room, or toilet! I think that's quite sad and just goes to show how sexualised our world is!

I will continue to be the type of parent that puts my child's safety over prudish reactionary women!

I certainly wouldn't feel threatened by a child seeing me change. My position is that it's inappropriate for anyone to see me naked in that situation.

Yes the safety of any child is important but that doesn't mean letting them into a communal changing room.

thunderbird

moomoomama27 wrote: »

I find it very unsettling that grown adult women are that threatened by a small child being in a changing room, or toilet! I think that's quite sad and just goes to show how sexualised our world is!

I will continue to be the type of parent that puts my child's safety over prudish reactionary women!

I agree that sometimes other people's opinions can be quite shocking or surprising, but at the same time there is a need to consider their views and needs as valid and to be respectful as a result.