This assumption is gender stereotyping, and companies should be supporting all parents that shop at their stores equally–no matter their gender.” Last year, when Barack Obama was serving as President, he signed the Bathrooms Accessible in Every Situation Act, which required federally owned buildings to have changing stations in both women’s and men’s public bathrooms. According to Ashton Kutcher who is mentioned in the article, “Families are diverse, and it’s an injustice to assume that it’s only a woman’s job to handle changing diapers. This further pushes the need for changing tables in men’s public bathrooms, because sinks can harbor many germs and changing a baby over a sink like this makes them susceptible to sickness. In another article by the Huffington Post, New York City council member, Rafael Espinal, saw a father changing his baby’s diaper over a bathroom sink in a mall. And if somebody does and they have a problem with it, we need to stay calm and be non-confrontational and ask, ‘What would you suggest I do?’” He continues to note that if all else fails, to find a quiet corner and change your baby there. In the interview, Emanuele said that if there’s no changing table, you should ask to speak to a manager or see if the women’s bathroom is empty. They do not fit the traditional “nuclear” family model. The two are in a same-sex relationship with two sons. As society progresses and gender roles shift, it is becoming more of a disadvantage to have changing tables in only one set of bathrooms.Īccording to a Huffington Post interview with Frank and Norm Emanuele, finding changing tables in public bathrooms for their sons was a challenge. Many are single fathers, or are in a same-sex partnership where they are raising children. Men need changing stations because not all fit the traditional “nuclear” family model, which include a mother, father, and children. In traditional, nuclear families, women are the ones who change a baby’s diaper when needed, which is why there are changing tables in the women’s public bathrooms and not in the men’s. Public bathrooms are confined, which means there is relatively no space for changing a baby in a men’s restroom. It can be tough having to worry about all of those things, and trying to find a space for the process of changing a baby. When caring for a baby, there isn’t just the issue of carrying a baby around but diapers, wipes, extra clothes and other essentials are also a hassle. For any parent, changing a diaper in a public bathroom can be challenging and stressful. All rights reserved.Having baby-changing stations in men’s bathrooms is important, not only for single fathers, but for fathers in general. The-CNN-Wire™ & © 2023 Cable News Network, Inc., a Time Warner Company. Restaurants and retailers are excluded from the measure, too. And rather than install them in every restroom, buildings must provide signage to the nearest station, often located in a women’s stall. In 2016, President Obama passed the Bathrooms Accessible in Every Situation, or BABIES, Act, which mandated changing tables in some, but not all, public bathrooms in a building. His post sparked a movement to install baby-changing stations in men’s restrooms with the hashtag #SquatForChange.ĭespite advancements, many men’s restrooms are still changing table-free. The initiative went viral in October 2018, when Donte Palmer posted a picture of himself squatting against a wall in a Jacksonville, Florida restroom, using his legs as a makeshift changing table for his 1-year-old son. “Dads have to resort to all these maneuvers because there’s no changing stations in our restrooms,” Legend says. In a video shared Monday, Pampers celebrity spokesperson and father of two John Legend joins everyday dads in sharing the makeshift changing stations they resort to when the real thing isn’t available. Some 500 locations are set to receive their new tables within the next few weeks, the company said. Along with changing table company Koala Kare, they’ll start in “high-need locations” first, providing tables in cities including Cincinnati, Dallas and Detroit, specifically in public spots like parks and libraries.
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