Is my son old enough to be alone in the restroom?

Okay, so my son will be 5 in January. He hates to go into the girls bathroom. So lately I have been letting him use the men's. I feel a little uneasy though. He seems to do just fine. He told me that someone helped him wash his hands which kind of freaked out my husband... But over the weekend, I let him use the mens bathroom at the store. I waited outside for at LEAST 20 min. I was sooo mad!! ( He was waiting for some kid who went in who was wearing a Hulk shirt.... Kids......I guess he thought he was cool or something.) Needless to say that I was REALLY annoyed. I am 8weeks pregnant and dont have patience for anything. So Do you guys think he is is too young to be going into the men's restroom by himself? If so, what age?

[billyandsarah99]

My son is 4 and it all depends on what kind of situation we are in. If mommy has to go as well he uses the stall next to me. If you are at someplace busy, like a busy store, he uses the ladies room, but if we are at a gasstation or a movie theater or somewhere less busy then I let him go by himself. I just stand by the door and then if he takes to long I crack open the door just enough for him to be able to hear me and ask him if everything is all right and tell him to hurry up.

[Cletus_VanDamm]

My oldest son just turned 6 in march,and i just now started letting him go in alone,because he wll NOT go in the ladies. I am still very cautious tho. I tell him in and out,and i carry hand sanitizer with me, so i tell him, he can wait to wash his hands until we get home. It does scare me though.

[jd1419]

My son is going to be in a few weeks and he is starting to get like this.  I agree at certain places I will let him go by himself--such at church and a gas station where I can wait for him.  At Wal-mart or somplace as busy at that I am not comfortable enough.  I try to find the unisex bathroom where it is usally one stall and we go in there.  I am not sure when I will let him use the Wal-mart facility by himself yet.  The world is such a scary place.

[anxiousmomtobe?]

I agree, look for family washrooms, or make sure the men's room is empty before you let your son go in.  Stand in the doorway and ask any users to wait, explain your son is in there alone.  It's a scary world we live in.

[sailors wife]

im glad to hear im not the only cautious mom out there. there was a show the other night maybe dateline, and men were taking pics with their phones under girls dresses and there is a site to find them. sickos everywhere.

[Agiesmom]

Maybe I'm overprotective, but my ds is didn't go into a restroom alone until he was 8 and I told him to use a stall only (and there were places I wouldn't let him go in alone even at that age).  I just didn't want my little boy, with his face being at the level of most grown men's penises, standing at a urinal.  There are SO many weird people in this world and it's not worth taking a chance, imo.

When he was 6, we were visiting my family and my brother took ds into the men's room.  My brother came out rolling his eyes and said, "Has this kid never been in a men's room?  He tried to wash his hands in the urinal!"  LOL!

[AndiJ78]

My oldest is nearly 5 and I have no plans to let him use the restroom alone for a while. Take a step back and read what was written by a few

"I agree at certain places I will let him go by himself--such at church and a gas station where I can wait for him."

"if we are in a place where its very busy, and weirdo men are around"

Please, please, please remember that churches are also full of creeps, a quiet place doesn't mean a "safe" place, and more often then not, a predator is not going to look like a "weirdo." Arm your children with the knowledge needed to determine what is and isn't appropriate, what to look out for, and how to handle situations like that. I can imagine that a restroom in a quiet place would be quite alluring to some forms of predators.

Andi

[mgi]

My son is 13  and I still worry!

until a couple years ago I absolutely did not let him go in the mens.  Everywhere I frequented that didn't have a family restroom I called to ask when they would implement one in this single parent era!  I got mixed responses.  At the amusementy park they suggested I go to the nursing moms buliding and use that restroom with him - which we did.  Otherwise I checked out teh womens restroom to make sure it was empty and in he went with me.

[siren of the sea]

well let me tell you my son is 8. if we are in a place where its very busy, and weirdo men are around, i do make him come into the womens. he says ohhhh moooom! but i would rather him hate a min of that, then some weirdo try to touch him. it happens more than anybody would know. a friend who is a cop tells stories all the time. at childrens parks, mc donalds you name it. they expose themselves or try to get children to touch them. maybe im being overprotective, but better than later having your child live with that pain. i do let him go to the mens, but i make him go in first and tell me if anyone is in there so i can keep track outside the door. trust your gut.

[Mertek]

I think the best thing you can do for your child is to teach them how to be independent and to give them the tools to help them protect themselves. Each child matures differently, so really only you can gauge.

I am not saying to march a 4 year old off to the bathroom in a mall by themselves, but an okay place to start, may be your family's parish, with you on the other side of the door.

And yes, churches have their fare share of creeps, but so does the whole world. You can't take your children to the bathroom for the rest of their lives. Well, I guess you can, but I hope you've at least taught them to wipe their own rear by that point.