Would you let your near 10 year old pee by himself?

MissLauraQ · July 2011

I took Alex and his friend to Scandi on Sunday. (it's mini golf)

And his friend is bigger, taller but doesn't turn ten til Sept.

His mom and I were talking (cuz I wondered if I could just dump them off) and she was saying that she still takes him into the ladies room with her! She said he's just not old enough yet to go to the men's room alone. And I kept my mouth shut.

She told me that a few weeks ago they had gone into the ladies room and a woman asked how old he was and if he was too old for the ladies room - she said 9. And that "he just looked much older"

I'm sitting there thinking - UMMMM No lady your kid is WAY old enough to pee by himself in the men's room! Alex has been doing it since age 6 or 7 (depending on the situation)

Update: I would stand uootside the door too.

Seattle_JiLLn · July 2011

Yeah, I'd say by 10 he could definitely go by himself. I was thinking that Ben seems "almost" ready and he's 4 1/2. I was thinking maybe 6-ish would seem ok? Of course I would stand directly outside the door.

blueLu25 · July 2011

Uh yeah. Definitely old enough. I can see in a rare situation if its too questionable a place, but then I would find a different bathroom before taking him in the ladies room with me. If he is old enough to be taking sex ed in school, he should not be in the ladies room.

Mama_v2.0 · July 2011

I don't know when the right age is, and I am sure it depends on the kids personality, but by 10 I am pretty sure I would want the kid to pee in the men's room by himself. (Unless it is a super sketchy area in which case I would just let him pee on the wall outside the bathroom with the others or something. )

MrsAmyB · July 2011

Wow. I would feel weird seeing a 9 year old boy in the womens bathroom. I'm thinking 6 would be the cut-off.

IdahoGirl · July 2011

I agree - 10 is too old to be in a ladies room. However, I'd be standing RIGHT outside the men's room and be watching the clock/listening for a problem.

pinktulips · July 2011

6 was my cut off for Luke. But then I would stay outside and wait for him. If he took too long I would open the door and yell for him. I am sure he loved it.

chibipoe · July 2011

Oh my, yeah, too old. Get her a copy of Free Range Kids or something and then tell her to calm down. It's helicopter parenting like that that's breeding an entire generation of kids who won't be able to function as adults.

babyaustin725 · July 2011

I think ten is too old, but I have mixed feelings right now with Tillman. He will be 6 in two weeks. I had been letting him use the men's room by himself a little while back, and one time he was taking a while so James went in to check on him. There was a dirty transient in there washing and talking to Tillman. It freaked me out. Tillman wasn't talking back to him or anything, but he didn't run out either or even get scared. So, unless I am 100% confident in the location, he's still coming with me for a while (or a family restroom). Right now, church is the only place where he uses the restroom alone.

MSTie24 · July 2011

Totally weird. The place we took swim lessons at had the cutoff at six for kids being in the opposite gender's locker room/rest room area. If I were her son I would feel humiliated.

keri1013 · July 2011

Seattle_JiLLn:
Yeah, I'd say by 10 he could definitely go by himself. I was thinking that Ben seems "almost" ready and he's 4 1/2. I was thinking maybe 6-ish would seem ok? Of course I would stand directly outside the door.

Agreed!

MrsKatie · July 2011

I echo what everyone else said... way too old!

LauraLynneC · July 2011

11 is when my kids started taking the public bus by themselves (From Everett to Shoreline and Seattle, even with transfers)...so YES - 10 is plenty old enough to use the bathroom alone!!

IkesHawaiian06 · July 2011

baby_austin7/25:
I think ten is too old, but I have mixed feelings right now with Tillman. He will be 6 in two weeks. I had been letting him use the men's room by himself a little while back, and one time he was taking a while so James went in to check on him. There was a dirty transient in there washing and talking to Tillman. It freaked me out. Tillman wasn't talking back to him or anything, but he didn't run out either or even get scared. So, unless I am 100% confident in the location, he's still coming with me for a while (or a family restroom).

This would freak me out too!

I do think that 10 is more than old enough, but I'd stand outside the door the entire time.

scarletii · July 2011

pinktulips:
6 was my cut off for Luke. But then I would stay outside and wait for him. If he took too long I would open the door and yell for him. I am sure he loved it.

Love it! Our YMCA doesn't let kids of the opposite sex use the bathroom once they hit 6. Seems kind of young to me, but thankfully they have family bathrooms, too! We had a speaker at preschool talking about kids safety and she talked about having kids take a whistle with them in the bathroom. There's lots of great info and tips all around on keeping our kids safe.

https://pomwa.org/default.aspx

doublem · July 2011

Definitely! I teach 10-year-olds, and that's an age where some of them might, er, enjoy getting to go in the ladies' restroom.

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