What is a good age?

I am trying to figure out what is the best age to let my son start using the Men's Restroom? He is seven years old right now and terribly protest to go to the Women's Restroom with me. I am scared to death to let him go alone in the Men's Restroom. Any ideas/suggestions would be helpful. Signed a concerned mom.

What about your husband ? He can go with your son.

You could let him go, and stand outside the door where possible

Answer to HungDavid-
Yes, when he comes with me. But most of the time he does not go shopping with me. So when it is just myself and my son what do I do?

I tried that once. He took way to long to come out so I began to panic.
I start calling his name at the door. The men just looked at me crazy, no one tried to help. I haven't tried that any more.

Well... I'd be reluctant to letting him go by himself too, although chances are slim that anything will happen. Certainly, the kind of abuse you are concerned about is much more rare than abuse by someone our kids know and trust. Sadly.

Still, I share your concern with my son - and I don't let him go alone (he's younger, though). We try to seek out single-stall restrooms or handicap restrooms (yeah, yeah, I know you're not supposed to go there if you're not disabled), where he can lock the door and be alone - and I'll be outside. I also tend to make my son go before we leave home (which - of course - doesn't work, not even if I deny him any beverage...)

That's a hard one. My oldest son was about that age when I started letting him. But I have two boys and I make them go together and I anxiously stand outside the bathroom door waiting.
That reminds me of the time I was getting pretty concerned that it was taking them too long and finally stuck my head in the door of the men's room. I forgot they have urinals and they were busy. I was so embarrassed!
I use to make them come in the ladies room with me but it's such a fight I have given up on that. They are getting better, they know they better get in, get their business done, wash hands and get out.
At least they don't go pee in the playground at recess anymore. That was another issue we had to deal with. I blame their father for that one.
I think they start realizing it's not cool to go to the bathroom with your Mom when they start school.
I know this is no help really but I sympathize with you. It's tough sometimes.

21

My son is 6 and I make him go with me so far. When my husband is with us he goes with my husband.

I have girlfriends who stand outside the bathroom door. And this is what I figure I will do when the time comes. My son is really small for his age. He looks like he is 4.....and it is just easier for him to go with me at the moment. He isn't making a big deal about it yet.

This was a topic of conversation with me and one of my girlfriends recently at McDonald's. My girlfriend was abused by several males in her childhood so she is very overprotective of her son. She tells her son to go into a stall and shut the door and use the bathroom......She is standing outside the door waiting for him. She has given him instructions that he is not to talk to anyone.....he is to get in there....do his business and then get out. And if anyone tries to talk to him or do anything to him......he is to let her know.....or yell and scream and she will be in the bathroom in a heartbeat.

It is probably the best to send your son and a friend his age in at the same time if that is an available scenerio. Like maybe in playdates.

It is just not a safe world anymore and we just have to do the best we can do to keep our children safe.

I would continue to wait outside the bathroom for your son until you feel confident that if anyone ever tries to approach him he would know what to do. ......get away from the person, come tell you etc..

My son doesn't know a stranger and he is a pleaser.......I don't think he understands what appropriate behavior is......so he will be going to the woman's bathroom with me until I can feel confident that he can take care of his self a little bit better......and not be so trusting with strangers.

Use good judgement cinnamon, if you think he's old enough let him go. If you don't think he's old enough, take him with you in the ladys room, your the adult, lol, personally I think he's old enough to go to the mens room alone.

hmm that would be agood question for my mother... hmmm

You're asking this question here?

Man. (This place is nutty)

Why can't you just warn your son of the dangers to watch out for and what to do? I think kids appreciate being informed on how to be independently responsible for their personal welfare.

When I was a kid, probably about that age, I used to tape record myself like a radio show. My uncle had lectured his own son, also that age, on what it meant to be "grabbed" while I was present in the room. I actually did a "radio" bit about it because I found it so fascinating. I didn't know much about sex or sexual predation, but I understood the warning, and that the response to it is to get the hell out of there (or kick him in the balls as hard as I could if necessary).

I say give your son a chance to be a tiny bit more adult, a tiny bit more independent. Mom's just outside the door anyway if shit goes wrong.

It's a scary world, but at some point you have to cut the umbilical, the metaphorical one that is.

Alot of kids get stunted and are unprepared for the real world because they live in a very sheltered bubble by overprotective parents. And when they finally get out on their own, they aren't prepared for what awaits.

He's 7 years old and will be 8 soon. Not that far away from 10. I think you have to slowly ween him off of you and let him do what he should be doing.

You certainly can't keep taking him into the ladies room at that age. 7 is much too old. At this point you should let him use the washroom and just wait outside. Or if you're frightened take him to one of those restaurants that only have one-person-at-a-time restrooms with locked doors. That's what I would use, but eventually he is going to have to be prepared to use the washroom with other men. And he is going to have to be prepared for the real world.

And if you teach your son what to be prepared for, warning signs, etc, and the proper knowledge a child should have, coupled with your watchful eye...from a distance respective to his age and maturity, things shoud go ok.

Waiting outside the door should be fine. And if he screams for mommy you run in with knife out ready to hack, lol. But I really think by 7 and 8, they should be out of the lady's washroom, comfortable with using personal washrooms by themselves, and in the preparation stages for using regular men's washrooms by themselves too.

SHEESH...

Stop buying newspapers and watching television... you are living in a fantasy world full of imaginary threats. They make money by selling you anxiety.

The truth is that the world, today, has never been safer. people have never before lived as long, as healthy, and as safely as we do now.

And, believe it or not, a seven year old is capable of saying no, screaming like a banshee and otherwise handling the world... especially with his mom right outside the door.

While some monsters are men... all men are not monsters..

Look, you and your son are 100 times more likely to be rescued by a man than attacked by one.

The current trend of turning mothers into activity coordinators and chauffeurs and bodyguards for their children is not good for them.

Its like you are afraid of your son winning the lottery... unreasonable.

The greatest danger your child will know is when he is strapped into your car. The second greatest danger will be his own interest in skateboards, inline skates, snowboarding and the like.

Men's restrooms?
I think they factor just below lightning strikes in terms of real threats.