His first choice is always a gender-neutral bathroom or a family bathroom, but most places don't have one.
When Muhammed Nitoto had to change his daughter's diaper for the first time, he took her into the men's washroom and was baffled. The changing stations were out in the open by the sink. Left with no choice, he decided to take her to the ladies' room.
Nitoto—the father of Zendaya, 5, and Zuri, 3—really had no other option, but he had no idea how other women would take it. “I’m a 6-foot-2 Black man,” Nitoto told TODAY Parents. “I had no idea what the reaction would be.” His first choice is always a gender-neutral bathroom or a family bathroom, but most places don't have one. That is when he chooses to go to a ladies toilet.
Moreover, the changing tables in the men's room were out in the open next to the sinks and the urinals. Nitoto is concerned for his daughters and said, “Protecting my children’s privacy is my main priority,”
In a social media post, the father shared: "Now I've been to a men's bathroom millions of times but walking in with your daughter makes you look at it completely different. Men's bathrooms are DISGUSTING. They smell like pee and nothing is set up for a woman or a person with a child. The changing table was right next to the urinal which means my child literally would be next to where men pee which she's being charged."
However, the California dad and parenting blogger makes it a point to always announce himself before entering. “I say, ‘Excuse me, ‘I’m a dad, and I have my daughters with me. Do you mind if I bring them in?’” Nitoto explained. “If I hear the door open when we're in a stall, I re-announce myself. I don’t want to surprise anyone. I know some women have experienced trauma and might be afraid. I try to be as respectful as possible."
He then went on to reveal that he has never come across a woman who has had a problem with using the ladies' toilet. In fact, on one occasion, a woman asked him to wait outside the bathroom till she finished and then offered to stay guard for Nitoto and his daughters outside.
“Being a dad with daughters, it’s just a completely different experience than being a mom with a son,” he said. "And I think moms understand that."
What's the one thing that surprised Nitoto from switching bathrooms? "Women's bathrooms are so much cleaner and set up perfect just in case they have children. The changing station is usually insure a stall instead of just in the open and it's always clean. As a girl dad, I can't help but want to protect my daughters from all things that aren't for them and the men's bathroom is 100% one of those things."
References:
https://www.today.com/parents/dads/dads-take-daughters-womens-bathroom-rcna8609
https://www.instagram.com/p/CRkMjpeMZOi/
Cover Image Source: Instagram | Chronicles of Daddy
