Mom has spot-on response when stranger screams at her for bringing 2-year-old 'man' into women's restroom
Parents already have to deal with a lot while traveling with their little kids. Being outdoors, exposed to danger and unknown conditions, they have endless worries. On top of that, parents actively try their best to ensure their child is not an inconvenience in a public setting. Often, they end up reminding others of the importance of empathy and understanding. A woman who goes by u/Public-Proposal7378 on Reddit shared how another lady gave her a trying time when she was shopping at a public restroom with her little son. The little boy accompanied his mother to the women’s bathroom but a lady went off on her. However, she received an epic response from the mum.
The mom shared that she went to the washroom and took her son along with her. The woman got into one of the stalls. She mentioned that the bathroom was empty at the time and the duo casually began talking. “I refer to him as a buddy, so clearly he's a boy,” she noted. Soon, an older lady came into the bathroom and went into the next stall. Hearing the mom speaking to her boy, the lady freaked out and started screaming. She referred to the two-year-old as a "man" and began ranting. “She was telling me that this is the women's room and males should not be in here. She goes on and on about how this is inappropriate, she doesn't feel safe, and males need to be in the men's room or wait outside,” the mom recalled. The mom couldn’t help but burst out laughing at the woman's worry.
She decided to wait after she was done so she could speak to the woman but the lady refused to get out of the stall. “I can see her feet just standing in front of the stall door waiting for me to leave,” she remarked. The mom quickly left the washroom but waited outside. “She comes out about a minute or so later, and she comes face to face with the two-year-old that she was screaming about being in the women's room,” she wrote. The mom responded to her unruly comments with a single, bold question. “I asked her where exactly I should leave my two-year-old while I need to use the bathroom, while I am out with him alone if he doesn't belong in the women's room,” she asked. The elderly lady had no response and immediately left.
“Why are people really that threatened by the idea that a literal baby is in a women's bathroom?” the mom asked. Several people commented, assuring the mom that she wasn’t in the wrong. Many related to her plight of being criticized while traveling alone with a child. u/oldtimehawkey wrote, “If there are stalls around the toilets, I don’t see what the problem is. As long as someone isn’t seeing me peeing, they can be in the bathroom.” u/betterthanbeer added, “Yeah, I got wrong-footed by my toddler daughter who had to pee ‘now’ and dashed into the ladies room faster than I could redirect her. Two ladies helped.” u/Calgary_Calico said, “What an absolute psycho. He's two, He doesn't even know what male and female are yet, lady.” u/jneinefr remarked, “This is wild to me. I'm sorry you had to deal with that, even without incident.”