Saturday, Oct. 20, 2018 | 2 a.m.
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As an expectant mother, I am concerned about the lack of changing tables available to men in public restrooms. In our society, gender roles are changing and men often take care of babies on their own. Also, same-sex couples are having children and do not have a wife or girlfriend who can change their children’s diapers in a public women’s room. This is not only unfair to men, but unfair to women to be expected to be the only ones able to change their children’s diapers when on a family outing.
In 2016, President Barack Obama created the Babies Act, requiring federal buildings to provide changing tables in all restrooms, but in other public areas, there is no such requirement. This leaves men in a difficult situation, having to change children in public or in their restroom in dangerous or unsanitary ways. Men may be forced to sit on the toilet and change a diaper in their lap, which could result in the baby falling. Men’s restrooms should be legally required to provide a changing table to fathers, or there must be an option for men to enter the women’s restroom in an enclosed area in order to utilize the changing tables available.
