Growing Boys & Restroom Anxiety

Danny Daredevil

Walking behind Danny on our walk tonight I marvelled at how big and accomplished he's getting. He's only 3 for Pete's sake. Slow down there tiger!!!

Another hurdle I have had to address this week is to let Jack go into the men's restroom on his own in public, which is heart-stoppingly terrifying.  The urge to ask all men that come out if my boy is safe and okay is almost too much to bear and I do much hand-wringing and peering in during door-openings as I stand outside.

On the odd occasion he comes into the women's restroom with me it feels uncomfortable now. Six is definitely too old for him to be seeing women and little girls in their moment of privacy. It's not like he's 3 and can look under the stall and be young enough to make women laugh. Yes, Danny has done that. As well as crawl out under the stall door at supersonic speed while I furiously whisper threats about not doing it but am not able to stop him since I'm mid-pee! Little bugger.

I think a dad must feel marginally better sending his daughter into a women's restroom alone than a mom sending her son into a men's restroom, don't you think?  I know when Jack went in on his own at a cheap cafe recently he came back out looking green and declared that there was NO WAY he could go back into that dirty stinky place. Of course he also told me in great detail why it was so bad, so no wonder the poor lad wants to keep his women's restroom privileges!