Dad Requests A Changing Table In Men's Room And Gets One

Because both parents should bear the burden of poopy diapers in public.

One small step for men, one giant leap for fathers. A dad advocated for the addition of a changing table in the men’s bathroom at his church. And–gasp–they listened, and added one. You know, because it isn’t 1950 anymore and we now like to think of fathers as an equal partner to mothers. Partners in everything when it comes to raising children, yes, but in this instance, partners in poop. Why should moms have to carry the load (ew, sorry) when it comes to changing dirty diapers in public restrooms?

Clint Edwards, the dad behind “No Idea What I’m Doing: A Daddy Blog” and a Scary Mommy contributor, posted about his recent changing table success.

“I’m calling this a win! The church I attend didn’t have a changing table in the men’s room,” he wrote. “As a father with a young child I really hate when I can’t change my kid. This isn’t to say that I enjoy changing a squirmy poopy toddler. I don’t. No one does. But I dislike placing the full burden of changing every single diaper on my wife even more. This whole parenting gig is a partnership.”

AMEN. Why why whyyyy aren’t there changing tables in all men’s restrooms in 2017? It’s mind-boggling that this isn’t a thing. In fact, it’s so not a thing that when we do hear of the occasional restaurant or big box store including places for dads to change diapers, we’re practically ready to start passing out congratulatory cigars.

In his post, Edwards expressed frustration with the lack of changing table access he regularly experiences. He says dads are left with the option of changing them on bathroom floors (gross) or in the parking lot. Or moms are left to handle the situation time and time again.

“So I brought all this up with some people at my church. I mentioned my frustration. I was that irritating dad who asked for change.

“And boom!

“I show up one Sunday to this. So it’s a small change. It’s one men’s room out of a million. But for me, as an active father with a desire to care for my child, it was a serious victory.”

Like he said, it’s one small change. But sometimes that’s all it takes. The notion that changing diapers should be a task designated to only humans who have vaginas is as insulting as it is archaic. Dads are doing the dirty work now more than ever before. It’s time public spaces embraced the role and responsibilities of fathers when it comes to raising children.

“I brought it up with a few church leaders,” Edwards said of the changing table issue. “We were all in a meeting together. Everyone got on board really quickly, it seemed. I was one of two younger fathers in the room, and we were both frustrated by the situation. The mothers in the room were thrilled with the idea of adding a changing table. It actually went a lot smoother than I thought. I honestly just needed to speak up.”

Maybe this is one small step, but it’s absolutely in the right direction.