Girl Dads Ask Which Bathroom Should They Bring Their Daughters Into — Spark Debate

A duo of girl dads had a conundrum that they posed to TikTok: which bathroom should they use when they're out in public with their daughters?

DJ (@djdrewski) posted a video of him and his brother ruminating on what the correct move was: DJ thought the men's room was the appropriate place seeing as he's a man himself, while his brother thought taking his kid into the women's room (because it was cleaner) was the play.

"All right, so two girl dads in Disney. We're in Disney World right now. There's the restroom," he says, pointing back behind him to the area he's referring to. "As a girl dad, I bring my daughter into the men's room, of course into a stall to use the bathroom," he says, explaining his public restroom etiquette whenever his daughter needs to visit the facilities when they're out in public.

"My brother brings his daughter into the —" he cues up his bro for a response, and the brother says, "the female restroom."

The TikToker begins speaking into the camera again, asking other folks on the app which protocol they believe is correct for a girl dad to follow.

"We don't know which is the right way to do it, or how women feel. I just don't feel comfortable going into a women's bathroom," he says, before his brother gets on the camera to explain his logic behind going into a women's bathroom.

"I prefer to bring them into a female bathroom, hence ... it's clean, it's more clean than guy bathrooms," the brother says, hoping to keep his daughter away from an icky male bathroom experience.

DJ speaks again: "So as a girl dad what is the right way ... which bathroom is the right bathroom to bring your daughter into as a father?" he asks before the video ultimately cuts out.

Users on the app had differing opinions on the subject, but it seemed like there were more than a few moms who thought the correct course of action was for dads to use the women's restroom, just as long as they announced "girl dad" when coming in.

"Well personally if I see a dad with a toddler I wouldn't mind because the stalls are closed so we ain't exposed ... and I think it's safer and cleaner for the babies," one person wrote.

Someone else penned: "I would say women’s! I’d have felt so much more uncomfortable if my dad took me around dudes peeing, you know? I agree, just holler 'girl dad coming in.'"

"As a girl dad ... men's room straight to a stall ... never have I ever had any issues ... lol," one papa wrote, echoing DJ's stance on the issue.

There were others who said they didn't see a problem with dads bringing their kids into the men's room. One girl shared what her father would do with her whenever they were out and about and she needed to use a restroom: "My dad use to bring me to the guys bathroom and have me close my eyes until we got into the stall! Never was a problem to me or my mom! Whatever you prefer I think."

Someone else thought that it depended on the parent's gender: "The parent's gender determines which bathroom to go, rule of thumb."

One person said that they never even thought of the bathroom challenges girl dads may face while taking their kids out: "[As] a mom of 2 girls ... I have never thought about this for my husband. I'd hope no one gives him a hard time bringing them into the women's room if family room isn't an option."

And then there was someone else who said that if dads feel uncomfortable about going into a women's room and they announce that their daughter is coming into a bathroom with women in it, usually women will have no problem helping a kid out in there: "I don't know the answer but moms will watch out for your kid. As long as they can go into the stall and use it on their own, I will help wash hands and make sure they get back to you."

What do you think? Where should girl dads be bringing their daughters while out in public? Does the gender of the parent stipulate which bathroom they should be bringing their kid in? Or does the gender of the child matter more?