How old for kids to go to restroom by themselves in stand alone restaurant?

How old for kids to go to restroom by themselves (like at Red Robin at District)

  • Under 5

    Votes: 1 5.3%
  • 5

    Votes: 2 10.5%
  • 6

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • 7

    Votes: 3 15.8%
  • 8

    Votes: 2 10.5%
  • 9

    Votes: 1 5.3%
  • 10

    Votes: 1 5.3%
  • Middle school age

    Votes: 5 26.3%
  • High school age

    Votes: 1 5.3%
  • When the get their own CCW permit

    Votes: 3 15.8%

  • Total voters
    19

nosuchreality

Well-known member
Simple question thought about this the other night when the table next to us sent their kindergarten age / preschool age daughters off to the bathroom to wash their hands by themselves. 

So at what age are we helicoptering versus just being parents living in the reality of urban environment in sending our kids to the bathroom?
 
It is Mother F*$#ers like this, that scare me into never letting my kids go alone to any public restroom.
http://www.ocregister.com/2012/03/14/man-charged-in-sex-assaults-at-library-jwa/

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Interesting topic.  Was just thinking about the same thing a few weeks ago!  I was at Shin Sen Gumi and my 3 YO kid (almost 4) went to the bathroom himself.  Restaurant is small and I had a decent view to the restroom area.  First time that happened and it was kind of nice not having to stop eating to take him to the restroom.
 
Didn't hear of this at JWA but I always think of that young girl in the restroom in Vegas (maybe Primm) Sherice Iverson I think.  That one really affected me at the time.  That girl had the most beautiful smile and looked like such an innocent happy child, she was only 7.  Still the thought of it makes me so enraged with that teenage kid who did that to her. 

At that time that happened I didn't have kids and wasn't married but I promised myself if/when I did, I would be very vigilant and protect my kids, know where they were at all times and never let them out of my sight. 

I'm admittedly over protective but there's no way my kids are going to enter a public restroom on their own until maybe 10, at which point I'll re-evaluate but this world ain't getting any safer.
 
Absolutely agree with Aqua - I wouldn't let them go until at least middle school age and even then I'm not sure. A lot of crazies out in the world, even some in bubble Irvine. I don't think I'd even let my high schooler walk home from school.
 
aquabliss said:
Didn't hear of this at JWA but I always think of that young girl in the restroom in Vegas (maybe Primm) Sherice Iverson I think.  That one really affected me at the time.  That girl had the most beautiful smile and looked like such an innocent happy child, she was only 7.  Still the thought of it makes me so enraged with that teenage kid who did that to her. 

At that time that happened I didn't have kids and wasn't married but I promised myself if/when I did, I would be very vigilant and protect my kids, know where they were at all times and never let them out of my sight. 

I'm admittedly over protective but there's no way my kids are going to enter a public restroom on their own until maybe 10, at which point I'll re-evaluate but this world ain't getting any safer.

Sherrice's father was gambling and drinking while it happened.  The best friend watched it all go down and ended up at Berkeley.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeremy_Strohmeyer
 
Man gets jail time for videotaping girl in Irvine church?s bathroom

A 29-year-old man accused of using a cellphone to videotape an 8-year-old girl using the bathroom at a church in Irvine pleaded guilty Tuesday to burglary and was immediately sentenced to 120 days in jail.

Yi Woo Ju was also placed on three years of formal probation, according
to court records.

Charges of possession of a controlled substance, videotaping another in partial dress, identity theft, child annoyance and possession of a controlled substance, all misdemeanors, were dismissed.

Ju initially also initially faced a felony charge of possession or control
of child pornography, but that was also dismissed.

The peeping incident occurred about 4:45 p.m., Aug. 2, at Bethel Korean Church at 18700 Harvard Ave., where the girl was attending a camp program, according to Irvine Police Department Public Information Officer Kim Mohr.

When the girl went to the bathroom, the suspect followed her, and as she began to relieve herself, he slipped a phone under the stall to videotape her, Mohr said.

A teacher, who was nearby, heard the girl crying and confronted the suspect, Mohr said.

He ran off, but the girl?s mother got either all or part of his license plate number, which police used to track him down, Mohr said.
http://www.ocregister.com/2017/09/0...-videotaping-girl-in-irvine-churchs-bathroom/
 
Unfortunately your child has a much greater chance of being "violated" by their school teacher than they do in a public restroom.

Let's not get hysterical....6-7 years of age is fine.
 
Halos said:
Unfortunately your child has a much greater chance of being "violated" by their school teacher than they do in a public restroom.

Let's not get hysterical....6-7 years of age is fine.

That logic makes no sense.  You're also more likely to die canoeing than you are bike riding, so should you stop wearing a helmet while biking?  No, you protect yourself (and especially your kids) as best you can in all situations. 

By the way where did you find your facts that a child is more likely to be violated by their teacher than by a creepy stranger in a public restroom?  I get to know each of my kids teachers and have a level of trust with them much higher than that of a random guy in a public restroom.  Letting my 6 year old go into a public restroom with other adults on his own?  No way, not worth the risk.
 
aquabliss said:
Halos said:
Unfortunately your child has a much greater chance of being "violated" by their school teacher than they do in a public restroom.

Let's not get hysterical....6-7 years of age is fine.

That logic makes no sense.  You're also more likely to die canoeing than you are bike riding, so should you stop wearing a helmet while biking?  No, you protect yourself (and especially your kids) as best you can in all situations. 

By the way where did you find your facts that a child is more likely to be violated by their teacher than by a creepy stranger in a public restroom?  I get to know each of my kids teachers and have a level of trust with them much higher than that of a random guy in a public restroom.  Letting my 6 year old go into a public restroom with other adults on his own?  No way, not worth the risk.

It is pretty much a well known fact that children are almost always violated by someone close to them...someone who has earned their trust. A relative (uncle), priest, school teacher, etc. Ask any police officer in your extended family, or social worker (if you know any). I'm sorry, but there is really no debate. Almost every week there is a news report about a high school teacher raping their student.
 
Halos said:
aquabliss said:
Halos said:
Unfortunately your child has a much greater chance of being "violated" by their school teacher than they do in a public restroom.

Let's not get hysterical....6-7 years of age is fine.

That logic makes no sense.  You're also more likely to die canoeing than you are bike riding, so should you stop wearing a helmet while biking?  No, you protect yourself (and especially your kids) as best you can in all situations. 

By the way where did you find your facts that a child is more likely to be violated by their teacher than by a creepy stranger in a public restroom?  I get to know each of my kids teachers and have a level of trust with them much higher than that of a random guy in a public restroom.  Letting my 6 year old go into a public restroom with other adults on his own?  No way, not worth the risk.

It is pretty much a well known fact that children are almost always violated by someone close to them...someone who has earned their trust. A relative (uncle), priest, school teacher, etc. Ask any police officer in your extended family, or social worker (if you know any). I'm sorry, but there is really no debate. Almost every week there is a news report about a high school teacher raping their student.

What's your point?
There's also college rape problem that is in the news. (So don't go to college?)
 
The point should be quite obvious...holding your child's hand in the bathroom until they are in middle school does not help their confidence and self-reliance, because let's face it....if you are escorting your 5th grader to the bathroom at Lazy Dog cafe because you are afraid someone in there is waiting to rape your child, the paranoia doesn't stop there.

At some point you have to realize the world can sometimes be a terrible place, but keeping your child in a bubble is ultimately going to hinder them...not help.

What's next? We won't allow a kid to cut his own meat with a knife until they are in high school because they might get cut?

I've even come across parents that won't take their kid fishing, because they are afraid the hook might snag them.
 
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