Alexis Senge JohnsonOne viral photo is all it takes nowadays to change the world. You think I’m kidding? Did you see the viral photo posted by Donte Palmer back in October of 2018? #SquatForChange ring a bell? For many of us it just recently hit our newsfeeds, but that’s in part to Donte teaming up with Pampers and celebrity spokesperson John Legend to change the game for dad’s everywhere.
We are, depending on how you look at it, fortunate to live near the world of pixie dust and family friendly vacation locations. For my husband it is rare that he takes the boys into a bathroom in the tourist areas of town and doesn’t find a changing table, but that’s not the case when we step back into the world of reality. Despite President Obama passing the BABIES (Bathrooms Accessible in Every Situation) Act back in 2016, you’ll find that the available changing tables generally are only available in the ladies room. That’s not okay, but it’s at least doable when we are all together as a family but what about the five days a week when my husband used to have our firstborn out with him while I was working?
For men everywhere it’s not uncommon for them to be forced into creating their own makeshift changing locations like Donte famously did in the photo above. I know my husband is a pro when it comes to the vehicle trunk quick change because he frequently found that was his only option. The more thought I put into it the more confused I consistently got about why new buildings were still being constructed without a changing table in mind for the men’s room.
Technology requirements changed over the years and builders adapted. ADA requirements changed and builder adapted. Heck, even society has changed and laws have adapted. I have more than a handful of friends who’s families consist of two dads with kids. Where on earth are they expected to change their little ones? Are they expected to wait outside the ladies room in hopes that some gal would volunteer to change their little one for them? Lord knows they would have been in the news if they walked into the ladies room to use the changing table themselves.
Thanks to Pampers and Koala Kare, modern day fathers are finally about to get one step closer to changing table equality. Pampers recently announced an initiative to install 5,000 changing tables in men’s restrooms across North America. While we all know that 5,000 isn’t even enough to blanket Florida, let’s just be happy that they are making the effort to try. As things in the world continue to change at a rapid rate, I can only hope that the mental image of men caring for their own children will soon be understood by all as a natural part of the deal when it comes to modern families. Until then, cheers to Pampers, Koala Kare, Donte Palmer, John Legend and all the other men out there doing the right thing and being an equal part of the parental team!
