This story got me thinking about baby change provision (or rather lack of) in UK station toilets today: http://www.bbc.co.uk/newsbeat/artic...ets-in-the-us-to-be-equipped-with-baby-change
My experience travelling on the railways with baby (rapidly becoming toddler) crehld is its very hit and miss.
Baby change facilities are almost universally available in female toilets (I only have Mrs crehld's word to go on, but I trust her implicitly).
Often baby change facilities will be placed in unisex disabled toilets, which is all very well and good, but rather inconvenient considering making use of such facilities requires trekking to the ticket office / customer service desk (often on another platform and while carrying baby and associated guff) to ask for them to unlock it (shout out to the wonderful staff at Lancaster station who are always happy to do this for me).
Very rarely do I find adequate facilities in male toilets in railway stations (though I fully recognize this problem exists beyond the railway industry too).
The provision of facilities is negligible in cost terms - you just have to fit a bracket to a wall which supports a cheap plastic fold down change mat. So any argument citing cost is utter nonsense.
So, what are your experiences? Why, for the most part, can't railway companies be bothered to provide facilities for fathers wanting to change their child's nappies? Why must the assumption always be that the mother changes the baby? Why, where unisex baby change facilities exist, must they be hidden behind lock and key where they are no use to anyone? As railway companies and other organizations seem incapable to provide adequate facilities of their own accord, should our government enact a similar law to that signed by President Obama?
Discuss.
My experience travelling on the railways with baby (rapidly becoming toddler) crehld is its very hit and miss.
Baby change facilities are almost universally available in female toilets (I only have Mrs crehld's word to go on, but I trust her implicitly).
Often baby change facilities will be placed in unisex disabled toilets, which is all very well and good, but rather inconvenient considering making use of such facilities requires trekking to the ticket office / customer service desk (often on another platform and while carrying baby and associated guff) to ask for them to unlock it (shout out to the wonderful staff at Lancaster station who are always happy to do this for me).
Very rarely do I find adequate facilities in male toilets in railway stations (though I fully recognize this problem exists beyond the railway industry too).
The provision of facilities is negligible in cost terms - you just have to fit a bracket to a wall which supports a cheap plastic fold down change mat. So any argument citing cost is utter nonsense.
So, what are your experiences? Why, for the most part, can't railway companies be bothered to provide facilities for fathers wanting to change their child's nappies? Why must the assumption always be that the mother changes the baby? Why, where unisex baby change facilities exist, must they be hidden behind lock and key where they are no use to anyone? As railway companies and other organizations seem incapable to provide adequate facilities of their own accord, should our government enact a similar law to that signed by President Obama?
Discuss.