Single dad calls for change after zoo installed 'diaper changing station' only in women's restrooms

Babies are always the priority of parents. It doesn't matter if you are a single mom or a single dad, if your baby needs anything urgently, you do your best to provide and see through if they are uncomfortable with anything or not. So, when it comes to changing diapers, single fathers or men out with their toddlers by themselves usually face quite a bit of hurdles to manage the diaper duty. One father on TikTok is drawing attention to a topic that is hardly addressed by people and it involves men's restrooms not having a diaper-changing station installed in them. Single dad @mike.polsinelli visited the Toronto Zoo and filmed a sign mentioning the availability of a diaper changing station only inside the women's restroom. He called it his "number one pet peeve."

He further questioned through the overlay texts which read: "What message is this sending our littles?" He vented out his frustration in the comment section as well and wrote: "It’s not solely a woman’s ‘job’ to care for a child. So many men want to (and should!) be involved." As of Wednesday afternoon, his video amassed over 737,000 views and several single fathers and netizens were equally disappointed with this issue. @shellechii commented: "Why can't all bathrooms just be unisex with stalls?" @pamsanderson assured: "Most moms wouldn’t question you popping in to use the change station; I’d even offer to stand guard, but I agree so frustrating!"

In a similar story, a 31-year-old high school teacher named Donte Palmer shared a serious post about this situation faced by fathers and how it is barely addressed. In an Instagram post, Palmer was shown squatting on a dirty restroom floor in Jacksonville, Florida so he can change his baby's diapers. As a father to three sons, Palmer faced a lot of trouble while putting his youngest son Liam in a fresh new diaper. "What’s the deal with not having changing tables in men’s bathroom as if we don’t exist!!" he questioned in his post's caption which went viral and gained quite a lot of media traction.

Palmer recruited his older son Isaiah to snap the viral picture, per CNN. With his back against the wall, Palmer's picture of laying his son across his thighs as a substitute for diaper changing platform was circulated on various social media platforms and sparked a heated discussion. Many fathers assembled under the #squatforchange hashtag started by Palmer and posted pictures with their toddlers which showed the woes they face while trying to change their diapers in the men's restroom which has no special facility for the babies.

Once Palmer's story made it to the newspaper headlines, singer John Legend teamed up with Pampers to help install 5,000 changing tables in men’s restrooms across the United States and Canada, per PEOPLE. Even though in 2016, in order to take care of this issue, Congress passed the Bathroom Accessible in Every Situation Act (BABIES Act). The act required baby changing tables or other accommodations in all publicly accessible federal buildings regardless of gender. But it appears that these diaper-changing stations have not yet become a norm in the United States.