June 17, 2018

The WA dad was trying to change his daughter's nappy but was told to leave as women were breastfeeding.

There are lots of conversations about women taking on the majority of the mental and physical load of the household, we tell men that we need them to help more, we tell them to step up and help - but society isn't making it very easy for them to do so.

Dads who are just trying to get on with parenting still find themselves being treated like predators or pervs by some mothers.

"Not welcome"

A dad from Mandurah was shocked when he went to change his six-month-old daughter's nappy, only to be told that he wasn't welcome in the room by a group of mums. He had to take his daughter into the men's room and change her on the sink.

"My husband went to change our daughter in the parent's room. He walked in and three ladies stood in front of the change tables and told him he's not welcome," Terina told ABC Perth.

"They said there were women breastfeeding in the room and that he wasn't welcome, that he was a male and that there were male toilets that he could access," she said.

The dad explained that he just needed to change his baby's nappy, but the women firmly told him he had to leave.

He was apparently very upset by the event and his wife is at a loss.

Parent's rooms, not mother's rooms

Dads need support just as much as mums do, we need to treat parents equally and not based on their gender. This means being welcoming to dads who are sharing the space to change a nappy, or taking their children to dance lessons, or to the bathroom, or just to the park.

Men don't need to be praised for doing these everyday things, but they definitely need to be welcomed.