Parents know that cleaning babies and changing diapers in public is very awkward. Now imagine having to do it all on your lap, as one father had to.
A 12-year-old girl took a picture of her father changing the baby’s diaper in the bathroom, and then her mother noticed something unusual.
“This is a serious announcement! Why isn’t there a changing room in the men’s restroom? It’s like we don’t exist!” wrote Donte on his Instagram.
“#FLM#fatherlivesmatter – We obviously do this a lot; look how comfortable my son is. For him, it is a routine! Let’s solve this problem!”
Donte explained in the post that the reality of the problem hit him when one night he decided to take his family to dinner at a restaurant.
“This day was like any other,” he wrote. The family piled into the car to go shopping in town. “I wanted to take my wife to a family dinner because she works very hard as a mother, and I thought it would be nice if our family ate out that night.”
After they ordered food, his 12-year-old daughter had to go to the restroom, so the father-of-three decided to accompany her to the toilet, where he would also change his youngest son’s diaper.
“I’m used to changing my son’s diaper while he’s on my lap, so as you can see in the photo, it’s completely normal for my son,” wrote Donte,
“The only difference is that my daughter did not hand me diapers and wipes but took pictures.”
After we got back to the table, our 12-year-old daughter thought it would be funny to show mom “how daddy changes my brother’s diapers.”
Everyone was laughing at the boy who looked super relaxed on his father’s lap, but his wife noticed something unusual.
“My wife noticed that she never had to change diapers like that. When he goes to the bathroom, there are always baby changing tables, especially in the fancier restaurants like that one.”
When moms come to a public restroom, they never have a problem finding a changing table, so why is it any different for dads?
Since changing diapers like this is completely normal for Donte, he didn’t even think about the difference until his wife pointed it out.
“Does our society have such a low opinion of men and fatherhood that restaurants don’t put changing rooms in the men’s room?” he asked.
He said he has no intention of starting a movement or protest to fight for fathers’ rights, but Donte is still hoping for something.
“I just hope this post shows that there are good fathers out there who work hard for their children every day. Dads who have no problem staying up all night because their baby is crying, and dads who change diapers even if they can’t do it the conventional way.”
Kudos to the wonderful father who will do anything for his children, even if the situation is not very favorable. We pray that he becomes an inspiration to other fathers.