Because, dear ol' mom or dad can't just get to the kid at home, or use the family locker room if they just couldn't wait to get junior home before touching his no-no spot. And we all know that public, well-populated locker rooms are INFAMOUS for all sorts of pervy behaviour. Of course, that had to be stopped so the YMCA has solved the pedophelia problem for all generations.

But then we've got pigs like this one, who screws things up six ways to Sunday anyway.

Wait until establishments are required to have separate dressing rooms and restrooms for all of the various transgender and "third gender" forms...

How long before those Jim Crow laws apply to men, seperate drinking fountains, can't risk contamination.

Our YMCA has 2 changing rooms for women, 2 for men, and 2 family. Kids are allowed in the "adult" changing rooms but only up to age 5 if they are opposite sex. I like the family dressing rooms, it means I don't have to try to control 4 hyper kids and keep them from annoying other's who are changing, while I'm trying to change. Win/Win. I can also see why adults might not want kids in their changing room. Seems like this solves the problem from both ends.

A friend of mine with 3 kids and I with my 4 were changing after swimming one day in the women's locker room. A girl came up and told us "you're supposed to change in the stalls". My friend, a very free spirit who goes to Carnival with me every year, replied very matter of factly "No, this is what changing rooms are for. You'll get used to it as you get older". Loved that.

Sabrina, your sarcasm about locker rooms might be more appropriate if Sandusky, of locker room molestation fame, hadn't just been sentenced yesterday.

Live in a town where a Y employee molested kids for years and a different guy attacked a kid in the dressing room and you could never go in to the dressing room w kids without getting nasty comments from older folks. So I understand why they did it. And I will never again go to a Y. Note also the Y gets tax breaks as it claims to be a nonprofit. I recommend putting your money somewhere it's not already being forced to go!

So, if there are adult-only rooms, and kid-only rooms, and the "family" ones are busy (they usually are, in my experience, as they are sort of like uber-bathrooms) - where do you take your 18-month old???

M4, he just got sentenced today, 30 to 60 years.

The YMCA I went to as a kid had the same set up. Kids changing rooms connected to the kid's pool. Grownup changing rooms (13 and up iirc) connected to the grownup pool.

Sabrina, your sarcasm about locker rooms might be more appropriate if Sandusky, of locker room molestation fame, hadn't just been sentenced yesterday.

I knew someone would bring that up and believe me the irony of the situation was not lost on me. However, the difference here, is that Sandusky was 1) alone with his victims in a PRIAVATE locker room, 2) in a position of power over his victims to manipulate them into submission 3) got away with this for YEARS before someone finally turned him in. It's impossible to piss in private at one of these YMCA's much less touch kids in one of those locker rooms. Also, most victims of pedophelia are victimized by someone they know and usually in thier own homes or the homes of their victimizer, not public spaces.
If a perv sicko really wanted to molest a kid at the YMCA, they can always take them to the family dressing room and lock the door. So, I say again, this "precaution" of segregating dressing rooms isn't really an effective one. It's born of paranoia.

PRIVATE*
Damn...

I hear you, Sabrina. And unfortunately it means that I have to support at least some of this proliferation of rooms... because of things like Sandusky, I can't take the chance of being in any dressing or locker room where children are present. I'm wondering how much longer it will be before I have to take the same precautions with public rest rooms.

The restaurant I work at doesn't allow kids to sit at the bar, not because they're concerned about sexual predators but because they're concerned about kids knocking over drinks, hanging off barstools, and generally annoying the adult customers. Many, many establishments have similar policies for similar reasons, and if the Y needs 5 changing rooms anyway then why shouldn't they break it up like this? Perhaps they think that adults will prefer changing without kids running around, trailing diapers, and being disruptive. Particularly if they're catering to sports teams, summer camps, swim meets etc. Maybe they have different layouts, furniture sizes, and amenities in the kids vs adult rooms--ie the adult changing room has access to the sauna, kids doesn't. Of course, the sexual predator aspect may also be a factor, but I can't help wondering if Skedazy is projecting a little to fit her theme.

Sabrina, the locker room in which Sandusky molested children was not private.

"University spokesman David La Torre told The Associated Press on Friday that Penn State plans to remodel the football shower and locker room area as a direct result of Sandusky’s crimes. The former defensive coordinator was convicted of assaulting some of his victims in the team shower."

http://www.suntimes.com/news/nation/13760545-418/penn-state-to-renovate-locker-room-shower-where-boys-abused.html

I have read the data regarding the fact that most perpetrators are family members or other well known, trusted adults. I have not come across information regarding whether these assaults take place privately, as in out of sight of people other than the assailant and the child. Please share your source.

Penn State is a public school in a small town where football is a source of identity and almost a religion. One of the assistant coaches walked into the football locker room shower and saw Sandusky molesting a child. Sandusky assaulted children in public spaces and then paraded those children in public.

This information is widely available and was frequently, publicly published.

This makes sense from the standpoint of "grooming" would-be victims by creating the impression that the assault is normal, accepted, approved behavior. This is why pedophiles often use images of child-pornography to train their victims. Place can also be used to create the impression of normalcy, legitimacy, authority.

It's not enough to know how many bathrooms there are. Where they are, who uses them, and when is also important not just from a safety standpoint but also for insurance liability, which drives up prices.