Video of US dad taking daughters to use women's restroom sparks debate

Should girl dads bring their daughters to the men's or women's restroom when there isn't a family washroom available?

The answer to this question became the focal point when Tyler Brodsky, a father taking a road trip from Florida to Oklahoma in the US, brought his two young daughters to use the ladies located at a petrol station.

In a TikTok video posted on Tuesday (June 16), Tyler shared with his 142,000 followers that he was met with hostility by a woman's husband, who called the police on him for using a washroom that's meant for women.

"The women's restroom was empty, so I took them in. I'd rather do that than bring two little girls into a men's bathroom full of grown men and dirty stalls," explained Tyler.

One of his daughters can be seen crying in the video after the man raised his voice at Tyler.

[embed]https://www.tiktok.com/@tylerbrodsky2/video/7651695974150049038[/embed]

A woman, a store manager from QuikTrip, a convenience store chain with a branch located at the petrol station, was also in the washroom observing the exchange.

After the hostile man left the washroom, the manager, identified as Melissa by Tyler in a subsequent video, held the door to prevent the man from coming back in.

"I am so sorry," she said on the man's behalf, while using her bodyweight to hold the door. She then proceeded to take paper towels for Tyler's daughters to dry off their hands.

Viral video

The post went viral — garnering over 24 million views and 23,000 comments as of this article's publishing time, and sparked a debate online on who was right.

Commenters on the TikTok post overwhelmingly took Tyler's side.

"I 100% stand with this man! Any man with daughters is 100% allowed in the women's bathroom! Those poor babies scared broke my heart!," exclaimed one.

Another commented: "Yes! As a mum, please, bring your daughters to the women's restroom every time!"

Others praised Tyler's composure as well: "As a girl dad myself, I have done the same thing as you. Proud of you for keeping your cool and your daughters safe."

Meanwhile, some pointed out how Melissa also did a great job handling the situation.

"Thank you Melissa for keeping your cool and helping this dad," a commenter stated.

Police intervention

In a second video posted a day later on June 17, Tyler said that police showed up within five minutes and quickly de-escalated the situation.

He said that one of the police officers brought up how the situation isn't so black and white — whether Tyler brings his two girls to the men's or women's washroom can be viewed negatively depending on perspectives.

[embed]https://www.tiktok.com/@tylerbrodsky2/video/7652046732158586126[/embed]

According to him, the police had asked the hostile man to leave the store, and informed Tyler that no crime was committed.

In the same video, Tyler thanked Melissa for keeping the situation calm and for taking care of his daughters.

He also took the opportunity to raise the bigger issue that parents face.

"Girl dads and boy mums are often put in a situation where there isn't a perfect answer," he said. "As a dad with two little girls, I made a decision that I felt was best in the moment."

He then posed a series of questions to parents out there: "What would you have done in this situation? What bathrooms are you taking your kids to?" What's the normal standard that we can expect from parents to protect their kids?"

Should girl dads use the women's restroom?

The thorny issue of washroom usage by parents of the opposite sex continued on Reddit.

A thread started on June 17 referenced Tyler's incident, and asked the salient question: "If a father needs to help his young daughters to use the restroom, which restroom should he take them into: the women's restroom or the men's restroom?"

One commenter replied: "This is the whole point of unisex family restrooms. But if they are unavailable, if a man comes into a women's room, he's not going to see any unclothed women. If he takes his little girls into the men's room the little girls are going to see men urinating."

Said another: "I think either is fine, and it's really a matter of what the kids (and parent) are more comfortable with. If the daughter would prefer the women's restroom, then knock on the door or near the door and announce your presence and what you're doing.

"If the daughter is old enough to not need help, you can just stand right outside the door and wait. Or look for the family bathroom, which a lot of places have nowadays anyway."

In Singapore, stay-home dad Jeggan asked viewers on his Instagram profile @jegganr via a March 16 post the same burning question.

In his post, he stated that his go-to is the family or handicapped bathroom. However, he has brought his daughter to both the women's and men's washrooms before in the past.

"In smaller places, I'd usually take her to the ladies room. I'd announce myself and make sure there's nobody there before going in. Sometimes, I'd get a funny look on the way out, but then people would see my daughter and realise what was going on," he said.

"In larger malls, I usually take her to the men's room, because I feel super awkward walking into a crowded ladies room. But honestly, the stalls in some men's rooms can be kinda gross."

AsiaOne has reached out to Tyler for further details.

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