'I take my daughter to the women's bathroom': this father's decision that has gone viral on social media 2026

If you are the parents of a girl, surely at some point you have felt like the protagonist of this story: you are in the park watching your daughter slide down the slide, then she runs to the swing and pushes herself with all her strength, "look dad, look how I fly!"

He says he can't stand it, he can't get home so you look for the nearest public bathrooms. In this case, those from the shopping center next to the park. Quickly and without making the little girl laugh, you look for the services sign and when you arrive you are struck by the big doubt: Should I accompany her to the men's bathroom or the women's bathroom?

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The father in the image has made a decision: the women's bathroom. And the explanation of this sentence has gone viral on social networks after he shared his opinion in an Instagram post.

The reflection from the Instagram account, Chronicles of Daddy, is accompanied by a photograph of him with his young daughter about to enter the women's bathroom, and the reasons he gives are as follows:

The Instagram post

"As a father who goes out to public places with his daughters, I never thought going to the bathroom would become as big of a problem as it is now. We usually went to places that have FAMILY bathrooms that are intended for people with children, but what I found was that most places don't have them and we parents have to decide whether to take our daughters to the men's bathroom or the women's bathroom.

When I was first faced with this decision, I did what most men would do, which is, I went to the men's bathroom. Now, I've been in a men's room a million times, but walking in with your daughter makes you look at it completely differently. The men's bathrooms are disgusting. They smell like pee and are not prepared for a woman or a person with a child.

The changing table is right next to the urinal, which means my daughter would literally be next to where the men urinate. Not to mention there are men who come and go while you are there.

After doing that once, I decided I would never take my daughter to the men's room again. I use the women's bathroom when I go out with them. They are too young to go alone, so I have to go with them.

I try to be as respectful as possible to women while doing this, which means I knock on the door before entering and announce that I'm there. I make sure that if there are people inside, they know that I am a dad coming with his daughter and that they feel comfortable with that.

Now, once inside our cubicle, I continue to keep an eye on the door and every time I hear it open and someone new walks in, I announce myself again to make sure they know I'm inside with my daughter and aren't surprised.

The women's bathrooms are much cleaner and are perfect if you go with children. The changing table is usually secured inside one of the cubicles, rather than just being outside and is always clean.

As a dad of a girl I can't help but want to protect my daughter from all the things that aren't for her and the men's room is 100% one of those things. Am I the only one? Ladies, how does this make you feel?

The publication has been followed by a flurry of positive reactions on Instagram, many of them from mothers and women who applaud the explanation given by the father and who assure that they would not feel uncomfortable or bothered if they saw a father with his daughter enter the women's bathrooms.