Moms shopping with their toddler sons no longer have to decide whether to drag them into the women`s room or find someone to escort them into the men`s room.
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At least that`s the case at a St. Louis shopping mall where, when nature calls, patrons can head for the new Family Restroom. It`s equipped with two private, enclosed water closets, one with child-size fixtures, which are just beyond a comfortable anteroom furnished with chairs, a changing table and diaper dispenser. The special restroom has been a hit since opening the day after Thanksgiving, says Karen Holman, manager of the West County Center mall. ”We saw a need and we answered it,” says Holman.
Marked by symbols for men, women and children, the smaller facility is near the mall`s larger, busier men`s and women`s rooms. It`s open to both sexes: Men can bring their young daughters into the facility, too.
It`s the second family restroom opened in a shopping mall by May Centers, which has shopping facilities nationwide. The first facility opened with little fanfare in early 1991 at the Montgomery Mall near Annapolis, Md., says Randall Smith, director of corporate communications and research for May Centers.
Smith says the idea was developed as a result of demand for diaper-changing facilities in existing restrooms and from the experiences of company executives who have young children.
An example of the new services shopping malls are adding to keep shoppers happy, Smith knows of no other companies that have tried this tack.
”We didn`t know if people would like it,” he admits of the low-key Maryland test. News of the facility was spread by word of mouth by shoppers.
”But we`ve had a wonderful response.”
Shoppers with young children and nursing mothers find it a more private alternative to regular restrooms, he notes, and the company plans to add a Family Restroom to a California shopping center.