Becoming a parent means you are responsible for another human being. And as many parents know, unfortunate situations might occur at any time, situations that have to be dealt with right away. One of those situations which presents itself quite often is the need to change your child’s diaper.
Sometimes the timing for when your child’s diaper needs to be changed can be very inconvenient, but alas, you must take care of the situation immediately. This is the story of a young mother taking care of her child’s needs, but her friend thought the way she went about it was inconsiderate. For parents, changing a dirty diaper becomes almost second nature. Especially when they have been doing so several times a day for months on end. However, for people who do not have children or are used to being around smaller kids, this can be a jarring experience just because of the smell alone.
This woman wanted to know if she was being unreasonable and hence put her pen to paper to see what reaction would be deemed appropriate for what she went on to describe.
She began to write that she had been annoyed by the situation all weekend and wanted to see if she had been overreacting or not. She starts with the disclaimer that she is not a mother herself, so she might have been more sensitive to the situation compared to another person who was a parent. She wrote how a friend from college was over at her home for a visit with her toddler when “Mid-pleasant catch-up it’s apparent 19-month-old needs nappy changing and it’s definitely solids,” the anonymous person shared on a platform for mothers. “Friend proceeds not to break conversation but whip out a very small changing mat and some wipes, etc., lay it all on the carpet and introduce fresh fecal matter into my front room.” “I am very supportive of breastfeeding in public, etc., that just hasn’t got any argument against it, why should anyone be made to eat their lunch in a toilet,” the distressed woman wrote. “But in the same vein – why is it acceptable to change a nappy in a living room rather than a perfectly well-equipped bathroom or even ANY other room that we are not drinking tea in?”
She works as a healthcare professional and hence does not consider herself squeamish to bodily fluids. She wrote explaining her thought process, “I get that you are probably completely immune to your own child’s effluence, but to expect others to find it as delightful seems unreasonable,” she wrote.
Now there are plenty of people who are taking her side. “As a mom, I would never do this without asking the person there where to change the baby, some friends say go ahead and change it there, others will direct me to where I can change them,” one user chimed in. “So I don’t blame you for not being happy about changing a dirty nappy in your living room.” “In someone else’s house, especially someone who doesn’t have young children, who I haven’t seen for a while, I would definitely ask where to change her nappy,” another user added. “It’s just common courtesy.”
Another user was not as sympathetic, she wrote, “Whilst it’s not something I would do at a friend’s house, I do think you need to get a grip. You are still so upset hours later that you have decided to write a very long rambly rant about it. It’s a baby’s bum being changed, is it really that offensive?”
“OK I’m the rude friend that just changes my baby’s bum,” one mom admitted. “I never thought about it being ‘offensive’ to anyone, I mean would you want to sit in your own sh*t for longer than necessary?” But there were others who were offended for something completely separate; the poster equating breastfeeding and a diaper change as the same thing. “Word of advice: breastfeeding and pooing are not the same thing and if you compare the two with any of your breastfeeding friends in real life, you might find yourself short of a friend,” a user gave her two cents. “It’s quite an offensive thing to do.”
