It’s telling that baby changing tables are usually only found in disabled or women’s toilets.
Two years ago, the ##Squatforchange movement started showing how dads have to change their children’s nappy on their laps as there are no changing tables in men’s bathrooms.
Led by dad Donte Palmer, the campaign men submitting pictures of themselves squatting while changing.
Now, after two years of campaigning, a law requiring all new or renovated buildings in New York with public bathrooms to make changing tables available to men and women is coming into effect in January 2020.
Dad Donte is over the moon that his one picture led the movement.
In that photo, Donte was seen backed up against a wall, kneeling down, using his lap as a make-shift table to change his child’s nappy.
Not only was this position uncomfortable (and risks getting poop on your trousers), Donte argues that the lack of baby changing tables in men’s bathrooms reinforced the idea that caring for a child is a mum’s duty.
Diaper brand Pampers got involved in the campaign, enlisting the help of John Legend, aiming to install 5,000 changing tables in men’s bathrooms across the US and Canada by 2021.
Speaking about the news, Donte told Metro.co.uk: ‘I am truly excited and honored to be an individual/father that is changing the world by sharing the frustrations of parents everywhere.
‘Who would ever think that sharing one photo on Instagram would inspire legislators to create law?
‘#SquatForChange is not just a movement but a lifestyle and it shows that with hard work and dedication one person can change the world.’
Donte told us that he was so used to squatting, it became a routine to his three children.
He argued that fathers should be given the opportunity to be their best and that means having access to childcare essentials in public spaces.
Donte says fighting for change has brought him closer to his three sons and partner.
He adds: ‘This movement grew us closer and it pushes me to fight that much harder to make it easier for moms and dads just like my wife and me.
‘Way to go, New York! Who will be next?’
Governor of the state Andrew M. Cuomo also shared the exciting news online.
He said: ‘New York proudly leads the nation in fighting for the rights of working parents, and by ensuring access to these amenities, we will help ensure all New Yorkers can give their children the care they need at this critical stage of their lives.
‘This legislation supports our efforts to make New York the nation’s model for working parents and helps make it a stronger, fairer and more equal state for all.’
Here’s hoping other states will soon follow.
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source https://metro.co.uk/2020/01/23/new-york-listens-to-the-dads-who-campaigned-for-baby-changing-tables-in-mens-toilets-12102913/
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