Should dads bring their daughters into the men's bathroom or women's bathroom? We asked an expert

Brothers Andrew Loffa and Michael Colletti were visiting Walt Disney World when their little princesses — both 2 — announced that they needed to use the potty.

Loffa, a radio host who goes by DJ Drewski, assumed they would all head to a men’s restroom. That’s what he's always done when he’s out with his daughter, Solar. Meanwhile, Colletti was scanning for the women’s toilets. 

"I was like, 'Mike are you kidding?'" DJ Drewski, 36, tells TODAY.com. "I thought he was joking around."

When you gotta go, you gotta go,and there was no time to debate. So each dad used their preferred bathroom. 

@djdrewski

As a “Girl Dad” which restroom are you supoose to use with your toddler DAUGHTER in public places??? #question #girldad #toddlersoftiktok #disney

♬ original sound - DJ Drewski

Later that day, DJ Drewski turned to TikTok to settle the debate. In the clip, he explained that he doesn’t feel comfortable entering a women’s bathroom. Colletti, a police officer in New Jersey, said he prefers to take his daughter Emma to a female bathroom because it’s the cleaner option. 

“A men’s room isn’t a place for a little girl to be,” Colletti, tells TODAY.com, noting that he always announces himself before they enter. 

“As long as you do that, you’re good,” he says.

DJ Drewski would rather take Solar to go behind a tree than make another person feel uneasy. 

“The female bathroom is a safe space for women — and I don’t want to invade safe space,” DJ Drewski says. “One of the comments on TikTok really stuck with me. It said, “the gender of the parent determines the restroom.’”

Parenting and youth development expert Dr. Deborah Gilboa agrees with the TikToker. 

“If the men’s room is a little bit dirtier, so what? We don’t assume that little boys are in danger from coming in contact with men’s room germs,” Gilboa tells TODAY.com. “And if you’re going to be standing outside the stall or in there with her, she’s fine.”

Of course, there are circumstances where a dad might need to use a women’s room. For instance, many men’s bathrooms don’t have changing tables.

“Unless there’s a good reason to use the women’s room, stick to the men’s room,” Gilboa says. “They’re not going to get cooties.”

Nearly 7,000 people have weighed in on DJ Drewski’s TikTok.

“My dad used to bring me to the guys bathroom and have me close my eyes until we got into the stall,” wrote one person.

Added another, "As someone who cleaned bathrooms when I was a teenager, women's bathrooms are NOT more clean, I would spend hours cleaning the women’s restrooms, while the male cleaner had to wait for me till I was done."

Other responses included:

• “My dad used to pick me up, and I would bury my head in his shoulder, covering my eyes, and he would announce in the men’s bathroom that he was bringing his daughter in."
• "Definitely the ladies room. You just announce yourself first, 'girl dad coming in!'"
• "I remember being a child and feeling really weird and awkward and uncomfy going in the men’s with my dad even if I knew I was safe."
• "My dad only brought me where he could go. He was just great at getting me to a stall without me being able to accidentally see anything."
• "Just yell in! We welcome you and your daughters! I wouldn’t want my husband walking by urinals with our daughter."

This story first appeared on TODAY.com. More from TODAY:

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