Photo: Donte Palmer/Instagram
It all started in October 2018, when Florida father Donte Palmershared a photo of himselfin a men’s restroom struggling to change his young son’s diaper without a table. The incident put the need for changing tables in men’s bathrooms front and center.
Now, less than a year later, Palmer, 32, is working with Pampers — andJohn Legend— to help meet the need.
“When I first took the picture, it was something I posted in my own frustrations,” Palmer, of St. Augustine, tells PEOPLE. “I just posted it for my family and friends. I never expected for it to get this big. But it has happened. So [my wife and I] decided to advocate for fathers. This is a huge issue.”
Pampers announced the new initiative on Monday, with plans to begin with “high-need public locations” like Philadelphia, Dallas and Detroit, the company said in the statement. The first 500 locations have already been identified and are expected to have tables installed “over the coming weeks,” the statement reads.
Along with the statement,Pampers released a videoof Legend, a celebrity ambassador for the company, with other fathers sharing their tips and tricks for changing their little ones without proper diaper changing stations.
“Dads have to resort to all these maneuvers because there’s no changing stations in our restrooms,” Legend says in the video, encouraging other parents to share their stories using the hashtag “#LoveTheChange.” “Parents, we hear you … we’re all in this together.”
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Over the years, fathers have become more vocal about the need for changing tables in men’s bathrooms. One of the most memorable examples: In 2015,Ashton Kutchercomplained about the issue in a Facebook post.
New York recently announced itwould provide diaper changing stationsin men’s and women’s restrooms in public buildings — including everything from restaurants to parks.
These efforts appear to be new ways to keep up with changing parental norms. In 2016, fathers reported spending eight hours a week on childcare — that’s triple the time they spent caring for their children back in 1965,according to the Pew Research Center.
“We started the #SquatForChange hashtag and now I’m actually seeing that change come about!” Palmer says.
source: people.com
