I've experienced this twice, so I don't know if it's a trend or just me.

At two different resorts, while lounging at the pool, I've been awakened by a terrible stench, which, as it turned out, originated when parents were changing their children's dirty diapers.

Now, I have raised children, so I know about dirty diapers, but shouldn't people in such areas take the kid back to the room (or anywhere else, for that mattter) and give the rest of the vacationers a break?

One friend of mine says it's a factor of the "new parenting," where parents think it's OK to impose their children on others, no matter what the venue.

Am I being too sensitive about this?

Uh oh....here we go again....the 'ole children debate.
So, what the hell, I'll throw in my two cents. Yes....take your baby, infant, toddler, child TO THE BATHROOM when he/she needs changing. I don't want to see or smell the poopy diaper in public.

YES - take your baby to a restroom - if you're that lazy, the child should be taken away! Your baby is adorable, precious and special to you (and rightly so), but not to everyone else.

Please be assured that if anyone tries changing their baby near me while I am by the pool on my honeymoon I will be sure to:

* light up a cigar and sit upwind from the offensive parents and child (even though I don't smoke)

* begin cursing like a confused sailor who somehow ended up on port leave in Utah

No lie -- I was at a beautiful and very popular resort in the caribbean and saw a woman not only change her child on the beach, but take the naked child and cloths and rinse them in the lagoon where people were swimming.

When someone starts changing a diaper in public around me, I just go over, pull my pants down, and take a crap next to them.

If they don't mind, why should I?

unbelievable: That dirty diaper should have been duct-taped to the woman's face for the rest of the day.
Whenever I see some snotty, snobby, over-the-top person exhibiting outrageous self-absorbed behavior, I imagine them dressed in overalls, scrubbing bathrooms in housing projects. Gets me through the day!

I agree that good manners should inspire parents to change their childrens' diapers in an out-of-the-way place of an establishment. A bathroom is the perfect place. However, I will also say that some public establishments are remiss in providing such facilities.

Roger: what public establishment don't provide restrooms? where would the adult go? sorry...don't buy it....if an adult needs to deficate or urinate, the adult seeks out & uses a restroom. why are babies any different? because their butts are cuter? what's the difference between putting the child on the floor of a restroom (with blankie or whatever underneath) if no changing station is available vs putting the child on the concrete pad next to the pool? it boils down to laziness and self-absorption of the parent. period.

Many fast food joints have meager bathroom facilities with nothying in the way of changing tables. One of the reasons McDonald's is still # 1 in fast food despite providing the worst-tasting food is that their management has been smart enough to recognize the needs of parents with toddlers.

I think we have ventured off topic which was diaper changing at resorts where parents obviously have the ability to take the child to the privacy of their own room. That is a far cry from changing a child's diaper on the floor of a fast food restaurant. Personally, I have never had someone change their kid's diaper on the table next to me at Wendy's (for example).

I would think that parents would seek out family friendly resorts that provide additional changing facilities (in bathrooms or elsewhere) near pool and other community areas. Obviously, there can be emergencies and unusual circumstances but I think the complaints here are targeted at people who simply think that changing a diaper on a lounge chair by the pool, rather than walking back to the room, is acceptable. The post about the parent who rinsed the child and clothes out in the lagoon where people were swimming was absolutely disgusting. These are the same people whose children run around like lunatics disturbing other people.

You are no Dr., Dr. Spock. I would certainly never change my child in a restaurant OR poolside, but you can bet I would surely never change a baby on the restroom floor, even with a blankie!

Are you insane? That is the grossest thing I've heard yet. I'd change the baby in the car if there were no changing facilities.

Your: No...the grossest thing is swishing out a dirty diaper in a pool, as unbelievable reported. Of course, you should find the cleanest place to change a diaper. I'm not advocating changing the baby on the floor next to the toilet in a stall. But, I see nothing wrong in changing the baby on the floor in the "lounge" area of a restroom, if need be.

Have you ever considered that establishments who do not provide changing tables, etc. in their restooms are making a point?

Exec.

How about changing said dirty diaper on a plane? That's even worse.

To Spock, hell would freeze over before I put my kid on the dirty floor of a public bathroom. What do you have in your head? Rocks?

anon: Nope. Do not have rocks in my head. I have put my babies on the floor in a corner of the "lounge" area when there was no changing station. And guess what, the "babies" are now teenagers and all have survived. Quite well, too.

A friend of mine was working a in a restaurant. A female patron stuck her infant on her table (in the middle of the restaurant), changed the kid's diaper and then tried to hand it to my friend to throw in the trash. No joke. Ugh--some people are so damn entitled!

That reminds me of the joke:
My father always hated me because I was born on the kitchen table.
What's the big deal about being born on the kitchen table?
He was eating dinner when it happened.

Alex: My BROTHER did that same thing at the restaurant where my sister was working!!! She couldn't believe it! She had the busboys strip the table all the way down when they left. What on earth was my brother thinking?! That's just gross.

I have changed my baby's diaper on the floor of the bathroom but only because there was no other choice. We were at a nice English pub and it was freezing outside. Given a choice between bathroom floor and poolside, I think poolside is the better bet.

Yeah, the diaper-changing on airplanes is pretty gross. I've seen people change poopy diapers in the seat right next to me or, perhaps even worse, on the floor in the aisle.

I'm waiting for someone to come along and say that if you don't like people to change their babies' diapers right in front of you it means that you are a terrible person, hate children, and should never, ever reproduce. That's the normal reaction here when somebody says they don't like children screaming/pulling their hair/throwing up on them on a plane.