I'm not a parent, so Dads out there, don't kill me, but....women's restrooms haven't always had changing areas. I don't recall any changing stations or just good spots on a counter in ANY public bathroom when I was growing up (1970's-80's). I do recall, however, that women "made do".

I'm a dad, and I've changed a few diapers on the fold-down baby-changing stations in restrooms, and it took about 5 minutes longer than normal because there was no room to move the baby or do anything. You're better off just doing it in the hall outside the bathroom and doing it quick so no one complains - most experienced parents can change even a messy diaper and re-clothe the kid in less than 90 seconds. Most diaper bags come with a plastic pad you can lay the baby on as you change him, so you don't need a special place to do it.

Better yet, find a nursing mother and do it near her - all the outrage over public breastfeeding will ensure no one pays attention to you.

I've had to change my baby in a restaurant or gas station that didn't have a changing table more than once. Sometimes, absurdly, in restaurants that are kid-friendly -- the Ruby Tuesday I ate at a few days ago had no changing table. And yeah, I'll squat down on the floor and put him on the mat and change him.

But I shouldn't have to. And fathers shouldn't have to in situations where mothers don't have to, just because they have penises. If a store has a changing table for women, but not men, that is sexual discrimination and it is every bit as bad as, say, stores where the men's room is easily available but to get to the women's room you have to go down to the basement through the dark hall full of boxes past the sign that says "Beware of the Leopard." (Haven't we all been to that store?) It's not that it makes it impossible for men to change diapers, but it makes it damn inconvenient, and if you inconvenience men while conveniencing women to do a certain task, well, what a big shock it will be to find that more women will be stuck with the job because it's just easier for them to do it. (I mean, greater male strength usually translates into men being stuck with the job of moving furniture, although women *can* do it; any time something is easier for one person than another, they will tend to get stuck with the job. And we can't legislate that women be able to move furniture as easily as men, but we can damn well legislate that men can change diapers as easily as women.)

Once again -- discrimination against men is a feminist issue. Every action has an equal and opposite reaction, and making life hard for either gender in any way usually ends up hurting the other gender somehow as well.

Personally, as a woman who does not appreciate male children being brought into women's RRs, I would prefer a 'family' restroom for parents of either sex to take their children into.

Ah, but when the men's room DOES have a changing station, it is almost invariably cleaner than the one in the women's restroom, which will be filthy 90% of the time, even if the rest of the bathroom is sparkling, because 30 babies get changed on it a day and apparently it doesn't occur to your average cleaning staff to even look at the changing table.

This is why my husband almost always changes our son when we are out.

In the five years since my son's birth, my husband says he has seen many more changing stations appearing in mens' restrooms. When we went somewhere that didn't have one, my husband made a point of finding a manager and suggesting the idea. Many honestly admitted that the thought had never even occured to them. Even the public mens' room where my husband worked didn't have one, and it saw hundreds of visitors a day. One was installed at my husband's request. So if you frequent a place without one, maybe suggesting one would pay off. If enough people ask, management will realize the demand is real.