Finding a decent changing station can be a challenge
Chronicle-Tribune (Marion, IN)
March 31, 2003
Parents seem to be constantly on the go, toting babies and loaded down with bibs, baby food, blankets, strollers and more.
But the diaper bag is the survival kit and, when it's time for a change, the search is on. Finding a convenient, sanitary place to change baby's diaper away from home can be a challenge.
One day last week Lee Pefley, 25, came to Sears in North Park Mall to get a picture taken of Dayne, her nearly 7-month-old son. Tagging along with them were daughter Katy, who is almost 3, and Pefley's mom, Kristy Good.
Mid-afternoon, the women sat on a mall bench to munch on a snack with the kids and talk about traveling with babies.
Pefley said she appreciates it when a place has a pull-down baby changing table.
"It's a pain when they don't," she said. "(But) some of them are awful dirty.
"We travel a lot so we've seen some pretty nasty changing tables," she said. "Sometimes they slant down. A lot of times, I'll use the van. In the back, you've got a big open spot. I always put a blanket down."
Daughter Katy is potty-trained now, but when they traveled with both children in diapers, Pefley took one baby to change and her husband took the other. She said many men's restrooms don't have baby changing tables.
A check of the restrooms available in North Park Mall turned up a variety of diaper changing tables. Penney has the best arrangement, Pefley said, because the table is in an adjoining room from the women's restrooms. For dads, there is a changing table in the main mall restroom.
Even when there is a pull-down changing table, though, getting the job done isn't easy. Rarely is a trash can under the table, to make tossing the used diaper easy. And just keeping the baby on a little table, high above the floor, while wrestling with wipes and clothing, takes skill. Even though some changing tables have safety straps, many are broken.
Angie Humes, 30, has an 11-month-old daughter, Kira. She and husband, Rick, like to eat out in Marion and know which restaurants have baby changing tables. However, she avoids using them if she can.
"My biggest beef is they don't clean them," she said. "They have a place to stock them with liners and it's always empty. I always make sure she's changed before we go somewhere. If there's no place in the restaurant, I change her in the car on the seat."
Section: Local
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