TexasCHLforum.com

Call me paranoid if you want to.

My daughters are 11 and 9, and they have been going to public restrooms by themselves for a while now when their Mom is not with us. Whenever this happens, I will watch them to the restroom door, and will keep a watch on the door until they come out. If we are eating in a restaurant, I will move tables (fast food place) or will get up and stand near the restrooms if I don't have a clear line of sight from wherever we are sitting. If they are not out within a few minutes, I send their sister to check on her and tell her to come back out immediately as soon as she makes sure everything is OK. If the sister was to go in and not come out immediately, I would be going in the door myself. This last part has not happened yet.

My biggest concern is with the places that have both restrooms behind a door, and where there is a back door (usually an emergency exit at the end of the hallway). I'm most concerned about a perv snatching a girl and then making a dash for the backdoor.

I also play a little game with my daughters after we have been in a new restaurant for 10-15 minutes. I have them both close their eyes, and then tell me how many exits are in the building (including reasonable guesses about doors in the kitchen, etc)., I ask them where the nearest exit is, and what the safest way out of the building would be (from where we are sitting) if a bad guy came through the front door. Its a good way to pass the time while waiting for food.