I highly recommend actually going camping if you can find the time. We don’t do it as often as we should but every time we do it’s so great.

There’s a campground near us (an hour or two to get there) that’s only $15 per night and is safe enough that our only rule for the kids is they have to stay where we can see them… and it’s a big clearing so they don’t need to stay close to follow that rule.

Our kid loves being able to do whatever he wants, sometimes on his own, or playing with us, or with other kids at the campground. He can’t have that freedom at home - there are too many things he wants to do that he’s not allowed to do. Plus we like getting out of the house too - it’s not all about the kids! You can be a better parent if you’re enjoying yourself.

If Bluey is normalizing what it means to be an involved dad for millennial dads of kids born between 2015 and 2025

As an Australian, I’m simultaneously glad to see Bluey helping people around the world but also a bit horrified to hear stories where people call it progressive. Bluey is an accurate representation of a normal household (and father) here.

where I live in DC, most restrooms are single stall unisex, with one or two diaper changing stations that are also in unisex stalls

We generally have a dedicated “parents room” here. The size varies but there will be changing stations, quiet places to sit, a small playground, a small kitchen with filtered drinking water/microwave/sink/etc and small toilets and hand basins for kids that are toilet trained but not tall enough to use a full size toilet and basin. They have facilities for adults too, so nobody needs to bring their three year old into the regular restroom. The parents room is also generally cleaned a lot more frequently and thoroughly - acknowledging that kids will touch everything (not just by cleaners either, there are disposable wipes and towels provided so parents can keep it clean.

Things are definitely not perfect in Australia - but better than most of the world and the kind of problems mentioned in this thread tend to be limited to encounters with elderly people or foreigners.

I have twice in the last year had to explain to the old bill that I am not, in fact, a predator

Yeah… last week I was changing my kid’s nappy in a shopping mall parents room and the cleaner tried to take over. Like WTF do you really think a father can’t change a nappy?