Mom Shares Urgent Warning After a Predator Tries to Follow Her Son into a Public Bathroom

Trying to figure out the bathroom situation is one of the most frustrating parts about being out in public with kids. While many of us acknowledge that sending our kids to the bathroom alone can be risky, it often seems like a better option than struggling to bring boys in the women's restroom or vice versa. But one mom is warning parents not to take any shortcuts after she experienced the worst: Her young son told her a potential child predator attempted to get into his bathroom stall.

In a Facebook post shared yesterday, mom Misty McDavid said she was wary of sharing her troubling story at first, but felt like other parents deserved to be aware of the dangers associated with children and public bathrooms. According to McDavid, she and her 10-year-old son, Luke, were out at a store when the young boy announced that he needed to use the bathroom. "I was in a hurry and thought 'we are in Michaels, he should be fine.' I sent him on alone," she wrote. 

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A few minutes after he went into the bathroom, Luke came out terrified. "Mom, I just got really scared the worst I have ever been," he told his mom. When McDavid asked him why, he said that a man tried to get into his bathroom stall while he was in there. The 10-year-old said the man "jerked and jerked on the door trying to get in."

Angry and horrified, McDavid immediately asked her son if he could identify the man who had tried to harm him. The only thing Luke recalled was a pair of black, muddy work boots. "I began scanning the store for the black, muddy work boots Luke had described. All of the sudden I was two feet from the punk who attempted to enter the stall with my son," the mom wrote. 

Like many of us would be, she was too shocked and afraid for her son to confront the man. "I froze. I looked him dead in the eyes and just stared at him. He smirked, kind of laughed, ran his fingers through his black greasy hair, and walked off."

McDavid says that she felt helpless in that moment. "He knew I knew. He knew there was nothing I could do," she said. "I was stunned. My mind played over and over how different the day could have ended."

McDavid says she always believed she'd know exactly what to say in a situation like that, but "not a word would come that day, only shock and fear." Like many of us, she'd taken the time to prepare her son for what to do in the face of a predator as well. "If anyone ever tries to bother you, scream and act like someone is killing you," she recalled telling him. But when the moment arrived, Luke couldn't remember that advice. "[He was] dead silent. He was scared to death and stayed as quiet as he could."

McDavid says that no matter what we've taught them, our kids are never really ready to face people who would hurt them, but that doesn't mean we shouldn't arm them with the tools to fight back. "There's a real good chance you or your children won't respond in the way you've been trained, but I still believe training needs to be given." 

Following the event, the mom says that she and Luke will begin taking self-defense classes, but more than that, she's made a tough but important decision for the sake of his safety. "I will not ever let him go to the bathroom alone again," she says. "It's awkward to take a 10-year-old to the ladies' room. I don't care." 

After her story went viral, many parents thanked McDavid for opening their eyes to a danger they thought only existed in old wives' tales.

kids shouldn't be in public bathrooms alone

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McDavid says that while she is "thankful for God's protection that day," she knows that something must be done. Whether we need to physically hold the door to the bathroom open and watch out for our kids or abandon the rules completely and go inside, parents should outright refuse to allow their kids in public restrooms without supervision. We should also focus on educating our kids about things like sexual predators so they can better prepare for events like the one her son went through. "In order to understand why things have to be the way they are, our children need to know the evil in this crazy world," McDavid wrote.