Sorry, but I'm feeling the need to vent. This venting session is about malls and how they meet the needs of shoppers, but how they're missing one very important need.
In the malls, you have all different kinds of stores to meet the buying needs of the consumers. You have the women stores, men stores, teeny bopper stores, accessory stores, jewelery stores, family stores like Zellers and the Bay, Music Stores, etc.
Then you have the food court where you have an assortment of all different types of foods for all the cravings out there. From New York Fries to chinese food to a good burger at A&W - you have your options. The needs of the hungry are being met and are given options.
Let's see......then you have the bathrooms. You have your mens and women's bathroom, complete with a diaper station for the need of mothers who have kids still in diapers! How perfectly convenient. Sometimes you even have your family bathroom where mom and dad can together change the baby's diaper. So all the bathroom needs are being met (except when they run out of soap or paper towel which drives me crazy!).
But the one need that IS NOT being met is.......................WHY WHY WHY havn't they come up with a way for nursing mothers to feed their baby in a comfortable, quiet, enclosed atmosphere!!?!?!?!? Malls have definitly missed their mark on this one. Seriously though, new mom's do like to go to the mall still and may not be able to bottle feed for one reason or another.
Why can't there be a special room, complete with a few leather couches and recliners, and a big screen TV set to TLC (there's enough big screen tv's in the food court for crying out loud, what's another one for a "nursing room").
I thought of this while we were in West. Ed mall. Summer was getting hungry and we were miles and miles away from the entrance where we came in. So there was no way I was running a marathon to get out to my van to privatly feed Summer. So it was either the food court (which was again at the other end of the mall) or there were benches in the middle of the halls of the mall.
How stinkin mad was I. So, because of my screaming hungry baby, I was forced to sit in the middle of the hall while Bob tried his best to cover me with a blanket while I got prepared to feed Summer. And yes, I still find it awkward to do this myself in a composed manner. But at that point, I was so mad that malls don't meet the need of nursing mom's that I didn't care.
I don't know, this is just my opinion, but malls need to have a room like this for nursing moms. Nursing mom's ONLY. With TLC on TV. There are SOOO many new mom's that go shopping that I'm sure a nursing room would thrive at malls.
I'm Kristal Murray. The opinions expressed on this commentary do not necessarily represent those of this station or it's sponsers. It's 8:00pm (Every morning on our drive to West Kings in Erin's old beater brown car, we'd listen to Dave Chalk express his opinion about some matter and when he was finished, a recording came on stating what I just stated above. Why I remember the exact wording of a sentence that was spoken on 97.7 fm 7 years ago is beyond me).
Ezra Jack
10 years ago
6 comments:
I have been complaining about this for 6 years!!!! Before kids I would always snub my nose at those inconsiderate moms who flopped themselves out right in the middle of the mall, but then I HAD to be one of those moms - like you said - we aren't given a choice. I asked the customer service at one mall if they had a place to nurse Emma and she said, (Get this - and it was a SHE not a HE) - that I could go into a stall in the women's bathroom and nurse her!!! ON THE TOILET? And of course, if you've noticed, mall bathrooms do not have lids - so even that was out. I'm not sitting on an open toilet with my newborn hoping she doesn't touch something or I fall in!!! My thinking was, enough people will get tired of seeing my exposure and maybe something will be done! Sorry for venting, but I have dredged up old, repressed memories:)
so my thinking isn't totally outrageous. I thought i was being unreal but i'm glad you all feel the same! we should start a petition!
hey kris, It's a very good complaint. But I can say that Champlain Place has a nursing room. Maybe it's just the folks out west that are behind the times on this one ;)
Hey Kristal
ALso, Market Mall in Calgry has a nursing room too. I haven't actually be in it, but when you're on your way into the gals bathroom, you pass a fairsize room with lots o comfy looking chairs and couches and it's a nursing room. Even lil charis n stuff in case the parents have smaller children along with their baby... you'd think that West Edmonton Mall of all places would SO have a room like that...
Amber
holy spelling mistakes, sorry.. guess I should give a comment a once over b4 posting it ;) oops...
oh my word! then champlain and market place need to win best malls of the year awards cz this news is a breakthrough for me!
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