Rules for Changing Diapers at a Friends House
You must be very careful about changing diapers at a friend’s house. You do not want to take a chance of damaging something or insulting your friend. You want to be respectful. Follow the following dos and don’ts.
Dos
Do ask permission to change the diaper. You should inform your friend that you need to change the diaper and not just do it in the middle of the floor.
Do ask where you should change the diaper. Do not make assumptions. Even if the person has a changing pad for her own baby, she might want you to change your baby in a different place.
Do bring your own supplies. You want to be very prepared. If you think you might need to change the baby’s diaper at your friend’s house, make sure you bring a changing pad so that you can protect your friend’s floor. If you are there and do not have anything, ask for a towel or something that can act as a pad. Bring plenty of wipes.
Do make sure that nothing dirty touches your friend’s floor. Do not use a wipe on your baby and then put that wipe on the floor. Consider bringing a plastic bag so that you can put everything in when you are done. This will help keep everything clean.
Don’t
Don’t change the diaper anywhere where you could damage something. Do not change the diaper on an oriental rug, no matter how much padding you have. Make sure that if the baby “goes” while you are changing him or her, it will not reach any of your friend’s items.
Don’t leave anything there. Make sure that you take everything with you, especially something that smells. If you put a soiled diaper in the garbage, it could then smell up the entire room. You can ask if there is an outside garbage where you can throw the diaper away. Certainly do not leave it for him or her to throw away.
You do not want to insult or be disrespectful to a friend by changing a diaper without the proper dos and don’ts. Your friend may get insulted and think again before inviting you into their home. If you are uncomfortable, you can also consider bringing your baby to your car to change his or her diaper. They make car changing pads that make it easy; then you do not need to worry about damaging something in the house.