Keeping shared spaces clean can be a challenge, especially with kids in the mix.

What would you do if your kids kept making a mess in the bathroom?

Would you teach them to clean up after themselves, set boundaries to keep the mess contained, or a mix of both?

In the following story, one father found himself trying to answer this very question.

Here’s what he did.

AITA for not letting my kids use our second bathroom?

I have a wife, two kids, and two bathrooms.

My wife only uses the toilet upstairs, and everybody else uses both of them, but the majority of the time, the first-floor bathroom is the primary.

I clean the bathrooms, including the toilets, and my wife does not.

I’m okay with that, but I know I’m not making a mess or missing, and I don’t think my wife is missing either, so it’s gotta be the kids, mainly my younger son.

He is almost 7 and has been using the bathroom long enough to have better aim.

I want him to clean it this time so he can learn not to be gross.

Here’s where he and his wife disagree.

My wife doesn’t want them cleaning the bathroom because she thinks he’s too young to do that, but she also doesn’t use the more common toilet to see how dirty it can get.

I said I would clean both of the toilets again this time, but the kids can only use the bathroom my wife uses and can’t use the other one.

In my head, this will help with cleaning in the future, and my wife will hopefully agree that the kids need to clean up their mess.

Just a side note: we’re not gross.

I clean pretty regularly, and my son loves cleaning.

He’s just pretty short and rushes to the bathroom sometimes and pees on the seat.

It’s not like they’re pooping on the floor.

I’m just picky about how clean things need to be.

That’s one way to make sure your kids have respect for public places.

Let’s see how the folks over at Reddit feel about what he did.

Agree! The wife probably does know.

This is interesting.

Here’s someone who had their 7-year-olds doing all kinds of chores.

Some people don’t like sharing bathrooms with little boys.

Having the kid help clean is reasonable.

Most of the time, when someone has to clean up after themselves, they are more conscious about the messes they make.

If you thought that was an interesting story, check out what happened when a family gave their in-laws a free place to stay in exchange for babysitting, but things changed when they don’t hold up their end of the bargain.