Public spaces like changing rooms are meant to be shared, but not everyone agrees on how that should work.

When one woman left her belongings in a family stall to claim it, another mother made a split-second decision that led to a tense confrontation.

Read on for the full fallout.

Used a stall which had someone stuff in it

Went with my son to a local swimming pool.

On my way out, in the changing room, they have four family/baby changing stalls and a lot of smaller changing stalls for individual people.

This mother was faced with a dilemma, so she made the best choice she could.

I didn’t want to go to a smaller stall since I have tried changing in them before with my toddler, and it becomes really difficult to change in such a small space.

Anyway, out of the four, three were occupied, and the fourth one had someone’s stuff in it.

She did her due diligence and waited as long as she could.

I waited for a couple of minutes for any stall to be free but then left to get myself dry.

Came back again, and it was the same situation. The other three were being used, and the same stuff was in that fourth one.

I went inside the fourth one anyway, thinking I will be quick.

This turned out to be the wrong choice in the eyes of one entitled woman.

And lo and behold, 30 seconds in, the woman who left her stuff came outside the stall and started banging the door.

Initially, I asked her politely that I was getting late and I wouldn’t take much time. “Can you please give me a minute? I will be quick.”

Then this woman started assuming the worst.

But then she started being loud and accusing me, “Do you even have a child with you?”

She involved security, saying that I’m stealing her things and demanding that they should open the door with their keys, irrespective.

I was as quick as I could be, but my toddler got nervous (and some part of me too, hate to say this) with all the noise, so probably took me 5–7ish minutes. (I don’t know.)

They explained their intentions to the security guard who didn’t find her at fault.

Anyway, I explained the situation to security and said that she can’t leave things to “mark” the place.

He asked me if I need more time — the other stall is free now.

Still, the situation left her rattled.

I told him I’m okay.

I had a good time in the pool and then was completely embarrassed from this incident afterward.

Left me thinking maybe I should have waited for other stalls to be vacant. 😞

AITA?

What began as a practical choice turned into an emotional mess that left her reeling.

What did Reddit think?

If the security guard didn’t find her at fault, that’s probably a pretty good indication she’s in the clear.

This entitled woman should have been shown that she can’t “save” a spot she isn’t currently using.

If she really cared that much about her stuff, perhaps she shouldn’t have left it unattended?

There could have been way worse outcomes for this entitled woman.

She kept calm, acted reasonably, and did what was best for her child.

If you liked that post, check out this story about a guy who was forced to sleep on the couch at his wife’s family’s house, so he went to a hotel instead.