"Awful" experiences inside parents rooms in shopping centres are discouraging Canberra mothers who say the spaces are attracting anti-social behaviour and predatory loitering.
Josephine Phillips, a mother of two, said the rooms - usually located next to shopping centre toilets and reserved for parents and infants - were frequented by teenagers and adults without children.
"I didn't even know these rooms existed until I had small children," Ms Phillips said.
"It has turned into a common room for everybody rather than a safe place."
Ms Phillips said she stopped using the rooms after her latest experience involving a man unaccompanied by children staring at a woman breastfeeding.
"It wasn't an accidental glance. It was three or four minutes of him continuously looking. I called security but they took a long time," she said.
"I now don't feel confident enough to go into these parents rooms ... I've had awful experiences, it gives me a full-blown panic attack afterwards."
On another occasion, Ms Phillips said she walked into a room to find a group of teenagers vaping.
"They gave me a hard time about breastfeeding my baby ... I was just so shocked. I thought they would leave but they didn't," she said.
Ms Phillips reached out to other mothers in an online community group and was overwhelmed by messages sharing similar stories of men watching nappy changes, opening breastfeeding curtains, and one case where a person was found unconscious on the toilet with needles on the ground.
The Canberra Times heard from mothers who had had negative experiences across ACT shopping centres, including the Canberra Centre in Civic, South.Point Tuggeranong, and Westfield centres in Woden and Belconnen.
A mother with a four-month-old child said young people were using parents rooms to "make out" or for "filming TikTok dances", and described one instance where a couple "blocked access" to use a room as a prayer space.
"I no longer feel safe using parents rooms and now rely on my husband's presence or use my car instead for nappy changes and breastfeeding," she said.
Catalina Alcazar, mother to a three-year-old, said the Woden Westfield parents room was notorious for several workers, men and women, using the area as a lunch room.
But said her anxiety peaked in the parents room near Tiger Lane at Canberra Centre, which was filled with people without babies on a Friday night when she went in to change her toddler.
"I didn't feel safe to leave my child to go into the play area there because I didn't know if something dangerous was going to be left in those spaces ... children like to climb, explore, put their hands in couches," Ms Alcazar said.
She said she didn't feel it was her place to call out the strangers and informed security on her way out, but found the guards to be "apathetic".
Ms Alcazar said it was important for parents with young children to be able to take a breather and care for their child in a clean and safe space.
"For me, a parents room in a shopping centre is the last resort," Ms Alcazar said.
This masthead contacted shopping centre operators and police asking if they had received complaints from parents, and what was done in response to reported incidents.
A South.Point Tuggeranong spokesperson said the centre took feedback seriously and had received three complaints in the past six months about the inappropriate use of parents rooms.
In response, he said the centre had increased routine inspections of its parents rooms, reinforced security patrols in the area, and installed additional signage.
"In March, we undertook a seven-day security blitz, with security officers stationed at entrances to address anti-social behaviour across the centre. The operation significantly reduced incidents involving teenagers, e-scooters and e-bikes, and we intend to undertake another security blitz in the coming months," the spokesperson said.
A Westfield spokesperson said their parents rooms were being monitored and urged customers to contact centre management or security with concerns or for assistance.
She said: "Our parents rooms are an important amenity for families visiting our centres ... We continually review our approach to ensure parents rooms remain safe, welcoming and fit for purpose."
The Canberra Centre did not provide responses by deadline.
An ACT Policing spokesperson said police were aware of a range of incidents in parents rooms at shopping centres but most had not been formally reported.
She said police would continue to work with centre management to help address anti-social behaviour.
"If anyone feels threatened or experiences an incident they should initially contact shopping centre security, or if appropriate, contact police on 131 444. If it is an emergency, contact 000," the police spokesperson said.
