Mom told not to breastfeed at water park perfectly explains why the decision was ridiculous
"Imagine all the bodily fluids being excreted into the water but they’re worried about breastmilk"
A mother breastfeeding and a lazy river
There are a lot of reasons why waterparks aren't the most sanitary places in the world. In the water lurks a mysterious combination of chlorine, sweat, pee, saliva and whatever grime the people brought into the park from the outside. So, it’s strange that Rigby's Water World in Georgia asked mother Tiffany Francis to stop breastfeeding her baby in the lazy river “as a courtesy to other people."
Francis shared her story on Facebook, where the post received 848 shares and over 1,000 comments.
“My son is 11 months old, and when it was getting to be his nap time, like I do every visit, I got in the lazy river to nurse him to sleep,” she wrote in the vial post. “He likes motion to sleep, he sleeps well in the car or swing, so he will also sleep in the lazy river.”
A park employee informed Francis that she couldn’t breastfeed in the lazy river, and then a manager came by to confirm the rules and said they were posted outside. “Of course there was nothing stating anything about children, except for babies needed to wear swim diapers (which he was),” Francis continued in her post.
A manager told Francis that "as a courtesy to other people," she can't feed her son in the lazy river because "no food or drinks" are allowed in the water. "So my boobs aren't allowed in the water?" she retorted.
Francis made a great point about why the park shouldn’t have been concerned about breast milk potentially leaking into the water.
“Imagine all the bodily fluids being excreted into the water, but they’re worried about breastmilk when the baby was latched, my breast was out of the water, and the milk was only going into baby’s mouth,” she wrote. “But really it wasn’t even about him eating in the water it was about it making other guests uncomfortable.”
She then contrasted her behavior with other bathers.
“Also in the lazy river, I saw several other mothers with their kids asleep in their laps, the kids heads on their mom's chests. My situation looked just like theirs, my breast wasn’t exposed. My sons face was covering everything,” Francis continued. “So without looking extra hard you’d think he was just asleep on my chest. But somehow I made people uncomfortable by doing the most natural thing I could do for my child, while just trying to let him nap. Mind you, this was also at a water park where most people are wearing very little clothing but my son and I were offensive.”
Francis asked for her season pass to be refunded, but they said no. She left the park in tears.
The post received a flurry of angry mothers, many of whom wrote messages to the water park through Facebook. Many pointed to the law that says moms are free to breastfeed just about anywhere in Georgia.
According to Georgia Code 31-1-9, "The breastfeeding of a baby is an important and basic act of nurture which should be encouraged in the interests of maternal and child health. A mother may breastfeed her baby in any location where the mother and baby are otherwise authorized to be."
Steve Brown, Rigby’s vice president, spoke with aquatic professionals and decided to reverse the park's stance on breastfeeding in the lazy river, issuing a statement:
"After reviewing other cases on this subject and conducting a survey among other aquatic professionals. There were some good arguments for and some good arguments against allowing it. However, going forward, I will not prevent breastfeeding mothers from nursing their child in the pools at Rigby’s Water World. Even though it could be considered by many to not be the best practice, mothers have the right to breastfeed their child wherever they chose. It has always been common practice on the pool deck, but now it is allowed in the pool if a mother chooses. I would like to apologize to Tiffany for asking her to not breastfeed in the pool and, by that, not creating the best experience for her today. I will send a memo to our team to let them know the change to this policy. I would like to thank those of you who conducted yourselves in a positive way to shed light on the subject.”
In the end, Francis just wants moms to feel at ease feeding their babies wherever they go.
"No one else is told to eat under a cover or go to the bathroom to eat or to go eat in their car, but babies aren't allowed to eat in public? People are just so oh a breast! Oh my goodness! Because people have sexualized it and it's gross! I just want other moms to feel comfortable feeding in public whether in the water or anywhere else. It's okay and you can do it!” Francis told WGXA.
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Beaver in water. Photo by 
An actual beaver dam on the now-thriving Price River
Not just coworkers—family, friends, strangers, kids…
Imagine having to go so badly but being out of euros. 
Anything hobbit-esque can't be wrong. 
But what if you need pain meds AND mascara?!
Imagine how this would affect childcare.
Honestly…where's the lie?
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Urgent dash to the bathroom! 🚪🏃♂️
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There's a reason why some people can perfectly copy accents, and others can't
Turns out, there's a neurodivergent link.
A woman in black long sleeve shirt stands in front of mirror.
Have you ever had that friend who goes on vacation for four days to London and comes back with a full-on Queen's English posh accent? "Oooh I left my brolly in the loo," they say, and you respond, "But you're from Colorado!" Well, there are reasons they (and many of us) do that, and usually it's on a pretty subconscious level.
It's called "accent mirroring," and it's actually quite common with people who are neurodivergent, particularly those with ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder). According Neurolaunch, the self-described "Free Mental Health Library," "Accent mirroring, also known as accent adaptation or phonetic convergence, is the tendency to unconsciously adopt the accent or speech patterns of those around us. This linguistic chameleon effect is not unique to individuals with ADHD, but it appears to be more pronounced and frequent in this population."
Essentially, when people have conversations, we're constantly "scanning" for information—not just the words we're absorbing, but the inflection and tone. "When we hear an accent, our brains automatically analyze and categorize the phonetic features, prosody, and intonation patterns," writes Neurolaunch. For most, this does result in copying the accent of the person with whom we're speaking. But those with ADHD might be more sensitive to auditory cues. This, "coupled with a reduced ability to filter out or inhibit the impulse to mimic…could potentially explain the increased tendency for accent mirroring."
While the article explains further research is needed, they distinctly state that, "Accent mirroring in individuals with ADHD often manifests as an unconscious mimicry of accents in social situations. This can range from subtle shifts in pronunciation to more noticeable changes in intonation and speech rhythm. For example, a person with ADHD might find themselves unconsciously adopting a Southern drawl when conversing with someone from Texas, even if they’ve never lived in the South themselves."
People are having their say online. On the subreddit r/ADHDWomen, a thread began: "Taking on accents is an ADHD thing?" The OP shares, "My whole life, I've picked up accents. I, myself, never noticed, but everyone around me would be like, 'Why are you talking like that??' It could be after I watched a show or movie with an accent or after I've traveled somewhere with a different accent than my 'normal.'
They continue, "Apparently, I pick it up fast, but it fades out slowly. Today... I'm scrolling Instagram, I watch a reel from a comedian couple (Darcy and Jeremy. IYKYK) about how Darcy (ADHD) picks up accents everywhere they go. It's called ADHD Mirroring??? And it's another way of masking."
(The OP is referring to Darcy Michaels and his husband Jeremy Baer, who are both touring comedians based in Canada.)
Hundreds of people on the Reddit thread alone seem to relate. One comments, "Omfg I've done this my whole life; I'll even pick up on the pauses/spaces when I'm talking to someone who is ESL—but English is my first language lol."
Sometimes, it can be a real issue for those around the chameleon. "I accidentally mimicked a waitress's weird laugh one time. As soon as she was out of earshot, my family started to reprimand me, but I was already like 'oh my god I don’t know why I did that, I feel so bad.'"
Many commenters on TikTok were shocked to find out this can be a sign of ADHD. One jokes, "Omg, yes, at a store the cashier was talking to me and she was French. She's like 'Oh are you French too? No, I'm not lol. I'm very east coast Canada."
And some people just embrace it and make it work for them. "I mirror their words or phrase! I’m 30. I realized I start calling everyone sweetie cause my manager does & I work at coffee shop."