Taking Care of Business

It has been over four years since I had the delightful experience of taking care of my business in the bathroom alone. Now that Will is older, and a boy, I do close the door. But a closed door is nothing more than a signal to come pound on the door, stick fingers under the door, and yell through the door. So even though I am technically by myself I'm not really alone.

I recently instructed Will to begin closing the door when he takes care of his business in the bathroom. The main reason for shutting the door is because Ellie and Ben feel the need to follow big brother into the bathroom. Hmmm... sounds familiar. Ben stands and watches (which isn't a bad thing since I plan to start potty training him this month) but Ellie wants to play in the potty. Not a good thing; thus the shutting of the door.

I debated with myself over this decision for a couple of weeks. Partly because a four year old boy left behind a closed door in a room with multiple access points to water is just asking for a mess. But mostly his discomfort at his audience amused me. Yes, Mother of the Year here. I kept thinking, "Now you know how I feel, son." Only I don't think he's made the connection. In his little head it's just not the same thing as what he does to me. In the end I issued the edict to close the door, mainly because I was tired of hauling Ellie out of the room so Will could take care of his business.

One of my fears in the closing of the door is that Will is going to lock himself in the bathroom. So far that hasn't happened. But he sometimes has a hard time opening it. Especially when his hands are damp from being cleaned. One of those times happened today. Will kept yelling for help but I couldn't due to being in the middle of changing Ellie. Then I heard Ben race down the hall. With only a little effort on his part, the door opened. Will politely thanked his little brother for coming to the rescue.

I'm torn over this incident. I feel proud that Ben helped his brother. But is it REALLY a good thing that the two-and-a-half year old can open the bathroom door by himself? I'm thinking no on that one.