A couple of nights ago Ciárán was in the bathroom getting his Pull Up in order to get ready for bed. Yes, I am fully aware that he is four years old and essentially still wearing what amounts to a diaper overnight. He is fully potty trained and other than this one thing, we’ve only got one kid left to deal with in this area. While I’m not a big advocate of extended use of diapers, I also have to think about the money we would spend on additional laundry washing his sheets and blankets every day.
Back to my original point, which wasn’t meant to be a defense of overnight parenting practices (or the lack thereof).
Ciárán had been in the bathroom a bit longer than necessary. All he was required to do was walk in, grab a Pull Up, and walk out, an activity that can be completed in under five seconds. It was something like two minutes after he went into the bathroom that I decided to go in and check on him.
I opened the door as he was walking out. The positioning of this was such that I opened the door on Ciárán’s foot, smashing a couple of toes. Thankfully there wasn’t any major damage, but it still hurt.
As expected, Ciárán began to cry. His foot hurt, and he was surprised by my opening the door. Both my and my wife’s attempts to comfort Ciárán were unsuccessful, he sat on the toilet, holding his injured foot, crying.
Out of the blue, Xavier, 17 month old, comes up to Ciárán and gives him a hug. It was quite possibly the sweetest thing I had ever seen. It warmed my heart so much to see this toddler be so aware of the situation and attempt to provide emotional support to his big brother that it almost made me want to have another kid.
Almost.