I Don’t Blame a Child for Touching What I Didn’t Hide
What do you see in this picture?
If you let the picture tell its story, it brings to mind that famous line from Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart, where the bird says:
“Since men have learned to shoot without missing, I have learned to fly without perching.”
Well, welcome to our own version of that at home, because this is now how we keep our toilet rolls in the guest toilet… and, honestly, every other toilet in the house.
Why?
Because our little one kept picking them up, soaking them in water, and happily declaring:
“I’m washing the toilet roll!”
“I’m giving it a bath!”
😂 Yes, you read that right, he was bathing the toilet roll.
The Rule We Thought We Knew
Now, to be fair, this has always been our rule, one we’ve even taught others over the years:
If we don’t want the child to touch it, we don’t leave it where the child can reach it.
But living it daily? That’s a whole different game.
The practicality of this principle demands more meticulousness than we initially imagined. At first, our focus was mainly on keeping harmful items out of reach.
Now, the list has expanded to include everything fragile, personal, expensive, or tempting.
The examples below say it all.
The Case of the Vanishing Watch
Take my Apple Watch, for example.
We had it insured for two years, and just as we felt confident enough to cancel the insurance, boom! It disappeared.
He picked it up from the drawer where I usually kept it, and that was the last we saw of it.
(We still haven’t found it. 😩)
The Flying Rings Mystery
Then there were my rings. One by one, they started to vanish mysteriously.
It wasn’t until I was decluttering weeks later that I discovered some of them, tucked away by those tiny, curious hands.
By then, of course, I had already replaced them.
My Glasses Nearly Followed
One day, he picked up my glasses and was seconds away from turning them into a boomerang.
Thankfully, his mum caught him mid-throw.
Otherwise, that would’ve been another recovery mission.
My Sister’s Perfume… and the Powder Shower
Now here’s a classic from years ago.
My sister once left her very expensive perfume and powder out in the open.
While everyone was busy in the kitchen, her little daughter discovered them… and got to work.
She poured the powder everywhere and sprayed herself from head to toe with the perfume, like she was preparing for a luxury toddler runway.
When she walked out, she looked (and smelled) like she was headed for a mini red carpet event.
We were rolling on the floor laughing.
My sister? Not so much.
She reached out to discipline her, but we gently stopped her:
“You can’t blame a child for touching what you didn’t hide.”
Back to the Toilet Rolls
So yes, that’s why toilet rolls now live far above child-height.
Because if we don’t, we’ll find them soggy, unrolled, and lovingly bathed in the toilet bowl.
The Real Lesson
Parenting teaches you to adapt quickly and creatively.
We’ve moved the center table out of the living room to prevent head bumps.
We’ve locked drawers.
We’ve rearranged nearly every surface in the house.
Because part of raising children is not just correcting their curiosity, it’s managing their environment.
Some changes are for their protection.
Others are to preserve peace.
And all of it is part of the joyful chaos of raising curious little humans.
Thanks for joining me this week on #50PlusDad.
I hope you picked up a smile… and maybe a parenting tip or two.
See you next time!
Do have an INSPIRED week ahead with the family.
