Ok, time for a story. A true story.
On Saturday, halfway through her nap, baby girl decided to wake up, drag her stool to the door, climb up on the stool, lock herself inside while trying to open the door and then cry for help like a damsel in distress.
All would have been well if we had the keys to open it from the outside but like most important things in our house, they’re never around when we need them.
We tried to pick the lock but we’re nowhere near as good as Simon Baker in the Mentalist. Then we tried getting her to unlock it herself (which I’ve seen her done before) but she’s a classic girly girl. In a distressing situation, her best solution is to cry for help in the most pitiful way possible. Like “mommieeeee, I want mommieeeeeeee…bwahhhhh” many times over. We were standing outside the door going “come on baby girl, you can do it, just get back on the chair and turn the knob, come on” but when she’s having a meltdown, she’s incapable of following instructions.
At least I know for sure that she’s not going to be a secret agent or KGB operative when she grows up. *Dangerous occupation averted*
So then we tried calling a locksmith to come and pick the lock but it was a Saturday afternoon and it would take at least 45 minutes for one to get to the scene. That’s 45 minutes of lockdown. With a very upset damsel.
Which left us with option D: a large hammer. The husband flexed his giant muscles, gave the doorknob several hard knocks and bam, problem solved. We had our dramatic big-rescue-reunion-moment where baby girl collapsed into my arms and hugged the life out of me. She’s doing fine now, no Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder or anything.
As for the doorknob, it’s not feeling so good but it’s just as well since we won’t ever need it to be locked again anyway.
lockpicking gone horribly wrong
That brings us to our lesson, which is this. There are very few problems in life that cannot be solved with a large hammer. For those problems, you probably just need a larger hammer. I mean, have you ever seen Thor with a problem he couldn’t solve? Yeah, didn’t think so.
17 Comments
We had the same horrid experience with my sis’s kids….
And so the tradition that has carried on to my house… We now stick the key to each door on the top wooden frame. Won’t win me any home design awards, but hey, at least it minimises the meltdown time should the kids get stuck inside! :P
San´s last post ..Jay’s Birthday… The cake!
Sigh, now I have to change all the locks to just get a new set of keys. And then hope we don’t lose that set of keys.
hey that happened to my husband too. according to my mil. so she made us keep all our bedroom keys in the living room. labelled! i thought she was mad, but i guess these things really do happen?!
strawberrymilkmama´s last post ..Sugar Sugar aka Love Is In The Air
Your mil is a wise one, the labeling is a great idea, can be like Amazing Race see how fast you can unlock the door. At least she doesn’t make you guys do mock trials to practice. Like fire drills.
I had to laugh as I read your post. I did the same thing as a little girl except it as an old fashioned metal lock and the keys had long disappeared. My dear neighbour had to climb onto this tiny latch outside his window and walk over to our flat to help me unlock the door. We lived on the 10th story so his efforts were nothing short of heroic. Now we keep all the keys to the doors in a safe place cos if the children are anything like their mother, history is born to repeat itself one day!
Jillian´s last post ..Want to blog better in 2011 We’re here to help
SERIOUS??!! That’s not just ordinary heroic, it’s like superheroic. The husband contemplated climbing over from our bedroom window but we’re on the 12th floor and my exact words were “are you insane?”
I remember my brother being locked in when he was 2 while playing at our new flat, they had a hole in the door where the knob used to be for YEARS, heh.
M´s last post ..Weekends Make Me Go Ouch…
Hah, years! I have a feeling there’ll be a hole there in my house for about that same amount of time.
Oh gosh! I always thought these things only happened in TV shows, but reading your post and the comments, I guess with children anything is possible!
Jus´s last post ..Thinking Thursdays- From a Christian Chinese mother
Exactly, I didn’t think something like that would happen to me but these days, I’m hardly surprised by the stuff that happens to me anymore. And I always have a hammer with me at home just in case.
I have the door stopper since my elder one was born and till now, they were still stick on my door. :D
shuey´s last post ..You can never guess what they want to do next
shuey, what kind of door stopper? to keep the door open permanently?
I remember having to slip through window pane gaps just to unlocked doors from the inside. They literally put me into a locked room. I guess it didn’t occur to them that I may not know how to unlock the door. Well, I was a skinny gal, and I was useful like that. I wish someone had smashed door knobs for me. ;P
Audrey´s last post ..Priceless
Haha I had no idea being skinny is like a special power. I think if you really got stuck they would smash the door knob to get you out.
Was it coincidence that this post was one of the recommended posts after reading your take on the Singapore General Elections?
[…] the door behind him. This would have been ok if I had spare keys lying around the house but from the last locked-bedroom debacle, you probably already know I don’t, which meant it was hammer time […]
[…] in rooms. She does it both at home and in other people’s houses. One time, we had to smash the lock with a hammer to get her out, which was a harrowing experience for everyone […]