It never fails. You can spend every waking second with your child, but the moment that you try to do something for yourself, (like pee in peace) your child will desperately need you, right then and there. But knowing when your child might interrupt you when you’re trying to console your other kiddo can help make those moments less maddening. Here are just 10 moments when your child will suddenly need you out of the blue and for no damn reason.
When You’re Eating Something
You finish feeding your toddler and finally, it’s your turn to get something into your stomach. But before that first bite, your child hollers from the bathroom that they need help wiping their butt. (Sigh.) And because excrement won’t exactly entice you to eat your egg salad sandwich, you just might wind up missing your meal altogether.
When You’re Sitting Down
It’s inevitable that as soon as you crash on the couch, your child will want their water cup refilled — even though it was mysteriously full five minutes ago. Since you don’t want your child to become dehydrated (and because they’ll keep asking, anyway), you get up and grab that H2O. It might be annoying to refill sippy cups, but hey, at least your core muscles will get a workout from all that sitting down and standing up.
When You’re In The Bathroom
The intro to another episode of Bluey is playing, and that means you’ve got a solid 7-8 minutes of bathroom time to yourself — or so you thought. Although you hear your child laughing when Muffin becomes Grouchy Granny, as soon as you start taking care of (ahem) business, your kid busts into the bathroom because the dog got into the pantry and ate all the animal crackers. So you wipe as fast as you can and prepare for your pooch’s upcoming pukefest.
When You’re Getting Dressed
If your kiddo has seen your crotch, you’re not alone. Many a child has walked in on their parent during an outfit change. In the grand scheme of things, though, it’s really not a big deal if your babe sees your boobies (or other uncovered body parts), unless they start asking some “hairy” questions that you’re not ready to address yet.
When You’re Trying To Sleep
You might as well wave the white flag now, because sleeping soundly through the night is nonexistent for parents. So don’t be surprised to see a little face looking at you while you’re in bed, accompanied by a request for “one more book,” “a glass of water,” or every parent’s favorite: “Can I sleep with you?” At which point, your child will most likely fall asleep in your bed immediately, while you’re wide awake and staring at the ceiling going over your to-do list for the next day.
When You Say That You Need A Minute
The dog is barking, your six-month-old is covered in carrots, and your threenager has written on the walls — again. Saying that you need a break is bound to elicit a response from your child…and not a positive one. Younger children don’t really have a concept of time and only assume that you’re on their timetable which is why your Mini Me is making demands for you to color when you just want to crash.
When You’re Trying To Talk To Your Partner
Whether it’s about the bills or plans for the weekend, a conversation that doesn’t include your kid is going to get interrupted. Period. Don’t be surprised if your child suddenly shimmies their way in between you and your partner and says something random like, “Louie fell down during recess and had to go to the nurse.” If you ignore it, the comment is going to get repeated louder and louder by your child until you pay attention, which, at that point, your adult conversation will be forced to come to a close.
When You’re Binging Your Fave Show
There’s nothing like seeing your kids sleeping at bedtime to make you simultaneously feel all those warm fuzzies — and a desperate desire to flee their room as fast as you can. Decompressing while devouring a treat and turning on the TV is a deadly combination, though, as it has the power to wake any child from a deep sleep and find their way to you. Because you don’t want them watching Workin’ Moms, taking them to their room and falling asleep on their bed is bound to happen.
When You’re On The Phone
If you didn’t already guess, your child has a love/hate relationship with your phone. On the one hand, they are obsessed with it, especially when you’re on a long line at the supermarket and you give it to them to watch YouTube videos (look, no shame here, we’ve all done it.) But dare you even glance at your phone while you’re in their presence and you just might be facing down a tantrum of epic proportions.
When You’re Taking A Shower
Bathing is unheard of when you have young children in the house, even if they’re happily playing in their pack and play. No matter how fast you suds up, the fact of the matter is that you’re most likely going to have shampoo still in your hair as you console your Velcro kid. To ensure that you don’t wind up with dandruff, you might haul that pack and play into the bathroom so you can rinse in peace.
While it can be a true test in patience when your kid keeps interrupting you, it’s important to know that this phase doesn’t last forever. It’s actually a sign that your child wants to maintain a connection to you. So just remind yourself of this each time your kid finds you and wants to play dolls when you’re just trying to floss your teeth.