Parenting lesson number 1567...

Here's a brief lesson for all you parents:  Never give your nineteen month old son the car keys (then close the door) to distract him while you attempt to load the shopping, pram and a hundred other things, into the boot.  Would you like to know the reason this lesson became obvious to me only yesterday?  Because yesterday, I did this exact thing (ie. gave my nineteen-month old little man the car keys to distract him, then closed the door, while I attempted to tend to the job of loading a pile of stuff into the boot of the car) and the clever little sod managed - only a second after the thud of the car door closing echoed into my ears - to push the lock button on the car key.  I know what you're thinking?  How stupid is this woman?  But honestly - and I dread to think of the consequences of such an action in the middle of a sweltering summer day - I've done this heaps of times before.  Given little man the keys, that is.  And, I'm pleased to report, he's never managed to press the lock button.  Until now that is.  Well.  You can imagine the state I was suddenly in.  All of a sudden, my nineteen-month old son has locked me out of the car...and locked himself and his sister in.  The latter, being my three-and-a-half year old little madam, is the reason I can now laugh at this scenario and put it behind me.  Because, it didn't seem to matter how clear my instructions were (given the pressure I was suddenly under), little man was not going to be able to (no matter how clever or nimble his fingers are) find the much smaller button on the key that would have unlocked the door. 

Eventually though, after shouting "Press the unlock button!" a number of times (and realising this was getting me no closer to solving my conundrum) I went around to the other side of the car and shouted a different instruction to a rather shocked and confused looking little madam.  And, thankfully (despite the fact that she's never in her life had to unlock a car), after only a few attempts, she managed to push the unlock button and I was able to promptly open the door.  And, naturally, reach over little madam and yank the set of keys clutched firmly in the very nimble fingers of little man, so they were once again in my possession.  Phew! 

Thanks, little man, for teaching me this very valuable parenting lesson.  I can't believe, in hindsight, how easily the mistake was made!  Love you!