The Bathroom HB2 Discussion

I was eating dinner with my four-year-old and five-year-old tonight at a restaurant while my husband was out at a work dinner.   I could tell from the way my son was grabbing his crotch and my daughter was sitting crooked that they both needed to go to the bathroom.    They both, of course, were adamant they didn’t need to go.   That’s all right, I told them, if you do need to go, you know where the restrooms are.

We’d been to this restaurant many times and I had full confidence they could make it there and back without help—even my visually impaired child.   I had low confidence in them washing their hands after they went, but that’s why I carry hand sanitizer with me.  

I told them a few minutes later after additional body language tells how I would be glad to go with either or both of them, should they decide, on the off chance, they did in fact need to go to the bathroom.   This second comment sparked and entire conversation between my children about who could go into which bathroom.

There were questions about how it was okay for my son to go into the bathroom with me and my daughter to go in with my husband, but mom, could you explain how old we can be and still do that? There wanted to know about boys and girls going into the other bathroom and which bathrooms dad and I could or couldn’t go into.

I explained things to them in a way they would understand and it all made sense to them.   I didn’t get into the North Carolina HB2 debate (uproar?) but it was certainly going through my mind as I talked to my children about how we should each go to the bathroom that makes the most sense.

The Big Boy Update:  My son was in a foul mood before dinner, which I guessed was mostly due to hunger.   As he was finishing his meal tonight at Sweet Tomatoes his mood had completely changed as he looked up from his bowl and thoughtfully said, “I enjoy eating here.”

The Tiny Girl Chronicles:  On the way home from dinner a song came on that none of us had heard before.   My daughter announced she knew who sang the song.   My son asked who it was and she replied, “his name is ‘Digger.’”  My son asked how she knew that to which she replied, “because I can read.”