privacy locks and getting in

Tonight, my 15 month old son locked himself in the bathroom. Let me give you a little background on this lock. This is a lock that has NEVER worked and has kept me from having a bath by myself since my older daughter, now four, was about 2.... Those evenings when you think “Ah- a bath would be so nice” just add “with a toddler who wants to play Barbie and squirting ducks." That lock has always irritated me for that very reason. So, tonight of all nights, the door decides to lock and no way is it gonna open because, darn it, it has waited a long time for this moment. My poor little one was banging on the door and crying to get out.
My first thought was- How long has he been in there? And then, after turning the knob back and forth, jiggling it, and shaking it, I start to panic thinking "oh my god, he is going to get some nervous condition from being locked in and when he is 16 will freak out in an elevator etc....." All the while I can’t believe that the door is locked and if I shake it enough it will unlock.

Welll..Most bathroom doors with those interior locks and slit openings on the outside (known as privacy doors when you read the box at Home Depot) can be opened with a FLAT HEAD screwdriver. Of course, I forgot all about this and decided the best way to get in was with a variety of things ranging from a paperclip to a hammer and chisel.
yyyeah..that doesn't work. What it does do though is cause hysterics from the other side of the door.

Click- low wattage lightbulb goes on in my dim head. I called my neighbor-a contractor- and he came over and opened it in about 1.8 seconds- maybe even less.

So now I have a door jamb that is basically destroyed and a door that will need to be repainted and filled in some places.

I am feeling a mixture of totally stupid and thinking it is pretty funny.
Just last night, I figured out how to change the shower valve in the other bathroom after it flew off the shower wall, spraying water everywhere. Changing a shower valve is much easier then remembering how to open a privacy lock when your little one is crying on the other side. Actually, changing the valve is surprisingly easy by the way...really... but required turning off water supply and going to Home Depot at 11pm while helicopters hovered over my house because of criminal activity in the area. Anyway- It is funny how one's brain can go all mushy in certain situations and figure things out in others.
So remember- Privacy locks and flat head screwdriver. Repeat this to yourself several times.
AND if you should need to change a shower valve, all you need is a screwdriver, a special shower faucet wrench and a obviously, new valve. The guys at Home Depot are very helpful at 11pm.

-SBH