Are You Almost Done? A Love Letter to Bathroom-Door Parenting

Picture it. You're dressed. The bags are packed. The car keys are in your hand. You are, for once, actually on time.

And then you hear it from behind the bathroom door: "I'm not done yet!"

If you've asked "are you almost done?" four times in the last ten minutes, welcome. You're among friends. Pull up a spot on the hallway floor.

The bathroom-door hall of fame

Every parent has lived at least a few of these. Some of us have lived all of them before 8 a.m.

• The countdown that means nothing. "We're leaving in two minutes." Said three times. Nobody has left.
• The room service request. A book. A snack. A specific stuffed animal. You slide them under the door like a hotel concierge.
• The live play-by-play. You didn't ask for an update. You're getting one anyway, in detail.
• The deep thinker. "What are you doing in there?" "Thinking." About what? Nobody knows. It's been twelve minutes.
• The meeting interruption. You finally sit down for a video call, and someone yells "I'M DONE!" loud enough for the whole team to hear.
• The reverse. You try to use the bathroom alone for 90 seconds. Small fingers appear under the door, followed by a question about snacks.
• The victory lap. The door swings open. They're beaming. "That was a BIG one!" And honestly? You're proud.

Funny, not shameful

Here's why I love these moments: they're universal. Every family has them, and almost nobody talks about them. (More on that in The Things Parents Don't Talk About.)

When we laugh about bathroom stuff, kids learn it's a normal part of life, not something to hide or feel weird about. That matters. Kids who feel relaxed about the bathroom are more likely to go when they need to, and to tell you when something feels off.

So yes, laugh about the hallway vigils and the under-the-door snack deliveries. A little humour keeps the whole topic light, and that's a good thing for everyone.

A little help for the long waits

Sometimes the long bathroom visits are just a kid who discovered a good book. Other times, things are genuinely a bit stuck.

That's where Smoovees comes in. Each sachet has 4 g of fibre, including 3.5 g from psyllium, with real freeze-dried fruit. Mix it into ¾ cup of water, give it 8 minutes to thicken, and it's ready, in Mango Raspberry or Mixed Berry.

It's an easy way to support regularity and happy tummies. We can't promise shorter bathroom trips, but adding fibre to the day is a simple place to start.

To every parent on the hallway floor

You're doing great. The waiting, the snack deliveries, the proud high-fives after a big one: it's all part of the job, and it's some of the funniest stuff we'll ever remember.

Know a parent who gets it? Tag them, send them this, or tell us your best bathroom-door story. We promise we've heard worse.

xo Rikki
Founder, Smoovees