Robber Is as Robber Does

It is well known that when people's homes are burglarized, they tend to be far more traumatized by the invasion of their personal space than by the loss of valuable property per se. Any villain must first be a violator of space before he can become a thief, and the former offense is somehow far graver than the latter. Daniel reminded me of this tonight, as I was drying him off after his bath.

Daniel believed that he was finished drying off, and he felt very ready for his pajamas. However, I had a different perspective. The fact that his chest and back were still slick with bath-water drove me to the arbitary conclusion that he needed more drying-off.

Daniel did not want to be dried off. He made his choice very clear, but I disregarded his sense of bodily sovereignty, and proceeded to dry him off a second time (he had undertaken the first attempt).

Needless to say, he was highly offended. But I didn't understand the fundamental violation of space and autonomy until he levied the following charge:

"Daddy, you're being like a robber."

(July 17, 2009)