Hmm - unusual you might say. However, as a Dad or parent, this statement “I’m stuck” is something you may hear many times. It can be both humorous and alarming... I’ll explain.
I would say that most of these will be relatively harmless and cause limited stress. Such as “I’m stuck“ when kept behind the stair gate. ”Good” you say to yourself, “that’s the plan”. ”I’m stuck” for instance in the playpen - again “Good, that’s the plan” you say. ”I’m stuck” when in the super-duper travel system you bought for the car. Even homework - “I’m stuck with this question, please can you help” or “I’m stuck with my maths, can you help” are pretty straight-forward. Well maybe not the maths...
However, on many occasions you will believe everything around you is ‘operating normally'. Then, suddenly, you will hear a-slightly more worried little voice simply saying “I’m stuck”...
We have experienced this many times. On one rather funny occasion, my wife and I were preparing dinner and hear the call - “I’m stuck!”. The call was from our daughter, who had been sitting nicely at the dinner table. However, unbeknownst to us, she had decided to climb off the chair and insert her head through the space at the back of a ladder-back chair... Not a particularly clever thing to do, as much like most humans, she doesn’t have whiskers like a cat to warn her about these small spaces, those spaces you may feel you can get into but will struggle to get out!! Fortunately, with a careful twist (of the chair not the neck) we managed to safely remove her with limited alarm and no need for butter or cooking oil! As to be expected from an older sibling, our son will never let her forget that and often mentions the ‘chair-necklace’!!
As for the most daft, it has to be when she was quite young and still in a booster seat. We were on a trip back from seeing the Grandparents, quite late in the afternoon. She was a little grumpy and tired in the back of the car. We’d tried loads of things: food, games, singing and treats to keep her entertained or get her to sleep but nothing had worked. As we finished the last tic-tac from a small box with the 'shiny sticker', she asked if she could play with it. “Great, peace at last" my wife and I said. We removed the tiny plastic cap and passed her the box. Sadly, about 10 minutes later we heard “I’m stuck“. On turning around, we were greeted by a one fingered salute as she held up her hand with an enlarged digit, basically in the shape of the tic-tac box - nightmare... She had actually managed to get her finger inside the hole in the top and pushed it in far enough to be ‘stuck’!
A quick pit stop at the nearest lay-by and a bit of ‘manipulation’ eventually freed the digit with no damage to either box or finger - kids!!!
Another incident that makes me chuckle was when the kids were a bit older. We were on a family walk at a local farmland park - generally a good location for Dad Files stories. We visited only a few days after some extremely wet weather so the conditions underfoot were pretty treacherous and very boggy. We’d been walking for a good 30 minutes or so and managed to avoid the really bad areas of the park, keeping fairly close to the main pathways. As we started to make our way back to the car we took a slightly different route back and progressed into a wooded section relatively close to the riverside. Probably not a good plan, as we found ourselves in a far wetter area with limited chance to turn around once within. Pressing on, I heard the call “I’m stuck”. To that call, I spun around to see our daughter expertly balancing on one foot, that foot deeply immersed within the boggy ground. As she stood there with one leg firmly planted and the other outstretched in front of her... but bootless... I quickly scan the area like a skilled lookout checking for risks - “there I see it”. The missing boot. It was obviously a step behind her but well and truly submerged in the muddy ground. I squelch over to her and grab the boot, which took a little effort. Not wanting to see myself flying backwards like some kind of comedy sketch when trying to remove her well planted booted foot, I fireman’s lift my daughter out of the other boot. With daughter balanced on my shoulder I grab that boot too and do my best to extricate the boot from the muddy captor - not easy! Eventually, I make my boggy progress out. Job done - what a hero...
Hero I had thought... Stupidly, I then pop her straight back on the ground - forgetting about the boots - splosh! Pink tights now with muddy brown feet. She’d managed to stay clean, and then I plonk her straight into the mud! Not a look I will be forgiven for creating. Amidst a little bout of tears, I plunge the slightly muddied tight covered feet into the rescued boots and explain that it’s not as bad as it could have been and that we need to plough on. Oops! Not one for the family scrapbook. Hmm...maybe not such a hero...more hero to zero!
In conclusion, a bit of advise from me, no matter where or when you hear the “I’m stuck” call, keep your mind clear on the task in hand - until you complete it fully... Any slight slip could cause a ‘tight incident’.
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