<p>Husband charged barged through the closed door. Apparently he is unaware of the rule.</p>
<p>Yes. We also have a mirror and sometimes I just need some privacy to do things that I would rather do in private. I’m always asking my H (nicely of course) to knock before coming through the (seldom) closed bedroom door. Doesn’t compute though. Not a big deal.</p>
<p>I wish we had an agreement in our house that would allow people privacy in some other location in addition to the bathroom, but we don’t.</p>
<p>There have been occasions when I needed to have telephone conversations with people – most often, my sister – about topics that at least one of us would consider personal, but other members of my family were home at the time. Since I don’t like to sit on the toilet while talking on the phone, my only recourse was to make the call from my car. There ought to be a better way.</p>
<p>We knock first, but enter without waiting for an answer. The knock is more of a signal, “hey, I’m coming in.” It’s really not requesting permission to enter.</p>
<p>We haven’t had a door on our bedroom since about 1996, so this isn’t an issue I’ve faced recently. But if we had one, I think context would have to be taken into account. If it was 1 am, and I guessed the door was closed because my wife thought I was making too much noise elsewhere in the house (i.e., any noise at all, like talking on the phone or watching a football game on the other side of the house), I certainly wouldn’t compound my offenses by knocking. (Our version of this thread is: If you enter the bedroom when your spouse is already asleep, is it OK to turn on a light?) In other circumstances, I would probably knock.</p>
<p>Our bedroom door is only closed if one or both of us are asleep. So if the door is closed and we both arent in the room - it would mean the other is sleeping soooo no knocking just quietly come in.</p>
<p>No knocking, that I can think of. Usually I can hear the husband and his big flat feet from a mile away so I know to get out of his way! :)</p>
<p>zoosermom, a mirror on the back of the door changes things a bit! Yes, in this situation a gentle knock is warranted.</p>
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<p>Same here or when there are people in the house and one of us wants to change or otherwise needs privacy.</p>
<p>To me, it would feel weird to have to knock on your own bedroom door. We do, however, have a knock policy on closed bathroom doors. And I have been known to get cranky when hubby barges in on me when I’m relaxing in the bath.</p>
<p>I think if this was an on-going problem, that maybe locking the door when someone is in need of privacy or is standing very close to the door might be a solution. I’ve done that at times - like when wrapping Christmas presents.</p>
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<p>Yes, half of us could actually hear your soft voice explaining the situation with charm and humor.</p>
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You all just have supersonic hearing, don’t you?</p>
<p>Tell the bull if he doesn’t slow down when he comes through the door that you will consider having him castrated… that should get his attention.</p>
<p>After 25 years of marriage , I have earned the right not to knock !</p>
<p>We never knock, but I think opening the door slowly and carefully is a good idea. My husband goes to be before me and when the kids are home the door is generally closed. I go in as quietly as possible, I certainly don’t wake him up with knocking!</p>
<p>Our door doesn’t close unless you really yank it, and I’m never home so the knocking thing doesn’t come up. And H is deaf in one ear, so he probably wouldn’t hear me if I did.</p>
<p>Are all us moms light sleepers? H goes to sleep much later than me and I always wake up, no matter how quiet he is.</p>
<p>^Yes!! I am a very light sleeper and always wake up when husband comes to bed. I don’t know if it’s a habit from years of half listening for my son or the fact that our bedroom is right off the kitchen and near the front door. I do know I sleep so much better if he tuns in at the same time I do (rarely happens, he’s more of a night owl).</p>
<p>If it was very late at night and I expected the person to be asleep and I was entering to go to sleep I would not knock. If it was during the day or I did not expect the person to be sleeping I would knock.</p>
<p>I do one of two things, sort of “in the middle”:
- stand outside the closed door and say my husband’s name,
“XXX, are you in there?”
or - Knock, then open without waiting for a response, sort of as a warning that I am opening the door</p>
<p>I would say yes.</p>
<p>Our bedroom door is the only bedroom with a lock. So if I thought about it in time, I’d lock it.If there was no lock and If I was standing in front of it looking in the mirror… maybe I’d put a door jam of some sort in it so that it wouldn’t open fast.</p>
<p>Easier for me to remember to do that than to get H to listen to a gentle kind request that he doesn’t get.</p>
<p>This is a “you are both right” situation!</p>