My son has a heart attack when we change him (clothes to PJs, PJs to clothes). He'll cry for every article of clothing we take off "Nooooooooooo, socks, socks, socks/pants, pants, pants/etc". Once we finally get him dressed he is OK, but shoot, it is getting old. And, if we put a sweatshirt on him in the morning becasue it is cool, we cannot get the darn thing off of him all day even if it isn't cold anymore. I mean, I take it off if it is really warm, but if he isn't sweating I just don't want that battle!
Just wondering if others experience this as well.
Yes, my toddler is the same way. I started letting him pick out his clothes (I give him 2-3 options maximum) and that really helps. He feels like he has some control over the situation so he is more eager to get dressed in the morning. Even if he wears the same stuff over again because they are his favorite.
Yes. Not all the time, but my 2 1/2 year old does not always like to get dressed. He doesn't seem to care if he has clothes on or not...he just doesn't like to stop what he is doing to get dressed. I think that he gets attached to what he is currently wearing (i.e., pjs) and doesn't want to change or doesn't understand why he needs to change clothes. I remind him that he needs to put on clean clothes for the day to go...wherever it is we are going.....and ask him help me. This does help and hopefully he will soon be able to get dressed by himself. Or, if I might change him while he is watching TV...then he pays no mind to what i am doing :) Just know that you are not going through this alone :)
Oh boy.. Yes! My son went through a phase where he didn't want to take his pajamas off in the morning. He would wake up soaked in the morning. We would change him and he would scream "jamas on!" And would carry on for 20 minutes trying to pull his shirt off. Even go as far as to take them out of the laudry and come to us crying and screaming asking us to put them back on. That phase is over thank goodness! Now he wants to get dressed right away but at night we have to chase him around to put his pajamas on and he thinks this is hysterical. Keeps running and laughing! When I finally catch him he doesn't stay still while I'm trying to put them on. Ahhhh! One day we will look back at this and laugh and think where did my little one go huh? Sorry this is no help but hopefully made you laugh :).
Right there with you. E-V-E-R-Y-T-H-I-N-G. And then he's fine after it's done.
One thing that helped us during this phase was to let my son "shoot" the article of clothing into the laundry after it came off (like shooting a basketball, not a gun, lol). We got a little mesh hamper at Walmart for about $5 that is low enough for him to reach easily.
They can get really picky about clothes. There are some pajamas that he just doesn't want to get off, and some days he wears his PJ shirt all day long. We have been having him go in and pick out his clothes first. He is then focused on those clothes and putting them on, rather than on what he is wearing. The sweatshirt is another story, and wants to wear them when it is 100 out. Pick your battles, but it is a phase.
I actually posted a similar question regarding my toddler not wanting zip up shirts or sweaters. I think to some extent it is normal. Some kids fight some things more than others. Try getting him to choose what he wants to wear, he might have preferences for some clothes over others. Toddlers are notorious for being rigid and issues come and go. If it continues and/or gets more extreme, talk to your pediatrician.
I feel your pain. Taking clothes or diapers on or off cause crying in our guy, especially in the morning (getting up) or at night (going to bed).
Sometimes we play games or I sing songs to him or ask him about stuff that is going on. For example, if he went to story time at the library that day, I'll ask him about it, to get him thinking about something else. Or we play a game called "animal sounds" that goes like "What noise does an owl make?"; sometimes he says the answer or makes a difference noise, but if he doesn't then I do it. You can flip that one around to "what animal says ___?" and make an animal noise and then have him try to guess the animal that makes it. In the morning, I'll talk to him about his day, like "Pop-pop is coming today to see you and play with you" or "Jack is coming to play at the park. Do you want to go down the slide with him?"
If your kiddo hates having a sweater/sweatshirt pulled off, maybe something that zips would be faster?
It does get really old, but I try to remind myself that doing a diaper/clothes change is completely interrupting them, and I'd hate it if I were really in to something and had to stop and get changed... :)
Another mom I know has a basket of "special" toys that are only pulled out during changes. I haven't tried this yet, but I keep meaning to.
Totally, totally normal. Toddlers are basically allergic to transitions, and I think for younger toddlers, they have a funny concept of clothes -- like they're actually parts of their bodies something. I'd just do what you're doing -- keep his clothing changes to a reasonable minimum -- and wait this phase out. Before too long he'll discover something new -- running around naked, playing dress-up, something -- and it'll be a whole new ball game.
I don't have that issue, but why don't you try a star chart? Also, we have a rule where youc an't come downstairs in your PJs, that way if he wants to come down stairs he has to get dressed... Don't know if that will ehlp you... but good luck!
I'm no help....neither one of mine will keep clothes on! It's off the minute they come in the house :-)
My daughter does a milder ersion of this. She is 15 months old and when we put socks on her or her dress boots you cannot get them off. She screams when she gets dressed but is fine when we are done she just hates being fussed with. But if she had socks on she will see them after we took them off and try to put them back on and then have a melt down because she cannot get them on. It is funny, she forgets about it once we take her away and she no longer sees the article in question. I can see how trying your situation must be, I am sorry I do not have any ideas to help other than homefully it is a stage and they will out grow it.
Oh yes! I've got a very stubborn 3-yr-old and have run into similar issues like. We try to give him a couple of choices (or if we're feeling lucky we just let him go to his dresser and pick out whatever he wants to wear). Also I found out that he needs a warning ahead of time...such as "hey buddy, in a few minutes it'll be time to put on our comfy clothesso why don't you go pick out some pj's" or "it's raining outside better pick out some socks and long pants today".
Hopefully if your son feels like he has some control over the situation he'll calm down. It feels like just when you come up with a solution for one problem three more crop up (like taking a bath, brushing teeth/hair, or going to bed, or leaving for work...).
No help from me, but I really had to laugh at your post. I hope he will grow out of it soon.
Just dress him first thing in the morning. This way you only have one battle.
It will end. These little ones are quirky as toddlers.
