We are at our wits end with our 2.5 year old son. He insists on stripping to sleep, both at night and for naps. Once we put him in his crib, he takes off his clothes and his diaper. He curls up in his blanket and goes to sleep. Most of the time, his bed is wet when he wakes. We have tried taping his diapers on (worked for a long time, but now he wiggles out of them like they are pull-ups) and pinning his pajamas closed (he can even escape from zip-up feety PJs without unzipping them at all). He knows that what he is doing is wrong (although sleeping in urine doesn't seem to bother him) but he just won't stop. I am so tired of washing his bedding twice a day :(
Thanks for all the great advice about our two-year-old son's need to sleep naked. The PJs on backwards doesn't help, as he can get out of them without unzipping. We tried a couple of things -- putting the duct tape on a bit snugger (so he can't pull the diaper off his hips), catching him in the act of stripping (shortly after putting him down), and some very stern discussions about removing his diaper and wetting his bed. We have had about two weeks of dry sheets. Although he still removes his PJs quite often, he has been leaving on the diaper. For my own sanity, I also doubled up on the mattress pad. That way I can just strip the bed and wash it later (rather than hurrying to get it done before he has to go back down to sleep). Thanks again, and I hope your little ones don't go through this stage . . .
I know this isn't really help solving the problem, but until you *can* solve it, I would suggest investing in 1 or 2 waterproof-backed mattress pads. I had one when my kids were nap/sleep potty training and it will at least save you on the laundry! The one I had was about 3 foot square - big enough to absorb most of the 'leaks' and stay mostly put under a toddler. Sorry I don't have more advice. Good Luck!
Hi K.,
I've seen other moms suggest putting the zipper sleepers on backwards have worked for their kids. It's worth a shot.
L.
I don't have any experience witht this, but I thought I would throw this out there anyway. What a little bit of reverse psychology. I'd definitely keep the diaper on, but why not put his down without any clothes (I know that isn't the right thing to do because it is getting cold). Maybe if he sees he's "won" he won't try taking the diaper off. Then you just sit and wait for the him to outgrow this phase. Usually it always comes to an end. Good luck!
Good Morning K.!
Our son went thru the same naked stage & YES I understand the frustration of washing the sheets ALL the time- Argh!!! We would wait outside his bedroom, when we heard his clothes zip or diaper "rip" we would go in "stomping" & yell, stop that, let your clothes on- giving him a scare while catching him in the act- that seemed to help...Last resort; duct tape all over ;)
Good luck with yet another stressful "stage" of parenting!!
I've never dealt with this problem and can only imagine your frustration! I've heard that pj's with zippers in the BACK can be helpful with this issue. I did a websearch and found this website that sells them: http://www.ezzznights.com/Pajamas.html
I'm sure you can find back-zipping pj's elsewhere too, but just wanted to give this suggestion. Another thought - have you tried positive reinforcement? When our nearly 3yr old was resistant to potty training, we bought a bunch of gifts and wrapped them in pretty paper. We put them in a big basket in plain view and told her that every time she had a success on the potty (in your case every time your son does NOT pull his diaper off), she could open a present. This really worked for us because she loved opening gifts and wanted them so intensely that she became motivated to do what we wanted, but it felt like "her choice" (which is very important to 2.5 year olds!). Whatever your son wants or desires, use that as the reward for his good behaviour. When/if he isn't pulling the diapers off anymore, you can taper off with the gifts/rewards...1 reward for a whole week of not doing it, then so on. I'd also enlist his help in cleaning that bed, every time, gently saying something like, "oh look what happened because you pulled off your diaper. the bed is messy, now you need to help mommy clean this up. i'm sure you'll try harder next time to leave your diaper on and keep the bed clean!" he's not too young to know that his actions have consequences.
Best wishes!
K.,
I'm sorry to say that he will grow out of it. We had twins that were the same. Washing two beds twice a day. They could slip out of pajamas pinned shut through the zipper at night and would end up sleeping in a pile of something. I must admit, our twins were a little earlier because they stopped napping by 2.5, but it's the same idea. At some point he will still strip naked, but leave on the diaper or pull up. :(
This is a long shot, but you might want to investigate sensory processing disorders. Maybe he CAN'T sleep with clothes on. If he doesn't fit any of the other criteria, then I would try a sticker chart for when he does keep his diaper on-- who cares if he takes his clothes off? Maybe get him some cool cloth diapers (www.cottonbabies.com) just for sleeping?
Or, maybe could this be his way of saying he's ready to potty train? If you put him on the potty before naps, you might at least get through the naps without having to change the sheets... also, do you have sheet savers? (http://www.target.com/Quilted-Yellow-Terry-Cloth-Sheet/dp...) They just untie over his regular sheets which makes changing much easier.
Good luck!
The only thing I can think of is duct tape around the diaper and putting footed sleepers on backwards. If he's sleeping in the fuzzy sleepers then take away his blanket. If he takes off his stuff he'll get cold very fast!
K. B
mom to 5 including triplets
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I saw someone use a blanket sleeper turned around and zipped up the back. Maybe you could try that.
Good luck!
Hi K.! I don't have this issue (yet) with my two boys but I do know that most children enjoy naked times. Maybe you could have a certain amount of time during the day or evening strictly for "naked time". Make a big deal of it and say this is the only time you can be naked, not for naps not for bedtime. Just an idea that popped into my head. Best of luck with this, it really does sound frustrating. Leah
K.,
I'll bet that's really frustrating. My son (5 now) went through something like that too. He still takes off some or all of his pj's and undies at night now.
Can you put jammies/sleeper on with a diaper OVER them? You'd still be washing the clothes but it might cut down on the bedding laundry.
I'm sure this will pass in time. At least he'll have an easy time getting his pants down for potty training!
I've heard the backwards pj thing before. My other suggestion if that doesn't work is to get a couple of the really heavy duty mattress pads that just set on top of the bedding and absorb everything. I have one that absorbs 6 cups I think from One Step Ahead. You can change them without redoing the whole bed. For covers, I would just use a warm blanket and not bother really "making the bed" - just lay it over him to make the whole process less work for you.
I had the same problem with my daughter! I put her diapers on backwards and also put zippered footed sleepers on backwards. She wasn't able to escape from the backwards PJ's. Good Luck!
i miss sleeping in the buff. years of getting up with infants at night ... had to quit. so i understand why he'd want to! it's comfy.
that said... backwards zip up jammies, until he's potty trained. then for goodness sake, at least wear some briefs!
poor kid. poor you. i have no real advice except that i understand why he'd want to. he's gotta get that diaper to stay on. or let him get cold.
K.,
Buy fottie pj's... cut the feet off and put them on backwards. He won't escape then!
Good luck
C
