PARENT QUESTION: My 23 month old daughter refuses to keep her clothes and pull ups on. I have tried everything. She takes off her clothes and pull ups when she's in her crib. She even tried to take off her clothes at my older sons' school. She even managed to take off blue jeans.
ANSWER: Some children go through this phase of stripping down! I know how frustrating that can be! For many it’s just the skill of being able to undress that motivates them to repeat it but for others it’s become a game! What happens is that the first time they do it, parents are surprised and usually laugh. Children realize its attention seeking and just keep it up! What was funny the first time still gets them attention either through facial expression or words. The less attention that it gets, the sooner the behavior will go away. It takes some effort to ignore it but that’s the best way to get it to stop. If she’s home, you really don’t have to worry about her if her clothes are off or on. If she’s not toilet trained she may have an accident but it my feeling it’s easier to clean it up and not give the behavior attention. After a couple of days, if no one is even looking or commenting then she’ll do it less and less. If you’re in public, try to keep her busy or her hands busy with something to distract her. Kids do amazing things to get attention and really don’t seem to mind if it’s negative or not!
Putting some clothes on backwards may help. If you use pj's with feet, cut out the feet and zip it up in the back. During the day you could use overalls or something with buttons that she isn't able to do yet.
It's frustrating now, but it will pass!
ANSWER: Some children go through this phase of stripping down! I know how frustrating that can be! For many it’s just the skill of being able to undress that motivates them to repeat it but for others it’s become a game! What happens is that the first time they do it, parents are surprised and usually laugh. Children realize its attention seeking and just keep it up! What was funny the first time still gets them attention either through facial expression or words. The less attention that it gets, the sooner the behavior will go away. It takes some effort to ignore it but that’s the best way to get it to stop. If she’s home, you really don’t have to worry about her if her clothes are off or on. If she’s not toilet trained she may have an accident but it my feeling it’s easier to clean it up and not give the behavior attention. After a couple of days, if no one is even looking or commenting then she’ll do it less and less. If you’re in public, try to keep her busy or her hands busy with something to distract her. Kids do amazing things to get attention and really don’t seem to mind if it’s negative or not!
Putting some clothes on backwards may help. If you use pj's with feet, cut out the feet and zip it up in the back. During the day you could use overalls or something with buttons that she isn't able to do yet.
It's frustrating now, but it will pass!
