keeping her dressed!

[Squrrl]

Okay, I am genuinely baffled.

Here's the situation. We're really close with the next-door neighbors, and my 2 year old daughter and their 6 and 3 year old sons are quite used to running around nude in front of each other, taking baths together, etc. Never been a problem. But now the new neighbors' 5 year old boy and 7 year old boy twins have started spending a lot of time over at the first neighbors' house, too, and to them a naked little stranger girl is more of an issue, and consequenly it makes me a bit uncomfy, too. But she's used to stripping down at will there. I have not, to date, had a problem with her stripping in more public places, at least, but still, I think this is something I need to figure out. So how the heck do you persuade a willful 2 year old to keep her clothing on? I can't force her; I can't even dress her against her will, assuming I even thought that was a good idea. I'm at a loss! Thoughts?

[JessicaTX]

Onesies and overalls, at least it takes em longer to get off, but it's hell on potty learning.

[Squrrl]

Ah, yes, thank you for reminding me of another facet of the problem that deserves note--she already is potty-learned, as we EC'd, so we don't even have any onesies. And, to my substantial sorrow, her current reaction to overalls is "owie, owie", for whatever reason, she thinks the clips hurt. Otherwise, that'd be a great approach. Sigh.

[LynnS6]

Will she wear dresses? That's what dd likes to wear because they feel looser. She was a 'stripper' until she hit about 4, and dresses seem to be her solution to not wanting to feel constricted by clothing.

What's the 'minimum' amount of clothing you'd feel comfortable having her have on around these other kids? If you can get her just to wear undies, that's a start.

She's young, but I think she's old enough to teach that you can go naked at your own house, when it's just your family, but when other people outside the family (including the 3 and 6 year old neighbor boys) are around, it's polite to wear clothes. Honestly, I'd remove her from the room until she's got at least undies on if there are 4 other kids around. You don't have to force her to get dressed, but you can say "you need to have something on to play with the other kids. If you can't we'll stay here where we have some privacy." I can't tell you the number of times I had to repeat to dd "If you're in the front yard, you must have at least underpants on."

[Aliyahsmommy]

My daughter is only 2, but also loves to be in only her diaper. We do have an expectation though that when not at home, we need to wear clothes. If she chooses to try and take them off, then we just explain that she needs to keep them on for now, but later at home we can take them off. Now she is not always happy about this, but when it is explained that we can only stay and play if we are dressed, she usually understands and is okay with staying dressed.

Originally Posted by LynnS6

Will she wear dresses? That's what dd likes to wear because they feel looser. She was a 'stripper' until she hit about 4, and dresses seem to be her solution to not wanting to feel constricted by clothing.

What's the 'minimum' amount of clothing you'd feel comfortable having her have on around these other kids? If you can get her just to wear undies, that's a start.

She's young, but I think she's old enough to teach that you can go naked at your own house, when it's just your family, but when other people outside the family (including the 3 and 6 year old neighbor boys) are around, it's polite to wear clothes. Honestly, I'd remove her from the room until she's got at least undies on if there are 4 other kids around. You don't have to force her to get dressed, but you can say "you need to have something on to play with the other kids. If you can't we'll stay here where we have some privacy." I can't tell you the number of times I had to repeat to dd "If you're in the front yard, you must have at least underpants on."