Oh the Suffering!

[neko]

The last week, week and a half, I have seen a major change in the behavior of my two year old. Previously we could distract her with a story to make diaper changes and getting dressed fairly painless. Now it's like she's being tortured each time I go to change her diaper or put on a shirt. The screaming, the yowling, the running away, the hitting, the rolling around on the floor... The only thing she'll agree to wear is a dress, which she will calmly put on.

So she likes dresses. I get that her fashion sense has developed and we're working on buying enough dresses for the week. However it's winter and it's cold and wet and she needs to wear something under that dress. I've taken the diaper hating phase as a cue to start potty training, but I'm not letting her go out in public without a diaper or training pants on.

I'm getting really tired of the battle and I'd like to get out of the house more often- without the two hour battle to get dressed. Anyone else tackle this sort of problem successfully?

[katiesk]

tights!

dd likes dresses too (or i do) but it's cold in the winter! but with tights it's just fine for her to wear dresses all of the time and if she is playing outside alot or something, then she can wear a snowsuit over her whole outfit. but tights are great! thick cotton or wool ones...

[katiesk]

ps: happy green bee has cheap AMAZINGLY cute dresses for relatively inexpensive in their factory store section - with matching tights, nonetheless!

[neko]

No luck with tights either. Even though she says they're "petty".

[mamadelbosque]

I have a DS, so dresses aren't an option. Personally, if we're going somewhere, I just catch him and hold him down and listen to him scream for the couple mintues it takes to get him dressed. Once he's dressed he's OK. Its that act of stopping playing to lay down and get changed/dressed that he hates.

[katiesk]

neko, you should look at happy green bee though - maybe she would be intrigued by wearing the matching striped tights and dresses. or maybe if she saw the pics of the kids on the website wearing them? just a thought...

leggings? like babylegs or whatever? dd likes to wear those, but it's not usually warm enough for just those under her dress or pants.

[neko]

Originally Posted by mamadelbosque

I have a DS, so dresses aren't an option. Personally, if we're going somewhere, I just catch him and hold him down and listen to him scream for the couple mintues it takes to get him dressed. Once he's dressed he's OK. Its that act of stopping playing to lay down and get changed/dressed that he hates.

Yeah, that's what we're resorting to... but it takes much longer than a few minutes. More like fifteen or twenty minutes. My kid is big and really, really strong. She's also hurting herself in the flailing. Mostly it makes me feel like a horrible parent to have to pin my child down to get clothing on. At least I'm not the only one with this battle.

[olien]

I started to do the lets get dressed time with the wiggles on the TV. We dont watch that much of it, but he loves them & is so fascinated that I can do whatever to him & as long as he has a view of them he is OK with it.

It is much better that starting your day angry & frustrated.

[Girlprof]

I think this is pretty typical of two year olds. Our DD doesn't care about dresses, but diaper changes and getting dressed are apparently torture for her now. It often works to do them in the living room instead of her bedroom. And sometimes singing a song that she doesn't know works. Good luck! It doesn't last forever at least.

[gbailey]

I wish I could offer some advice but our 20 month old is behaving like this over everything. I have heard more screaming, yelling and whining in the past 3 weeks than I've ever heard. Changing the diaper, eating, getting her dressed to go outside. Everything. I've had to learn to take deep breaths and let things go. I hope it's a phase that's over soon but my mother tells me to not hold my breath until she's 4. LOL