Just put some friggin clothes on

[Norasmomma]

I say this like 10 times a day to my DD who is 4. She strips at the drop of a hat, she always has and it is beginning to drive me totally insane. If we are in town she'll stay dressed, sometimes she takes her shoes and socks off int he car, but mostly she just strips as soon as we are home or when she is getting a bit comfortable(her clothes are not uncomfy either, they are cotton, stretchy pants and shirts, or comfy cotton dresses). Dh and I both have no idea what to do, for me the only thing is setting a timer and giving her 2-3 minutes to find her clothes and put them on. Any advice? Does anybody else have a kid who does this? Ugh, I just get so sick of seeing her naked butt and yelling at her to get her clothes on for the 10th time in a day.

[lyterae]

DD would play naked 24/7 if we let her . We finally instituted the rule that she had to wear clothes outside of her bedroom and bathroom. She can be naked as much as she wants in her room or the bathroom.

[Norasmomma]

Oh that's a good idea, I've kinda tried that with DD, but maybe making it like you can ONLY be naked there would work. Problem though I think she'll never leave the bathroom because she'll be in there all.the.time.

[lynsage]

DD is almost six now and I just let her wear a large t-shirt and panties around the house, like an adult t-shirt that fits her like a really loose and comfy gown. We make sure to get the panties with the soft, covered waistband because the ones with bare elastic drive her nuts. She just hates to wear clothes!

When she was this age, the rule was no nakies in the main part of the house, just like the PP. Sometimes she would ask to take baths, IMO just so she could be naked. As long as it wasn't more than once a day, I'd let her As she has gotten older, especially in the last few months, she has developed a sense of personal modesty and started wanting to have something on, so the t-shirt and panties deal works for all of us.

[deditus]

My dd is a stripper, too. She hates clothes, jackets, shoes, all of it. For her it is definitely sensory processing related as she has a few other SPD "symptoms".

[JollyGG]

Why does she need to wear clothes?

My daughter (age 4) is the same way. When we are out she keeps her clothes on. When we have company she keeps her clothes on. But if it's just the four of us at home she doesn't wear clothes. We do require her to wear underwear as I don't want naked (who knows how well you whipped) butt on my furniture. Otherwise I don't worry about it. She understands the social conventions of wearing clothing in public. What else do I need? Her big brother (age 7) often strips down to his underwear at home with no company around as well.

So my question is - Why is it important to you that she wears clothes at home?

[Norasmomma]

Originally Posted by JollyGG

Why does she need to wear clothes?

So my question is - Why is it important to you that she wears clothes at home?

Well frankly I am sick of seeing her in her underwear, or usually nothing. We have friends over. She is complaining she's cold, but won't put something on, the list goes on. She lacks a certain modesty and I get tired of her being all spread eagle or putting her bottom in her baby brother's face.

What bothers me is she asks to get dressed then 5 minutes later is naked, then saying she's cold. Duh, we live in a 100 year old drafty house, and you are naked. IDK it just drives me a bit nutty.

[HollyBearsMom]

reminds me of the mother who say "put on a sweater, you are making me cold!"

seriously it sounds like your hang up. So if it is important to you the rules the other posters mentioned might help keep the frustrations down.

My son would walk around naked all day and would play outside in the bitter cold with hardly anything on. I don't sweat it. He just runs hotter than we do.

Oh and we live in a 250+ year old farm house that is so drafty and cold yet he sleeps in boxers and kicks off the covers.

Now that he is 9 we do have a a rule that all "private parts" are covered so mostly he runs around in boxers.

Another thought- could she have sensory issues?

[Norasmomma]

Well see that's the thing, she many times strips even underwear, and strips when people are over.

I guess I'm the weirdo who wants her to have clothes on, sorry I asked.

It's a battle for her to even wear underwear, that is the biggest issue-nakey jay just gets to me after awhile.

[sapphire_chan]

Get clothes that button in back?

J/k

: to see responses because my dd is the 2 year old version of your dd. It's good to know that by 4 they don't try to strip in the middle of the library.

[sapphire_chan]

Originally Posted by HollyBearsMom

My son would walk around naked all day and would play outside in the bitter cold with hardly anything on. I don't sweat it. He just runs hotter than we do.

But your kid isn't whining at you about being cold, right? Totally different situation.

[sapphire_chan]

My inclination would be to start setting limits on what she can do when she's undressed. She can sprawl nakie-jay, she can be naked with people over, she can even rub her butt all over stuff--in her room with the door closed. She gets to be naked, you get to not have a baby with a face full of kid butt.

And does she have a bathrobe? Something nice and thick and towelly that would also be good for after baths? So you could toss it to her and she could slip it on in a couple seconds.

[Kristin0105]

My dd is 5 and does not wear clothes when she is home unless it is freezing in the house and even then sometimes. I think it's the adults with the issues with clothes. I don't want to create body image issues for her so I just let her be, she will grow out of it eventually when society tells her her body is something to should be covered. In the meantime, I let her do what comes naturally to her. I am glad she has a healthy body image.

[HollyBearsMom]

Originally Posted by sapphire_chan

But your kid isn't whining at you about being cold, right? Totally different situation.

no its not because as per the op the "whining cause she is cold" is only part of it.

Well see that's the thing, she many times strips even underwear, and strips when people are over.

I guess I'm the weirdo who wants her to have clothes on, sorry I asked.

It's a battle for her to even wear underwear, that is the biggest issue-nakey jay just gets to me after awhile.

She lacks a certain modesty and I get tired of her being all spread eagle or putting her bottom in her baby brother's face.

She strips at the drop of a hat, she always has and it is beginning to drive me totally insane. If we are in town she'll stay dressed, sometimes she takes her shoes and socks off int he car, but mostly she just strips as soon as we are home

Ugh, I just get so sick of seeing her naked butt and yelling at her to get her clothes on for the 10th time in a day.

she asked if anyones else kid did this and I said mine and gave examples. Her child is 4 and at that age we let most clothing things slide. He was naked 80% of time and stripped as soon as we got home. We travelled with layers in case he changed his mind and did get cold. Kept lightweight blankets on the bed. Home was a safe haven to wear what he wanted or wear nothing at all. Now at 9 he keeps his genitals covered at home (usually boxers or pj bottoms) and that is fine with us.

So since this seem to be more the OPs hangup, not the kids I said she might be happier imposing some kind of rules the other posters said.

I also would think about minor sensory issues.....

[cristeen]

Well, it sounds like a few things might help here, but I'll start off by saying I was a stripper my entire childhood, and I still am, as an adult. Except during the winter, I run around the house naked. I keep something by the door just in case the mailman rings the bell.

But I'd start instituting a few rules since it obviously bothers you. The big ones I'm hearing are a problem are - always have to have something on your bottom - panties/pants/shorts. No naked bottoms. If you're naked, and you complain of being cold, put clothes on. You're not allowed to complain about it if you refuse to put clothes on. And maybe institute the bedroom rule the pp suggested.

But I would also explore why she feels the need to strip. I know personally if I'm wearing comfortable clothing to go out and do something, when I come home, I may not take it off. Because I'm comfy. But if something is the slightest bit uncomfortable (binding, pinching, scratchy, stiff, whatever), it's off the moment I close the front door. It might be sensory issues like the pps mentioned, it might just be her way of getting comfy. But it's something to explore.

I will also say though - do you and your DP ever run around naked/mostly naked?

[Mom2M]

Yep, my 5 year old DD has done that since she was almost 4. At first I didn't really pay attention but I asked her about it after I realized that as soon as we came in the house, her clothes came off. At least she did leave panties on.

Anyway, I asked her if her clothes were uncomfortable, etc... she said no she just wanted them off.
We really just kind of got used to it and told her to put clothes on if someone was coming over.
I was also kind of thinking that I didn't want to give her body issues, etc...and recently when I thought about it, it's kind of cool that she feels so comfortable. She just started kindergarten so I wonder if her image of herself will change now that she is in school every day, I hope it doesn't.

Now she is 5 and a few months old and it just got really cold outside. The past few days she has complained if being cold but wants her clothes off and then puts a blanket around herself!
The bathrobe idea is a good one! She has a really soft fleece one and I bet she will wear it as long as she can have her clothes off, lol

I think for your DD that giving her the place where she is allowed to be naked, like her room, might really help.

[Norasmomma]

I have to say that it really isn't a hang-up, it's more that it's been going on for literally years. She just really likes being naked, and yes Dh and I sometimes are naked, Dh is in the AM before the hops in the shower, myself not so much now with kids.

Part of the issue is the complaining about being cold, if you are cold you probably need something to keep you warm-like clothes, a blanket, something. She also will strip her shoes and socks in the library. She has blankets, a robe, lots of comfy stuff.....I get super frustrated because I will want to go outside or do something and then she's naked, AGAIN Then the battle to put clothing on comes up, I also hate picking up her clothes as she's strewn them from room to room.

Sometimes I could really care less, I never make a deal about it in a negative way. It just gets really old.

[JollyGG]

Well with more explanation it doesn't sound like the issue is not so much the lack of clothes but issues surrounding it. Can you tackle some of those issues and still allow her the freedom to be comfortable? It sounds like some middle ground between what you want and what she wants can be found.

As I said my DD keeps underwear on and usually wears clothes when company is over or we go out. I have just accepted that when it's time to leave the house it will take a few minutes to put clothes on and plan the extra time. As for being cold, at 4 I think a child is perfectly capable of putting clothes on as well as taking them off therefore her body temperature is her responsibility to regulate. So basically, if you are cold, put some clothes on, I don't want to hear about it.

So figure out what bothers you most and explain to her that these are the rules. For example - you must wear underwear or something on your bottom. You must be respectful of others and not stick your nakey bottom is the baby's face, whenever company is over you must be dressed in a minimum of X, Y, and Z, etc.

With my 4 year old it helps to explain why a bit. For example; "Some people don't like nudity and are offended to see someone without clothes. Naked time is only for the privacy of our home with only immediate family around to see you. I don't care if you are naked, but others might so we wear clothes around other people."

[crazyms]

My sister was a stripper as a little kid too and now at 20 she still doesn't like wearing clothes much. She does wear clothes of course but at home its still as minimal as she can get away with. Usually a shirt and short shorts. Drives mom crazy but oh well. I guess she's just more comfortable like that? At this age she obviously picks all her own clothes but that's just her I guess.

I don't have any real advice. My son is my stripper. Just won't stay dressed. I don't care. I think enforcing a few rules like pp's suggested may help. She has to pick up her own clothes. Has to wear at least underwear in the main part of the house. No complaining you're cold. Hope you figure out something that will work for your family.

[jeminijad]

Originally Posted by HollyBearsMom

seriously it sounds like your hang up. ?

I don't think it is a "hang up."

Taking off your clothes and then complaining that you are cold... it is not unreasonable to work to change this situation, or ask for advice on how to do so.