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what to do with a 2 year old who refuses to wear snowboots or mittens?

3K views 11 replies 9 participants last post by  stormborn 
#1 ·
My 2 year old (DD2) absolutely refuses to wear snowboots or mittens. She kicks/pulls them off instantly if I put them on her.

As reasonable adults might predict, she goes out without mittens, and sometimes puts her hands it the snow, and regularly cries/screams/complains that her hands are cold. Duh.

I carry her a lot when there's snow on the ground, which avoids the issue of snow in her socks/pants/shoes.

It would be nice to let her go sledding -- we have a nice toddler sled and lots of snow here -- but it seems crazy to put a kid on a sled who's not wearing mittens and boots, like it will inevitably result in freezing misery.

Today I told her she could come play outside with me and her big sister while I shoveled, but only if she wore her boots -- the snow is deep. She said no. We left her inside and went out without her, checking on her every minute or two and giving her the chance to let me put on her boots so she could come out, too. She was stubborn and stayed in the whole time, sometimes crying, sometimes not.

We have many mittens options (all refused, so it's not about color/style), only one pair of boots (refused before they were ever tried on so I don't think it's a comfort issue).

Does she just have to wait to go sledding until she's 3? It's too bad. DD1 loved sledding at age 2.
 
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#2 ·
I would stick with what you did today. If she wants to go outside, she has to put on the gear. Otherwise she stays inside. I know others would disagree but this is a safety issue. She needs to have her fingers and toes protected in the snow.
 
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#3 ·
check out the no snow snuggler for mittens. As for boots, I wonder if after a couple brief (10-15 min) sessions of playing outside with her regular shoes and feeling how unpleasant color wet feet feel, she might decide boots aren't so bad? Course that hasn't worked with mittens so maybe not!

Maybe you could find something mutually agreeable. When my dd was about that age, we had a big snow storm (rare for the pnw, but we got over a foot) and she flipped out if I tried to put a snow suit on her. Somehow, we figured out that her soft furry kangaroo Halloween costume worked pretty well! It was a synthetic material so it actually didn't allow any moisture through to the layer she had on underneath, and when I stripped her down inside when we were done, her skin was warm to the touch so I knew she hadn't gotten cold. Was trying to think if something similar could work in place of boots. Maybe some thick wool socks, doubled up would be good enough for sledding? (but not walking in the snow) I've also seen some water proof booties that are intended to go over any kind of footwear (stonz?)she may find those less restrictive and mo acceptable than stiff boots
 
#4 ·
No snow snugglers look great, but they appear to have gone out of business. :-( If you're aware of a place where I can buy them, let me know!

Most of the time keeping her inside isn't an option. Most of the times we leave the house are for someone else's requirement (to take her older sister to school, to do food shopping, etc). We live in an urban area so we have to walk in the snow to get to the car (although these days I'm almost always forced to carry her since she's not wearing boots.

It's a bummer, because it means I can't even take the 6 year old out to play in the snow. She is making life very difficult!

I can certainly skip taking her sledding -- her loss, I suppose. She ends up screaming, presumably from cold, pretty much every time we leave the house. If only one could talk sense into a 2 year old!!!
 
#5 ·
I am no good with mittens either. My 3 1/2yo still wont wear them to play either (he will wear them on hikes now, but they are so restrictive he pulls them off whenever we stop walking). As for her feet, have you tried the plastic bag trick? My mama taught me this when we moved to somewhere where it snowed from the deep South. First on is a comfortable pair of socks, next is a plastic bag (like a grocery sack, or can liner), then another sock (wool, if you have it), and a shoe to accommodate it all. The plastic bag can be tied up around her calf (loosely, of course) if the top sock isn't long enough to keep it up, and this will keep her pretty warm and dry if I remember correctly! And I would keep suggesting the boots as a first option because they are so much easier to slip on, but she'll get that eventually.
 
#6 ·
At our house it's usually the other way with boots - DD wants to wear them cause she wants to go in the snow, while for trips to the store or other errands I'd prefer to put on her shoes and carry her so she's not getting snow all over the car's seat back. This will sound weird but have you ever tried rainboots? I didn't see the point in wearing them since we don't spend much time outside when it's raining/muddy anyway but we got a hand-me-down pair. Well it turned out DD loved them. I think they are looser than snow boots cause they don't have all the insulation? The pair we got were also too big and were fun to clomp around the house in (this was before they got worn outside so they were clean).

As far as mittens, if her hands get cold will she put her hands in her pockets assuming the jacket pockets are big enough? That's what my DD does if for some reason we don't have her mittens and her hands feel cold. For the sledding I'd probably just put some socks on her, tuck a pair of leggings over the socks, put another pair of socks on top, and some fleece pants, with her shoes for now. She'll just be sitting in the sled anyway, right? Bring her boots and mittens with you in case she changes her mind. And I think what you did with the shovelling was right on, it might not have worked the first time but I bet it will eventually.
 
#7 ·
How about natural consequences? She can go outside without her boots and mittens, and the minute she expresses discomfort to you about her hands or feet being cold, she gets a choice: she can put on her mittens/boots and play outside some more, or she can go back inside. I promise you, she won't get hypothermia!
 
#8 ·
My kids have sensory issues, so last year I literally could not go out of the house for like two weeks with DS, because he refused ANY pants. He sobbed horribly with it, because he really wanted to go, but - I mean - without pants is not exactly an option in snow.

My DD2 (who is 2 as well) loves her rain boots but does not want snow boots as well, maybe they are just too bulky? She does not want to try them on as well, but we don't have snow yet, so that's not that much of an issue. When it becomes one, I will put wool socks on her feet and a plastic bag above them, if she tolerates that.

Isn't it totally hard to decide how much is power struggle and how much is actual discomfort at that age?

I looked at the no snow snuggler - and I think (being a sewer though) - how difficult can it be to sew something like that onto an existing sweater? Like the baby snow suits have these foldable extensions for extra warmth, so I guess that would be really easy.

And - I tried successfully socks. I could not get my DD to get her fingers into her mittens, so I just put socks on her hands, she was not able to get them off (that easily at least) and she was happy with them.

Aaah ... I wish we had snow...we do not even have a real winter here yet ...
 
#9 ·
DD, 2ys old, just got new winter boots, kamiks, which she picked out and loved wearing at the store and the whole day after. Then she refused to wear them. I got her outside once in them and after that she was a hot mess just wanting to wear her too big rain boots. Some things I might let slide but I refused on that because it's been way too cold here. She often removes gloves and hats, ok fine I can check if those areas are cold, but I can't really check her feet. So yesterday she wanted to go out with her new shovel and again was refusing. I saw the older woman from next door was out talking to DH - DD LOVES her - and saw my opportunity. I told her if she wanted to go see the neighbor, she had to hurry and get her snow boots on before the neighbor left. I've never seen her get dressed so fast! Guess we got lucky on that, but it worked out well. Otherwise I'd totally leave her inside. Gloves are negotiable - hands get cold you can either put them on or go in. But boots not so much.
 
#10 ·
I was thinking about this thread today and wondering if you've had any success with the boots/mittens?

Also, I did want to add that my suggestion is what I would feel comfortable doing if it's a little bit below freezing. But right now we're having severe cold weather with warnings that exposed skin can freeze in under 5 minutes - I definitely wouldn't fool around with that and would just keep her indoors or find something else to put on her hands at the least. I know in some areas these temperatures are the norm and I wasn't sure where you are, hopefully it's not too cold there!
 
#11 ·
Not having any luck yet. I loved the idea of rainboots and offered those today, made it an exciting, big deal, sang her the Laurie Berkner kids' song about boots, which she'd never heard before and asked me to sing a million times. I thought we were going to turn a corner! But no luck -- she did the same thing with the rain boots, kicked them off instantly, yells no over and over. We tried many times over the course of the day today.

Since neither snow nor rain boots are being worn outside at the moment, I think I'll bring them up to our living space (away from the door), clean off the bottoms, and put them in her play area. Maybe she'll decide to play around with them and change her opinion. I should put some of her mittens up there, too.

Our times outdoors are brief for now, walking half a block at most. No snow play or lengthy outdoor time unless we solve this one! It's bitter cold here -- tomorrow the wind chill is predicted to be 15 below.

We always use socks on our babies' hands, and that worked briefly this winter, but she gets them off fast now, too. Very sad to lose that as a solution! We tried baby leg warmers with knots on the end, too, but no luck.

We don't own any wool socks in her size ... could get some. But until we solve BOTH hands and feet issues, I'm not sure it's even worth it. She is a tough cookie!

Interestingly, she responded similarly to blanket sleepers at the beginning of the season -- was furious about them, would scream and demand we remove them. But of course she sleeps with no blankets, and it's COLD, so she really needs a blanket sleeper. For a while I would put them on her when she'd wake to nurse in the middle of the night, and somehow got away with that. Now she's fine with them and we can put them on before bed. So maybe it's just a matter of getting used to the new(ish) clothing. It probably took 3 months for the blanket sleeper adjustment.
 
#12 ·
DD2 refused gloves & mittens for a long time, but would wear those bath mitts-the hand puppet style for washing babies. They didn't stay dry as long as mittens but esp with a pocket warmer they lasted long enough for a few sled runs at a time. FWIW at 5 she still hates gloves but accepts them as the price of playing outside. GOod luck!
 
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