18 Month Old Will Not Keep Her Clothes On

Hi K.!

My daughter is 2 and has been in this stage since she learned how to take her pants off. I haven't been able to put any of her cute pajamas on her (nightgowns or two pieces) because I would find her naked with poop or pee all over her crib. The only way I've gotten around this is by putting a onsie on under her footed sleepers. I've tried the sleepers backwards but found that the neck is too high for her. It was rubbing on her throat and was very uncomfortable for her. Good luck!

It wont last forever! Try one pj forward and another backward. At the same time. If she manages to get one off, the other is on backwards and harder to get off. Also, definitely duct tape the diaper on. Good luck!

Hi K.,
You can diaper her backwards, you can put a onsie over her diaper, you can do a footless sleeper backwards - snapped or zipped up the back. Good luck to her in trying to get out of that :)

Try putting the zip-up sleeper on backwards. she won't be able to open it and you won't have to worry about the diaper.

Try using pieces of duct tape over her diaper tabs. I bet she won't be able to peel that off! LOL

I have 3 kids 15, 3 and 23 months. Each and every one went through that phase. Unfortunately I never found a solution. The only thing that worked for a short time was putting a onesie under their pajamas. At first they couldnt undo the snaps so at least the diaper stayed on, but it was sort lived. Don't worry it doesnt last forever, soon she will be putting clothes on instead of off. Good luck!!!!

I wish I could help you with this one, I need the advice also. It's not only my 3 year old girl, but my 5 year old boy-he just recently at least started keeping his underpants on. It drives me bazerko! Of course if we are out and about they keep there clothes on, but even in our back yard they think they can strip naked. You are not alone. I try to explain they will get sick, it's innapropriate, and try to force the clothes on, but each time is an exausted effort. Taking things away from them seems to be the only helper..or constantly putting them in their room. Just be consistent and they say this phase will pass. Never yelling or spanking. My son has been in this phase for over 4 years. All the best. -J. H
P.S. My daughter was potty trained at that age, maybe starting her on the potty will keep her motivated and tell her that she only needs to keep her diaper on at night when she sleeps. Just an idea, or upgrade her to pull ups. Some times children are a bit ahead of the curve.

My son did exactly the same thing. The only things that worked for me were zip up pajamas - if they can be put on backwards comfortably, try that. They can't get at a zipper on the back. If they can't be worn that way, try using a diaper pin and pinning the zipper to the pajamas (pin inside pjs). Good luck!

i had a friend who did the same thing - cutting off the feet and sewing them on backwards, it worked for her.

You have to be creative to keep her dressed. Buy a pair of zip pajamas and cut off the feet.Now put them on backwards and zip. Houdini won't be able to escape and get that diaper off. Good luck!

We went through this a little while back. I went online to find answers and I found--duct tape! All the way around, not just in front. And a couple of times around, too. I felt a bit silly and extreme doing it at first, but since it worked I continued. I even got good enough at removing it to manage to recycle the same piece a couple of times :).
After a while of frustrated attempts, our son gave up and got the message that it is not OK to take off his diaper. also every time we found him after a sleep with his diaper on we praised him, clapped for him, you get the idea. Eventually we were able to go back to not using the tape.
Good luck!

Dear K.,

I know it isn't funny to you but what an inovativie little girl.. One suggestion I have is to buy the pajamas that have feet in them and snap in the back. She will probably still be able to get the pants off but not the top if it snaps in the back. Maybe do the same with her diaper put it on with the tabs in the back and see if that helps. Good luck on your daycare business. I own a nursery school/daycare for about a year now and I love it. Prior to that I had a homebased business so I could be home with my kids (now 24 & 19) I have no regrets. Being lucky enough to be home with my children was the only choice for me. Good luck!!

Have you tried putting a onesie on her? You can get the large ones at Walmart or online I think.

I went thru the same thing with my twin girls. At first I put their footie pj's on backwards so they couldn't get to the zipper but then they figured out how to unzip each other. I finally got a big diaper pin and pinned the zipper closed. They never did figure out how to open the diaper pin. I had to make sure that when I put the diaper pin on their pj's that I ran it thru the little hole on the zipper pull or else they would get them unzipped somehow.

Put a onesie under.I have a friend who's son always pooped early morning and would take his jammies and diaper off. Onsesies worked wonders for her:)

If you use the name brand "Duck Tape" that works best. Put a big enough piece on to cover both tabs and rub it down. As for naked don't worry they will eventually grow out of it. My 2 yo has been going through it for 3 or 4 months and now that it is cold she will keep clothes on for a while. If she gets hot it is all off until she gets cold and hen she will redress herself. I have found that dressing her in light weight pants and a t-shirt and then adding a sweatshirt(zip up kind) will help her keep the clothes on. The sweatshirt she can easily take off by herself and even put back on. Also letting her pick out her clothes helps a little. She may not match but she is dressed!!! Hang in there, this too shall pass!!! A.

Thanks for the great laugh : ). I do know if you tried putting her to bed with onesies. Carters ones are made large and have good snaps.