2 Year Old DD Taking off Clothes at Bed Time

Updated on February 10, 2008
K.K. asks from Morgantown, PA
18 answers

I know this happens and its a phase but how do you get through it??? My daughter is a little older then 2 and has started taking off her clothes and diaper at night when we put her in the crib and sleeping naked until we notice and put her back in her clothes or until she pees and wakes us and herself up crying and then we have to change everything in the crib in the middle of the night. I know it's a phase but I've tried different PJ's and everything. Is there anything we can do to get through this faster? It's getting a little old.

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E.A.

answers from Erie on

Put a hospital pad under her and change that instead of the sheets. I "got through" this phase by not considering it something to "get through". My advice would be to stop stressing about it, you sound so upset, that must be very draining.

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L.S.

answers from Philadelphia on

did you try the one piece zip ups but put 'em on backwards?
You could always just let her sleep in it one night. I know it sounds harsh but if you keep cleaning it up she's not seeing any real downside aside from having to get up for a few minutes. One or two nights of waking up cold she'll stop. You just have to hold on and be strong while she cries.

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K.R.

answers from Philadelphia on

You could try putting your daughter in one of those sleep sacks over top of her pj's at bedtime. My daughter is 1 1/2 and still sleeps in one. They sell them in toddler sizes. The zipper is upside down, compared to most clothes, so even if she can unzip a zipper, she won't be able to open it. In addition to keeping her clothes on, the sleep sack also prevents her from climbing out of the crib!

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K.S.

answers from Philadelphia on

I have had two "nakey" babies now, one is now 10 and the moment he comes in the house he strips down to his boxers and I have a 4 yo girl that does the same thing. My other two prefer their clothes.

Couple of things first do you have any of those water proof pads, like the ones from the Hospital? If you do, make her bed in two layers. Mattress pad-sheet,waterproof pad-mattress pad and or just another sheet.
This is also a real good thing to do when there sick. This way a middle of the night changing the bed just entails pulling off the top sheet and pad and your good.

Second give her as much Nakey time during the day as you can and enjoy that time with her, you may need to just accept the fact that you have a naturalist on your hands :) Let her run around for as long as you can, this should also help get her out of that diaper. My 4yo stopped getting completely naked when she started wearing big girl panties, but that is all she sleeps in.
You can also try keeping the heat low at night, she is less likely to strip down if it's chilly.

I have found, after four children, that the more you try and change something about their behavior the less likely you are going to be in succeeding. You've heard the "pick your battles" thing, so just make it easier on yourself by doing the layered bed and let her be. It could just be the simple fact that she can't sleep with stuff on her and that may never change.
Good Luck!
K.

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L.N.

answers from Pittsburgh on

Have you tried Pull Ups yet. Call em big girl pants and that might help.

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M.R.

answers from Lancaster on

Have you tried putting a onsie on under her PJs? They are a little harder to take off because of the snaps. It worked for my niece. My daughter hasn't learned this trick yet ..... 20 months old ..... I'm sure it will be coming. :)

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M.I.

answers from Pittsburgh on

well, my son is 4.5, and even if i get him into bed in PJs, he has them off before he falls asleep. so, in regard to the jammies, let it go. the diaper on the other hand is a bigger issue.

when my son was not quite 2, he started thinking it was fun to take off the diaper and run around so we couldn't get it back on. i switched him to pullups, and it stopped. pampers has the easy ups, they come in a red wrapper, and they are designed for the 2 to 3 age group. they were a great help with this, but be warned: they are pricier because there are fewer in the package. however, you can buy them in cases at target sometimes, and perhaps cosco or walmart.

good luck!

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H.

answers from Pittsburgh on

I was going to suggest the same thing as Jenn - I've had friend's do that as well and it worked great.

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M.M.

answers from Williamsport on

Hello, there's nothing wrong with going nude at bedtime. My daughter did that. Whenever ur daughter pees her bed, take her to the babthroom and then take off soiled clothes.Then, go get her clothes and change her bed, that way she's not in the way and she dont feel bad about it. I just wiped my daughter off with a baby wipe and gave her a bath in the morning. She will get tired of having to sit and wait and will eventually start holding her pee at night. My daughter started to de-clothe when she was 2 and stopped peeing her bed 3-4 weeks after. Of course, I have a 5 yr old that still pees his bed, and I'm trying to find a way to have him not to, lol. Just clean them up and hope they get it!

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E.B.

answers from Philadelphia on

Hi K.!

I totally agree with some of the other moms who have said to just let he sleep naked!! Two year olds are all about control--- if she thinks she “won” this battle, you might have an easier time with other “battles”. As long as she’s warm enough, she’ll be fine. Since she’s two you can give her a few blankets and tell her she needs to cover up with a blanket if she’s cold—you can make that one of the conditions of being allowed to sleep naked. Think of all the $ you’ll save on PJs!!

This might also be a GREAT segway into potty training. Tell her that if she doesn’t like sleeping in her diaper, she has to start using the potty—then she’ll be able to sleep with just big girl undies on. You might have to use some of these other tricks the other moms listed (like the duct tape) until the potty training is done, but it will give her more incentive to use the potty. I know it might be hard since she’s still in a crib, but if she wakes you up in the middle of the night because she has to use the potty, I’m sure it’s much easier to just pull her out and plop her on the toilet than to change her whole crib in the middle of the night (like you’re doing now).

Good luck!!

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A.K.

answers from Pittsburgh on

hi my daughter did that we just put a few towels in the crib or bed while she slept. that way we didnt have to change the whole bed . good luck it will get better

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V.C.

answers from Philadelphia on

So far you've gotten some good suggestions. I have a couple of questions: Do you wear anything to bed?? Does she see you sleeping naked and wants to do what you do? Is she warm? Are the jammies comfy? I know you are 'supposed' to dress your kids in flame retardant jammies .. but those tend to be scratchy/itchy .. try close fitting cotton ones. Secondly does she have a special toy or stuffed animal she sleeps with? If so you can explain (or at least try) that her toy really wants to stay clean and dry so she needs to keep her diaper on. I'm not a big advocate of pull-ups or the like. I have found that they prolong the whole potty training thing. If the positive side doesn't work, try negative reinforcement .. take away toys or tv time or use time-outs to enforce your rules. I know time-out seems extreme in the middle of the night .. but that child is tired and wants to go back to sleep .. making her sit in a time out chair for 2 minutes just might do the trick. Good luck in any case ..

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S.W.

answers from Harrisburg on

it sounds barbaric but it works - take duct tape and wrap it around the diaper so that the ends are in the back - my son used to "finger paint" if you know what i mean!! it worked!

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K.B.

answers from Harrisburg on

When my daughter started to do this we put her PJ's on backward. Luckily, it was winter time and we either bought her the zipper PJ's or cut the feet out of the bottom of the ones we had. She was not able to reach around to unzip herself. It was great to go into her room and not have to clean up a big mess! By the time summer came she had grown out of the problem.

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S.F.

answers from Philadelphia on

I have a friend that had this problem She had a couple of suggestions from other parents.
1. put the diaper on backward so they can't pull the tabs
2. Tape the tabs with packing tape
3. Cut the feet off footie pjs and put them on backward.

Good Luck!

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J.W.

answers from Philadelphia on

Hi K.,

My aunt had the very same issue with her daughter. She had a very clever solution - Put her PJ's on backwards!! She cut out the feet of zipper-up PJ's (so they could be put on backwards) zipped her up and TAH DAH!!! The first night, the problem stopped. Her daughter could no longer undo the zipper because she couuldn't reach it!! I told her she needs to contact carter's and market her idea!!

Hope this helps!!

Jenn

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T.R.

answers from Providence on

We went through this phase! Hang in there....it will end. I didn't mind the clothes coming off but the diaper was another issue. To remedy this I would put her diaper on backwards. It worked like a charm. Good luck!

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T.S.

answers from York on

Hi--a friend of mine had that problem. Try using footie Pj's, BUT put them on backwards with the zipper in the back. If they are loose enough, it won't be encomfortable for her and she won't be able to unzip herself. After a couple weeks, she put them on the right way and never had problems with it again. Good luck!

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