Rebellious Toddler!

Updated on August 23, 2008
M.W. asks from Ferndale, MI
23 answers

I have a 2 part question for all the moms out there...first, my daughter who is 2 years old has a knack for taking off her diaper while in her crib and then going pee everywhere! she can disrobe any type of clothing to get to that diaper and pull it off. so then we put pull ups on her, it took two weeks for her to figure out how to get that off. we've tried different clothing, disciplining her, rewarding her when she dosnt do it and so on. I donk know what to do anymore....2nd question is she also refuses to nap! and I can tell that she still needs one because if she dosnt have one then she is very cranky around 5 or 6 pm. I will have her stay in her crib and she will play for up to two hours without fussing at all, she just wont sleep! please help me...Im at my wits end...

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N.D.

answers from Grand Rapids on

My cousin had this same problem. She ended up duct taping her 2 yr olds diaper on. She would just wrap a layer or two around the diaper. As for the nap thing...I always put on a boring movie or take a car ride.

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J.S.

answers from Detroit on

As far as the peeing is conserned, I would say to put her in a onsie and then use a baby safe safty pin to keep it on. Otherwise potty train her.
As far as the jumping at nap time, I don't know, I am having the same problem with my 2yr old son.

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B.D.

answers from Grand Rapids on

Hahaha, my daughter did this with her diaper too! I tried everything under the sun, as it sounds like you have. Now don't think i'm a bad mom, but I would use duct tape and put two strips around her waist, on the diaper of course. She couldn't rip through it or figure out how to take it off. I would just make sure the strips of tape ended in the back. It was a pain for me to do, but it was worth not having to wash sheets every day!

About the nap, even if your child doesn't sleep, just make sure she has 1-2 hours of quite time in bed. Don't go in the room for that time and if she stays up and plays, then just put her to bed a little earlier. If she does sleep during this time, then you are golden! I started doing this with my daughter (funny thing is, the diaper thing was around the same time!). She is 2 1/2 now and some days she will sleep and others she won't, but she knows when I say it's quite time that she has to go lay down in her bed. Good luck with it!

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A.N.

answers from Detroit on

Perhaps distract her! she understands everything youare saying so take to the store and go the little girls underwear depatment. Make sure she sees that little girls underpants are just like mommy's ( maybe take her that department and buysome for yourself. Tell her she can have big girls pants when she keeps on her diaper and it is DRY! Do this a couple of times and when she seems interested in a particular pattern buy a few pairs , unwrap them and put them on a high shelf ..letting her know that she can wear them when her diaper is on and dry.

I only potty trained my first and when I realised he was using his excrements to control or annoy me I let it go. Of course they can become obnoxious about wanting the underpants but when theyrealise that the packaging is right there and that they can or will go back to the store they usually settle down.
don't give in and give them tohe underpants. If it gets bad just remove them from the shelf and tell the child that ' you didn't need those anyway..just pee in your pants.

the more upset you get about these'incidents' the more the child uses them...control issues.

hope it works for you like it did for me. I had four children within five years so I was fairly desperate and this worked. Our last son went for two weeks with a drydiaper. they take it off and get on the potty then i would help them wipe and put the same diaper( dry) back on( often using tape to keep it together, These new diapers that look like underpants may confuse the child. Only one option diaper or 'big boy/girl pants". Good l;uck

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S.C.

answers from Detroit on

Well, I know that 2yr olds can be very,very trying!! My friend has had to stop giving her kids naps and they are ready for bed by 5:30-6:00 so she has decided if they dont take a nap they go to bed at 6:30.. Now for me that is WAY to early but it works for her. I mean if your child is unruley and ready for bed at that time then I guess give it a shot.Her children sleep from 630P - 7A but that doesnt work for everyone. anyway, this is just a suggestion. best of luck.
S.

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J.

answers from Grand Rapids on

Put her to bed in a sleeper on backwards. We did that with our son who was taking off his soiled diapers. It was the worst!!!! It worked like a charm. There was no way he could get out of it. Thank goodness we got through that phase, and you will too. Good luck :)

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K.G.

answers from Detroit on

She might be ready to start potty training.

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K.A.

answers from Saginaw on

Put duct tape or packing tape from one side of the tape to the other(the front) Thats what I always did and it works great!! That stage only lasts a little while.

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A.H.

answers from Detroit on

I wish I had a suggestion for the pee situation for you...it sounds very frustrating. On the nap part though, it's ok if she has her down time in her crib without sleeping. As they get older kids do get a sort of recharge from this. I'd let her do that and put her to bed around 6 or earlier. I know this might sound very early, especially if she isn't taking a nap she needs her sleep. If she's going to sleep much after that, then gradually move her bedtime earlier...15 minutes earlier for some days until you get to the desired time. Good luck!

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S.Y.

answers from Grand Rapids on

About the diaper removal.. I used duct tape on my daughter and it worked perfectly :)

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B.B.

answers from Detroit on

In two words.... Duct Tape! Good Luck! B.

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J.C.

answers from Detroit on

Try putting the diaper on backwards at night.

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L.F.

answers from Detroit on

Hi, just a quick suggetion on the napping. I have a very stubborn 2 yr old. No matter how tired she is, she fights a nap. I tell her she doesn't have to nap, instead I tell her she has to relax. As I put her in her bed, I say "don't sleep, just relax." She is only aloud to have the chicken that she can't sleep without. It takes her a few mins to fall asleep but she stays in her twin bed and doesn't get out. Good luck, L.

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K.K.

answers from Detroit on

M.,
It sounds like she is at that terrible transition phase between nap and no nap. It is really rough but it doesn't last forever. Try taking a car ride around nap time. She may take a nap every few days and not every day. Try an earlier bed time. Different kids need different amounts of sleep. My 7yr old needs 11-12 hours and my 5 year old needs only 9 1/2 to 10 hours. Neither one took a nap past the age of 2. I found though, that they do need down time alone, that seems to help when they get really crabby. As far as the diaper thing, she is taking it off because she is bored and can't fall asleep. Two hours alone in her crib, is too long in my opinion. I think 30 minutes is plenty. If she's not tired, she's not tired. Try a nap at a later time like 5 or 6 but, just for a short time (15-20 min) and not every day. The problem with this is she will not go to bed until late but, you have to stay sane. It's a juggling act. For the diaper thing, try overalls or zippered pajamas with the feet and put them on backwards (you'll need one size larger). My son wore his pjs backwards for almost 2 years and he was never able to take them off. Good luck.
K.

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C.S.

answers from Detroit on

well I think its time for a big girl bed and no more diapers, spend a week with her using undies and focus on potty training, if you just stay home with her for the week, you can get her potty trained.

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G.B.

answers from Detroit on

You made me think of when my oldest gave up her naps well before 2, and after a long battle one day, I called the pediatrician. His answer was: "maybe she doesn't need a nap". I burst into tears and said "but I do!" She's a very high-energy physician and mother of five now.

Your daughter sounds smart and pretty hyper also. Mine also liked to strip and pee/poop outside her diaper. I did get her into a twin bed before 2 because I had a baby that needed the crib. This actually seemed to help since she felt that she had more control. It felt more grown up to her. If she won't nap, you can try to do a quiet time. Sometimes I just brought her into my bed and we read books and "rested" for awhile. She'd sneak out and get into trouble if I dozed off though. I put a baby gate across the door in her room to keep her out of danger when she was in bed, but she did learn to scale it. She required a LOT of supervision. She didn't get potty trained till 3 1/2 though I worked h*** o* it. I have to say that she is a wonderful, successful adult, a great mom and doctor, and very warm and supportive to me. It was all worth it! Hang in there, Mom! You may have a smart, high-energy future superwoman on your hands!

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K.V.

answers from Detroit on

I had the same thing with my daughter. I never did figure out how to keep the diaper on, so I potty trained her. She is probably just ready. I used one of the potty training in less than a day books. As far as naps go, what time does she get up in the morning, maybe she needs to get up earlier, if you are set on her taking a nap. It takes 2 weeks for a toddler to get used to a different schedule so maybe after the 2 weeks she will stop being so cranky so early in the day. I could never make it, I tried and tried but only made it about 3 days, and then I would give her a nap again, and she would sleep. That lasted a few months and then she started taking naps again, I don't know it just happened and now at 3 she is off naps unless she gets up too early, like today, it is definitely a nap day. Good luck and grin and bear it, this too shall pass, and maybe you can take advantage of grandma and take soem time off during the day, you need and deserve it.

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S.M.

answers from Saginaw on

Hello M., I will begin with your second question first. You are not in control of weather your daughter actually sleeps or not, BUT you can have control over the situation. Put her down at the same time every day. If she doestn't fall asleep, then move her bedtime to an hour earlier that night. All children transition from taking naps to not taking naps, so it is up to you to componsate for that change in their lives. As far as the diaper, put on a pair of PJ's that zip up the front, and either use a diaper pin to keep the zipper up, or put them on backwards. If this doesn't work, duck tape the diaper closed. Try hard not to react when your daughter misbehaves, other wise you are giving her the control of the situation. Instead, stop, and calm your self first. I used to tell the children that mommy needed time out to "think". (I called the time out chair the thinking chair for this reason.) When I was calm then I would try to think my way through the situation, so that my emotions didn't get out of control. Good luck.

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S.D.

answers from Grand Rapids on

Hi, let me just start by saying your a good mom and you are at a hard age.

My advise: keep up the routine of nap time. Take everything away that could entertain her during that time. She needs to be bored so she can go to sleep. You can't make her sleep but you can control her enviornment.

Diaper/Pullup: My kids did the same thing. I finally put on a zip up pj backwards and pinned it, it was like Fort Knox. Just make sure that the pin is good and tight so it doens't come undone and poke her.

She may be ready to potty train. Try to get her on the potty before nap time and see if she is dry afterwards, it may be time to transition into big girl underwear? Just a thought.

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R.A.

answers from Detroit on

The Diaper, I too used duct tape.

A.W.

answers from Kalamazoo on

Make sure she is getting enough physical activity during the day. Don't give up on the nap too soon - she may be done, but it may just be a phase. Start potty training her if you haven't already. And yes, duct tape works!

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A.M.

answers from Detroit on

My sister's daughter did the same thing with the diaper. They found the only thing that worked was to put Duct tape all the way across the front of the diaper. She couldn't get the tape off. They tried other tapes, but that was the only one that worked for them.

As for the nap thing, my girls no longer napped once they turned 2. It was a hard adjustment for me because I needed that time, but they just wouldn't sleep. They did have to lie down for an hour, if they didn't sleep and were cranky later, they went to bed early (1/2 hour or hour earlier than normal). It didn't take them long to get past that stage and then were up for 12 hours and slept 12 hours at night.

Hope your transition goes smoothly!

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A.H.

answers from Grand Rapids on

M.-

For the diaper, cut out the feet of zipper pajamas and put them on backwards so that they zip up the back. For the nap, she just might be past the napping stage. My son stopped taking one shortly past his second birthday. We still had "quiet time" every day for at least an hour. If he didn't fall asleep, then I would let him up. The days that he didn't sleep, sometimes that meant an earlier bed time, but he would still sleep until his normal wake time because he was so tired.

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