2 Year Old Is Taking off Diaper and Pajamas for Attention?

We have had the same challenge and found that putting a tight tshirt over sleeper pajamas makes it too hard to even get to her diaper. The desire to take it off went away after a few nights. Good Luck

If she pees again make her clean it up. Make her take the sheets off of her bed and put them in the washing machine with her PJs, wipe off the plastic mattress pad, and help put new sheets on the bed.

When my daughters get up or ask for me after bedtime I am terse (not angry, but visibly not amused) and will not do anything other than what is absolutely necessary. There are no more hugs or other tucking in type activities once bedtime has begun. They don't get any positive attention once they are supposed to be in bed. This has really helped.

Have you tried to put the diaper on backwards? It may make it a little harder for her to get it off..

My son started taking everything off around 23 months old. He was just reaching new milestones--you don't want to let them use it for an excuse to see you more when it's bedtime, though... we ended up buying zip-up pj's and cutting off the feet. Then we put the pj's on backwards. He can't get them off and recently we were able to start putting pj's on the right way again and he's not taking them off anymore. I think it lost it's appeal.

Aren't 2year olds fun :) I have found with mine (8,4 &1) that attention things like that can be resolved, but it takes patience and resolve. The suggestion that I have is to make sure that she is getting plenty of attention during the day (maybe more than normal for a while) because sometime they go through needy stages, and then at night tuck her in and let her know it is bedtime etc etc. If you have to go in, keep the eye contact and talking to a bare minimum - just get her re-dressed and (for example) a *quick* hug and say good night a leave. We have not had the undressing issue, but plenty of others that were similiar - the first few nights can be long, so be prepared, but when she gets the idea that she is not going to get the interaction she wants, she will stop. Also know that they will pull all sorts of emotional manipulation - but you can re-dress lovingly, just without the normal daytime interaction. You aren't going to damage her emotionally, it is really just asserting that you are the parent and she still has to follow your rules even though she is so clever that she can undress now.
Hope this helps!

When my son was 2 yrs old he did the same thing. We bought a bunch of onesies and those worked because he was unable to get the snaps open. (Also, overalls worked for a while, but he figured out how to get those off.) It was little frustrating though when he needed a time out and I had to always make sure he had a onsie on before I put him in his room, but it was worth it! Even at bedtime, the onsie did the trick. Maybe your daughter is smarter, but this worked for us. Hope this helps!

(I am a stay at home mom w/ 5 kids, ages range from 9 to 1 yrs old)

My two year old son also used to take off his diaper... until I tried a new trick! I now put him to sleep in full zip up pajamas with the feet cut off and the zipper in the back- he cannot get out of them and goes to sleep again. Good Luck.

Try putting her pajamas on backward. The sleepers without feet work the best for this. My brother needed to do this with his daughter. He also used tape over the diaper tabs - packing tape or duct tape. Taking away the means might help find a way back to previous behavior.

I used to use the zip up foot pajamas with my kids and then put a diaper pin through the hole in the zipper and hook it to the top of the pjs. Works like a charm!!

Hello!
For attention, and also because it's a newly learned skill. I recently had the same issue with my 2 1/2 year old son - it's fun, eh? ;) What we did was purchase the full body zip-up pajamas... that worked for a little while until he figured out how to unzip them. We then used the same pajamas but put a tighter fitting t-shirt over top of the pajamas and that has been the key for us! Another suggestion that I received from other Mothers when I was going through this issue was to cut the feet off of the full body zip-up pajamas and put them on backwards which is what we will do if our son figures out the t-shirt too! Hope this helps!

K. :)

Duct tape the diaper on. Sound crazy, but she won't be able to get it off. Put her in PJ's that are hard to get off...or safety pin the top of the zipper of the sleeper. It is harder for them to get a shirt off, so you could put a shirt or onesie under the sleeper, so she can't get to the diaper. Someday you will laugh hysterically about this.

packing tape around the diaper and a pin at the top of a pair of sleeper pajamas (under the top of the zipper so she can't pull the zipper down)

I'm in agreement with Natalie L. My daughter likes to run around the house naked after her bath just to get a rise out of her Dad :-) She only does it because Dad has a tendency to always want to "get things done" before paying attention to her. Just stick to the routine - or even add a little MORE downtime :-) I found I have to allow for at least 30-60 minutes of time to wind things down. They (and I) just love the time we get to spend together. I figure they can have as many hugs as they want before they fall asleep. Afterall - there does come a day when they don't want your affection as much anymore.

Maybe she just doesn't like being wet all night long.

One of my daughters would strip down after we would put her down at night, and make messes with her diaper business.
We started putting her in the pjs you zip up and would use a diaper pin to fasten it shut so she couldn't undress. It solved the problem.
One of my friends cut the feet out of the zip up pjs and put them on her son backwards. That way the zipper was in the back and her son couldn't unzip it.
Hope this helps!

On "The Nanny" she suggests giving less and less attention each time this happens during the night. For example: The first time you go in and say "goodnight sweetie," and put her to bed. The 2nd time you say "goodnight" and put her back to bed. The 3rd time and any time after that during that night you don't say anything and put her back to bed. It may take a couple of hours/nights, but it should re-establish your bedtime routine by teaching her that it's not the time for attention; it's time for sleep.

My daughter always took her diaper off too. What i did is took a diaper pin and pinned the zipper up so she couldnt get it off.

Footed jammies with the feet cut off and turned backwards should help......thats all I can think of, good luck!

My child was taking off their diaper and clothes until I found the solution. A friend recommended I try the Little Keeper Sleeper to solve this problem. I'm glad I did because this sleeper works GREAT. Their locking system and non-stretchable made sure my little Houdini could not get out and the long zipper in the back made changing a snap. This sleeper is a sanity saver. I got it from their website www.littlekeepersleeper.com

EASY. My son would take his PJ's off every morning. Drove me crazy, cause it was always winter. He also had the poop fascination, so it was an extra precaution, but we would put him in footie pajamas and baby safety pin the zipper top to the fabric. He could never get it down, and the "baby diaper" safety pin wouldn't come undone.

The footed pajamas turned around backwards is a good idea. I also found these pajama type wearable. They are kinda of like the bag sleepers that infants wear but for bigger kids. They can easily be put on backwards without cutting themor anything. It worked with my toddler when she started taking her diaper off. Good luck. Hope this helps.

Oh, you can get the wearable blankets at walmart or meijer I think.

You put her in one-piece, zip-up jammies and pin a diaper safety pin right behind the zipper pull.

We have not one of those DD that do that but 2! Our 18 month old twins started taking their diapers off for no reason. At first we just had to put a onesie on them, but they could get the diaper off without even undoing the onesie. Now we have them in feety PJs with a safty pin on it so they can no longer get out of their pjs or diaper. It's sad, but at least their beds a clean and dry when they wake up! I'm sure it's just a stage, our other daughter use to try it too, but we would duck tape her diaper on her in the summer time! It was funny, but it worked!

Have you tried putting the pajamas on backwards? They have to be the one piece that zip up obviously, but at least she can't get them off.

Our son was taking off his diapers that had poop in them. That was the worst!!!!! All over the walls and carpet. We now put his sleepers on backwords and all of our lives are wonderful again. Good luck.

J.
Mommy to Sawyer 2yrs and Casey 1yr

I have had my kids trying to take their pajamas off all the time. If you can prevent her from taking the pjs off, then the diaper isn't an issue. I wouldn't resort to cutting the feet off the pjs just yet. If they have a zipper on them, which most do for a 2 yr old, use a safety pin to pin the zipper at the top of her pjs. Then she can't get the zipper down to remove the pjs and therefore her diaper as well. If they are any other types of pjs (like a night gown or something) I don't know what to tell you. Good luck.

We had the same problem with my 2 year old son. Not so much for attention of getting us back into his room before bedtime, but more because I think he was curious. We had several potty messes in the crib. It was sooo frustrating! We tried everything from putting a second diaper on backwards to duct taping the diaper on. Nothing worked. I eventually bought cotton sleepers that zip up the front and we put them on him backwards so the zipper is in the back. My mother-in-law did a little seam-work by cutting the feet off and the back of the neck (which is now the front) to make it a bit larger so it doesn't grab his neck but not so big that he can get his arms through to take it off. He has not been able to get it or the diaper off! YEAH victory for Mom and Dad! As an added plus we put fitted pj's on him first so the sleeper is an added layer which is perfect for cold Michigan winters since he doesn't sleep with a blanket on him. I hope this helps!

We use backwards onesies OVER their pajamas. This trick works for kids who try to undress themselves during the day too. If they are trying to pull of their pants or take off their shirt just put a backwards onesie over their clothes (including the pants) and they will stay on. It just takes a second and you can snap the snaps of the onesies in the back where they can't reach them. You can also buy one size too big footed pajamas and put them on backwards... just rotate the feet with the "extra" length of the legs and put the child's feet in the normal way. By the time they grow into the next size of pajamas you will already have pairs ready for them to wear the right side forward.

Check out www.escapeejays.com
These may help the problem!

My approach would be different. Instead of getting her to stop the behavior, I would think about why she's doing it.

This is clearly attention seeking behavior, so ask yourself why she feels the need to struggle for attention. Is new brother starting to get much of your attention at night? Make her feel that she would get more attention by being a big girl.

Just a thought.

GL:)

I agree with Tamara. Perhaps it is time to alter your bedtime routine a bit to include more one-on-one time with her and see how she responds. Altering her pajamas may stop her from taking them off, but could just make her more frustrated.

One analogy my mom (very successful mother of 11) gave me about this was something like: If you felt you weren't getting enough attention from your husband and threw a plate on the floor out of frustration, how would you feel if he were to put a lock on the cupboard door so you couldn't throw any more plates and never addressed why you threw the plate in the first place? It may not be a big deal, but kids do deserve the same sort of respect we do, even if they can't communicate as well.

Good luck!

My son used to take his diaper off in the morning if we didn't get him up fast enough. Especially if his diaper was dirty. My daughter has even done it a few times. For a few months we had to tape his diaper on with masking tape for a few months. This sounds strange, but I have a few friends who say they have had to tape their children's diapers too. It dosen't hurt the child, it keeps the diaper on, and it gets you through this phase. Maybe you should try it.
Good luck,
C. K

I have a son that does the same thing. I put a onsie shirt on under his pajamas. He hasn't been able to figure out how to unsnap them.

My dd did the same thing when she was about the same age. We didn't turn her jammies around (although that sounds good). We did however wrap packing tape around the waise of her diaper so she couldn't take that off. She was pottied trained during the day so we had to remember to take it off first thing in the morning or she would get upset and I would be frantically pulling at tape to get the thing while she danced around because she had to go. It was pretty funny actually. She finally grew out of it. It didn't take long either. I don't remember having to tape the diaper on for very long. I'm not sure she did it for attention. I think she may have just been bored. At any rate, she is 6 now and I look back and laugh at the situation (especially me pulling packing tape off first thing in the morning while I'm still half asleep).
Good luck to you. T.

I would suggest to just keep up the routine you have always had, and before leaving give her one last hug and tell her that this is the last hug before the morning and that you expect her to stay in her pajamas and diaper. Then if she proceeds to take them off, I would not react by going in her room because each time you do it positively reinforces her. Then when she finally falls asleep go in and put her diaper and bottoms back on to avoid any messes for you. It will be hard for a few nights and maybe messy but when she learns that she is not getting the desired results she will hopefully stop. Good Luck.

A friend of mine had this problem and so she started putting on her kids jammies backwards. I really don't know how she did this with the feet thing but I know that it worked well for her. Also, maybe you could just not give her the extra hugs. Just put on her jammies and say "goodnight" but not give her tons of attention (either negative or positive). Well, good luck!

I found the best way to keep a diaper on a 2 year old (as I had this simular experience with my 2 year old son who is now 14) is to use duct tape. We put duct tape on the diaper starting at the tabs and going to the back so that he couldn't reach the end of the tape, then do the same on the other side. That will help with the peeing in the room, as far as taking the pjs off I am not sure what you can do about that other than let her sleep a night without them and ask her the next morning if she got cold.