2 Year Old Streeker

Hi D.,

My daughter did the exact same thing. I could not keep clothes on that child. It lasted all the way through Kindergarten, when I'd pick her up I could immediately tell she had no underwear on! she always replied "I forgot them". She would wander out nude when we had company and I had to get strict with her (which is not my forte') but she eventually grew out of it. I guess it has something to do with exploring their bodies, and like the way it feels to be free, without clothes!! Good luck, and don't worry. This too shall pass.

V. T.

My son is 5 and still cant get him to stay dressed!! He prefers to play in his underwear,yet he also "forgets" to put his underwear on when he gets dressed out of the shower.He would run through the house naked screaming "Im a naked butt".Stripping down bare was never a problem however.It is frustrating getting them dressed over and over again,my son played that game while I would get ready for work in the mornings.Maybe try to ignore it,if she knows you get upset it will be her way to gain attention.I would encourage keeping the pull up on,maybe try the "private"talk,kids do get it.As far as running outside,it may feel embarrassing but I dont think many people would think it odd for a 2 yr old to be in pull up when its 100 degrees outside.Its a phase most kids go through...Breathe,and just try to have fun..Hope it helps..

I really think its a kid thing. I have an almost 7 year old daughter and she is the same way. But she only does it at home. Its just me and her so whenever we come home she strips right on down to her panties and walks around like that. She just prefers walking around with nothing on. When she was younger she would walk around with nothing on at all. not even her underwear. I told her mommy doesn't want to see your naked body so you need to put some clothes on. So at least now she wears her panties. But she knows if we have people over she needs to put on clothes. Her sister (they have the same father) is the same way and she is 6 also. The only thing I can think to tell you if it bothers you that much your probably gonna have to keep on your child about keeping her clothes on. That means following behind her and making sure she keps clothes on. I hope this helps.

I think that is perfectly normal and you shouldn't try to stop her until she is around 4. Nudity is nothing to be ashamed of and by punishing her at this age, will only teach her to be ashamed. Society and all the pervs out there get us really freaked out when it comes to our little girls, but we are the parents that can stop this. When she turns four that will be the time when she understands that its okay to be nude, but not in public, and not when there are guest in the house. By the time she is four, though, she will probably have gone past that stage. The best of luck to you.

all children do this. it's normal and natural and perfectly acceptable, please don't waste time being embarrassed about it. what are you afraid people will think? everyone knows this is a small child classic. no one will think you're doing anything wrong, and naked little people are cute and funny and absolutely acceptable. your child will not be in the streaking business when she is in 4th grade. :-)

gotta love these times lol... i am the mother of three girls and as soon as mine learned to dress themselves the undressing soon followed i can rember one time was outside talking to a neibor and my 1 1/2 year old is playing in the yard and i turn around the check on her and she had started to strip a little embarsing but all my neibor could do is laugh and say that her kid's did the same thing as well... coveralls work great anything that snaps or buttons in the back down side if potty training or trained have to be prepared to undo those everytime the bathroom is needed but with my girls this only lasted a couple of months before they moved on to changing their clothes and i don't know if they ever get out of that stage yikes... i wish you the best of luck

Hello D.

i do think its a phase that they go through i have 2 girls ages 5 and 3 this month my 5 year old as soon as she hit 1 ish she would always take her cloths off i could never keep her dressed. she would stay dressed when we went places but as soon as we walked in the door she was nude.. she has gotten better now.. my almost 3 year old is going through that phase now. no matter how many times i get her dressed put her hair up not even 5 mins later she comes out of her room and her hair is down and she is nude.. i know how fustrating it can be when you are getting ready to leave and have to redress them right before you walk out the door.. i think its more of them learning that they can do things on their own and are exploring what they can do.. all i can say is hope your daughter goes through this phase faster than mine have. good luck

R.

My son, who is now 3 1/2 years old, did the same thing when he was about 2. As soon as he learned how to take off his clothes, he was doing it EVERYWHERE! The most awful time was at a co-workers' child birthday party! He striped down to the pull up at a Bounce House party, and until this day, my co-workers laugh about it.

It's funny now because my son doesn't do it anymore, which is why I am responding. This is definitely a phase that will take its course. The way I dealt with it was a little explanation and a lot of humor! I explained to my son when he striped down that some places are okay to be naked and others are not i.e. at home is okay, but the grocery store is not. With that, I allowed my son to be naked at home when he wanted to, as long as he didn't go outside and he told me (or signaled) that he had to go potty. This was a great way for my son to not only satisfy his need to be naked, but he learned how to control himself during potty training. If you allow her the freeness of being naked when it is okay, maybe that will lessen the chance of her wanting to be naked at inappropriate times.

Good Luck!

K.

Hi there, my 2 yr old started this behavior about 23 months. She was nuts, taking her clothes off everywhere, especially in public. At first I was crazy,chasing her- putting them right back on. Finally I gave up the chase and after about six weeks she stopped taking off her clothes - why? I have no idea. I am a mom who wants them dressed and clean wherever we are, even at home, but I had to give up the battle there. Laugh with her, she'll outgrow it. Good luck, C.
PS - Our big family joke is we have to get Morghen out of here before she knows what a strip club is :)

My suggestion would be to take a lot of pictures. It won't be long before she'll be over this phase. Some of my favorite shots of my boys are when they were running naked through the house, wearing nothing but shoes.

Wooden shoes in one case, firemen's boot in a second and mis-matched shoes in the third. I'm pretty sure these will be valuable pictures someday.

I just read a book, "From Sex to Superconsciousness" by OSHO...he has some really interesting points about raising children around the issues of sex and nudity. It's a short read and well worth your time. Having children (a girl, 5 and a boy, 3) has helped pull me out of my shell to celebrate the beauty of being bare naked. Enjoy your journey.

Hi D.,
i have a stripper and he is now 7 yrs old. When we first moved here, he would go streaking. It was embarassing. Then he also did a few peeing in public. I felt like i had taught him no manners. It was crazy. As soon as he gets home he strips his shoes and most of his clothes. Even in the winter time you will find him in just his boxers. I guess he is a naturalist.
Good luck.
P.

Dear D.,

I know - but you did catch me laughing - My gr grand daughter did it too, she even ran outside one time like that. We caught her right away,it was embarrassing, and sort of scary. But 'they' do it. I don't think that she will do it in public though.

Give her a certain time of the day when she can do that - like just after her bath. My daughter, the grandmother now of the nude beauty in our family - invented running around the house without clothes on after her bath. It was easy to catch her and put on her pajamas, then book and bed. So I don't have any ideas to help you. Just to let you know it has happened in two generations in our family.

I know that her brother used to squirm when he had on a tee shirt that was itchy on the inside. So check on that.

My daughter took all of her clothes off down to the panties and socks when she went with us to register her brother for Kindergarten. I do know that it was an itchy dress then and that soon had to not be used anymore.

I don't know....kids do that. Maybe you could bribe her. It is o.k. to bribe kids IF they keep their side of the 'contract' or bargain. But they don't get 'paid' unless they leave their clothes on or whatever is the behavior that you want to change.

C. N.

Hi D.,
Unfortunately for many mothers and fathers being nude seems to be the delight of many two year olds. About all you can do is try impress upon her that she must be dressed if she is going to be in public.
My granddaughter was the same way at that age. We basically told her she couldn't leave the house without clothes on. With firmness that seemed to work with effort. She still like being barefoot whenever possible. Otherwise at 6 she is a very modest child and won't let anyone but Mom and Dad see her undressed.
Good luck,
D. Bohr
Mom and Grandma
Retired elementary and early childhood teacher
CranioSacral Therapist and Maternity Massage