My 17 month old son hates wearing his hat. Just as soon as it goes on he takes it off. Does anyone have any idea how I can teach him to like his hat or am I fighting a losing battle?
Put the hat on as soon as you get outside, and take him back inside (or put him in a stroller with an umbrella and LOTS of sunscreen) as soon as he takes it off.
If he wants to be out, playing, he'll leave it on.
Both of my girls are the same way. I will put the hat on my one year old and she will pull it off. She is interested in seeing and playing with it. She doesn't understand that it looks adorable on her. She does the same thing with bows. When my first daughter hit 2 years old she didn't care about it anymore cause she knew what was up there already and didn't care to play with it anymore. I think all babies do that with hats. I think he will eventually get used to it and get bored with playing with it and leave it there. Just give it time.
I have had the same problem with my second son. My first loves wearing his baseball cap when we go outside, because daddy wears one. My second son however, will always take it off. I finally just started telling him that he had to wear it when we were outside, to protect him from the sun. If he took it off, then he got in trouble and had to go inside. He loved it outside, so he finally quit messing with it. However, we have to go through this every time we are outside, but eventually, he will leave it alone. If this does not work, then you might just have to lather him up really well in sunscreen. He might not ever like wearing hats, and thats ok. If he has enough hair on his head, then the top of his head should be fine. Just make sure you put it on his face really good, and then reapply after a couple of hours. You also don't want to stay outside too long in the hot sun.
What is your reason for trying to make him wear a hat? It is an accessory, not a necessity. IMO If you are worried about the sun, use a baby sun screen. When winter comes, buy a jacket with a hood. Just my opinion.
