How to Keep My Almost 3Yr Old Dressed

K.,
She is loving the attention she is getting from doing it. If you let her do it and don't make a big deal she will get over it, it is just a phase. All 5 of my kids did it, 1 even ran outside in his birthday suit, that one threw me for a loop especially when my neighbors called me laughing so hard they were crying. That only happened a few times and then he decided it wasn't worth not getting any attention. I know exactly what you are going through though. Keep smiling and enjoy this segment in her life.
Hugs,
T.

Hi K.,

I haven't seen the other moms' answers yet, but I have a suggestion. What if you dressed her in one of those full-body snuggly jammies that zip up the front, and put a diaper pin through the zipper and fabric at the top so she can't unzip it. That way she's warm all day and can't get out of her jammy. I would also make sure she is a busy little girl with no time to think of undressing and streaking all day. Also, maybe it is time to let her dress herself? That's a "big girl" job!

Good luck!

Memories of times past, lol! I kept telling her, my youngest, to keep her clothes on and eventually she grew out of it. My oldest never had this issue.....I know this is a serious question but one day you'll look back and laugh.

God bless,

M.

It is cute, we've all been there. Pick your battle, do you want to continue or take care of the problem. Make her diaper unaccesbile to her. We used overalls at his stage. Tey can't quite figure out how to get them completely off and by the time they have them half off they have changed channels and are distracted and on to some other form of distuction...LOL.

If you think it's cute, cshe knows it and if the siblings laugh, she is doing it for a reaction. Stop making it a game if you seriously want her to stop. If you're keeping her in diapers, dress her in overalls - backward or one piece, button/snap/zip coverall type things - backwards. However, if she is potty trained for half the day, why in diapers the other half?
If you really want her to stop, stop chasing. Simply stay where you are and when she returns, put her in time out for a minute or two. She thinks that you're playing a game, and if you want her to know that you're serious, you need to stop playing.

my 3.5 year old has been a nudist since she was 1... sometimes you just have to pick your battles!!! Let's just say if she has panties on, it's considered a victory in our house! hahaha!
It did get tiring having to clean the carpet all the time, so once she was potty trained it wasn't as bad, and luckily she potty trained early. If I were you, i'd tell her she can be naked if she wants as long as she uses the potty. If she has an accident, have her clean it up (or at least think she's cleaning it up, obviously you'd have to finish the job).
I only dress my daughter when we are about to leave the house, because it does get tiring dressing them all the time. Good luck!!!!!!!

Who is controlling who? She is taking her clothes of because she can. She has learned how, which is great. Now she keeps doing it because it gets laughs and best of all a reaction from mom. Your next step is to make sure she uses the potty ALL the time. Stop using diapers except at night or nap time. If she pees or poops on the floor she needs to be punished. Its unacceptable and germy. I think she is a little young to clean it herself, but she needs to be put in a corner until you have cleaned it up. And take your time doing it. Use a corner or her high chair turned to the wall, so she cant see anyone reacting to her actions. Put her there the instant she uses the floor as a toilet. Tell her why calmly and then ignore her. Once you have cleaned up the mess get her and explain again why it is inappropriate to use the floor as a toilet. Then hand her clean panties and tell her to put them on. Show her how but dont do it for her. Teach her how to put on her shirt, then her jeans. Let her struggle a bit before you help her. Every time she gets undressed hand her the clothes one at a time and tell her to put them on. Soon she will be taking them off and putting them on herself and if she gets no reaction will get bored and move on to an equally annoying behavior. LOL Oh make sure the older kids only react to positive behavior, if they cant not laugh, make them leave the room.

The baby of the family loves being the center of attention. She loves the hooplah and fanfare. It is so rewarding having the laughs and cheers and smiles of your family.

If you want her to stop being naked at will, stop reacting to her nakedness. Soon she will find some new activity to keep you guys laughing again. It is the beauty of being the baby.

my son is a nudist also, when i put him to sleep, so as not to have major disgusting mishaps in the crib, i buy the one piece blanket sleeper pjs one size too big and put them on him backwards, zip up the back. the extra size is so that there is extra room in the legs to twist them around. problem solved, its one of the best ideas i ever had :)
during the day, he is in a onesie with pants, the extra time it takes him to get out of it is usually long enough for me to get to him and stop it. .
i know i should be teaching him, etc, but he is little and i am busy/tired too... there are other more important things we are working on, and this too shall pass....pick your battles :)

We have that battle too. Just stay the course. Also start teaching her to put her clothes on herself - she can probably handle at least the pants and pullups if you are ready for them. I don't let my kids move to the next activity or return to playing with their toys until their clothes are back on. Also they get time-outs when they are being defiant.

i would stop making it a game, first of all. try to get the sibs to stop laughing or at least leave the room if they can't control it. pee and poo on the floor is not really funny. be firm with her and do timeouts for misbehaving. personally though, if she WAS potty trained, i would compromise by letting her have only panties on if she wanted. but only if she's a big enough girl to to go the potty on time. i would work on potty training, she's almost three so she should be able to get it. just sounds like you need to put your foot down. if you're laughing about it then of course she's not going to listen. are you lauging when she's peeing on the floor too? i'd say that might be why she's not fully potty trained, too. she will do what you let her get away with.

Dear K.,

You've gotten a lot of good responses already, I just want to say -- this could be the easiest pathway into complete potty training that you're going to get. Have you thought about just letting her run around naked, not making a big deal out of it, but encouraging her to use the potty as a potty, rather than use the floor as a potty. My own son was a little slow to potty train, and one of the ways I finally made it happen was by declaring the house "no pants zone" for about a month.

And he, she WILL grow out of it, and when she's a teenager and angling for your car, your credit card, etc., you can just threaten to tell this story to all her friends (just kidding, mostly) ;)