I have an 18 month old that totally strips 10+ times a day... yes, diaper and all; she has gotten out of tightly buttoned ( back buttons mind you) onesies that have neck holes so small I though she would choke, leggings, footed sleepers with snaps over the zippers ( yes, she squeezed thru the neck, never opened zipper or snap) and everything her mom & I can think of that should stop her... problem is she is the oldest in group of 4 and is about to go to another center by age 2. How do we nip this in the bud ( just started 2 weeks ago) because she is now peeing on rugs and on nap mats too if I don't catch her in time ... my youngest in care is 7 weeks

Reply

I had this issue with a 3 year old. Nannyde gave me the idea to use backwards footed pajamas and it worked like a charm!

Reply

Already did that... she squeezed thru the top anyway after stretching neck; she's a very determined thing... she's ruined more clothes because she escapes without undoing zippers or buttons. ( she is skinny too)

Reply

Holy cow you have a mini Houdini! Hopefully someone else has an idea... I honestly wouldn't be able to care for a child I couldn't stop from stripping. My playroom is carpeted and I'm way too broke to even pay to have them shampooed at this point.

Yikes!

Reply

Maybe sew the sleeves shut on the jammies so that she can't use her fingers to work her way out?

Reply

That was my first thought too until I saw the DCK was squeezing out through the neck. I can't imagine that, she must be really small or a mini Houdini!

Reply

Her nickname was Houdini before day 5 of this mess... I have never in my life had a child that managed to get out of everything I could think of including backwards , duck taped diapers. Her mom & I are both at a loss... we do know she is almost ready to potty train, but she will sit on it and not go, then stand up next to it to pee. this has been all week too. she can tell us when she's wet, but this is a " I don't want wear clothes at all" thing most the time

Reply

I would cut the feet off the sleeper and use the old fashioned diaper pins to pin her in.Put the sleeper on backwards and maybe never let her be out of your sight when awake every time she starts to undress distract her.

Reply

I'd duct tape the diaper on, for obvious reasons, then let her strip her clothes off to her heart's content. Eventually she'll grow tired of it, or Mom will stumble on an outfit she loves and wants to keep on.

Reply

I already do that, however she has managed to squeeze out of the duct tape diapers a few times too lol. It slows her down, but doesn't always stop her. A big problem is she tries to do it even when we are outside in cold weather, first the coat & boots, then she tries for the pants

Reply

it seems that all her clothes are very tight to prevent taking it off. Try to put on her something very comfy and loose enough.
You also can recommend to her parent to create for her "a naked time" - a time when they allow her to be naked. For an example every evening before go to sleep or before taking shower ...

Reply

This started here after mom started naked time at home ( gets to run around before bath time)... We started with loose clothes and have started getting more fitted each day because it was getting worse & not better. She won't even let me tie a playsilk on her as a sarong

Reply

when some child tries don't let me to do what MUST be done I always say "I don't ask your permission I tell you what must be done."

Reply

OK. Try to work in opposite way. Create a small area with a very limited numbers of toys. If she wants be naked she MUST be only in that area. If she wants to get other toys or leave the area she MUST put her clothe on.

Reply

I dont mean to sound negative but how is she able to do these things? what type of supervision is given? is she doing it only during nap time when you don't have 100% supervision of her?

what is she doing before she rips her clothes and diapers off? is there way to be proactive and cut her off before she can get to that point?

Reply

I guess I was thinking like Daycare. I know you can't spend every minute with eyes on one child, but I'd be hyper-focused for a week or so, and every time she even STARTED to take her clothes off, I'd say firmly "Clothes stay ON!"

For naps, I'd remind her before nap. Then, I'd put on a diaper, a onsie, AND the footed, backward pajamas. "remember, clothes stay ON". I have a video monitor, so I'd point that camera right at her pnp, and when she started trying to strip, a voice would come from somewhere in the room "CLOTHES STAY ON".


I have an almost 2 who sleeps on a mat, but tries to get off at the beginning of nap EVERY DAY. Cracks me up, because she doesn't know I can see her through the monitor. Then, I say quietly into the monitor "B...get back on your mat". She RUNS back, lays down, and that's all. EVERY DAY for two or three weeks now. She's just gotta try....

Reply

LOL, I can picture that, I have a pretty determined little one that was getting off her mat during nap as well. Love the video monitors

I do agree, there shouldn't be a way to spend that much time trying to wriggle out of clothes up to 10 times a day- I'd be sure to keep a closer eye on her and stop her in the process. If she's squeezing out the necks of tighter clothes, and also getting out of duct-taped diapers, it has to take some time and she should be observed in the act. She shouldn't have that much time to do it so often during the day. Keep her in your "shadow" and stop it from the get-go! Maybe being consistent with that will take the fun out of it.

Reply

I have done that but then she takes it right off... and I put it on again. We have also had issues of her trying to eat non food items; Im talking dirt, powder and the like - that started about the same time as stripping so I am wondering if it's connected somehow

Reply

Its not so easy to shadow her 100% because I have the 2 youngest (both under 4 months) and a special needs baby (like he sees 6 different Dr's - Foster baby ).... this kid is about to age out of my program and has always played independently with no issues until recently. The playroom is off the living/kitchen area so sometimes if I am feeding littles she goes to get her toys... She strips in front of people standing right next to her and we all stop her right then, but she just tries again regardless ( 3 adults watched her shed her leggings in seconds last night and we put them right back on - one was her mom)

Reply

I have her twin! Only now she doesn't do it anymore and it has been a year.

She could strip off a piece of clothing in seconds. If I even so much as turned my head she would pop an arm out of the top of her shirt.

I got her to stop after a week of constantly keeping her with me and redirecting. I'd say firmly "No. Leave it." And then "no" any time she repeated directly after that. I'd move her hands away from her clothes and onto a toy or something else to distract her. When making lunch or changing a diaper or anything else, she had to come with me or else she would start stripping. Apparently she too was allowed to run naked at home for early potty training reasons so that may have started it in her case. Mom also gave her a lot of attention for stripping of clothes and when she started replicating what I was doing here, she stopped entirely. She also had to quit allowing her naked time at home for a while too as I told dcm that I simply couldn't have a naked child here.

Hope this is a simple issue that can be outgrown quickly and not one that is more deeply rooted in something else...

Reply

Maybe give her some dolls with clothes she can take off. Possibly she just likes taking off the clothes? I used to just put out naked dolls after a while because they'd constantly remove the clothes anyway.

Maybe give her a basket of various kinds of socks, shoes, mittens, and make an activity of just letting her put them on and take them off. A box of dress up clothes and a mirror? Show her that the dress up clothes go over her clothes otherwise she can't have them. If they are tempting enough like sparkly crowns or cute purses or tutu's like I found at the dollar store, that might satisfy her put on and take off urge. Does she know how to put them back on? If not, I'd make sure she practiced. The theory being if she takes them off then she has to put them back on.

All I can come up with as most suggestions have already been made.

That said, we used to call my youngest "Teenie Houdini" but he was only an expert at getting out of his car seat and I'd look in my rear view mirror and see him walking along the back seat. I used shoe strings to tie his car seat straps together and that worked.

Reply

I got the dolls last night so she could strip them... of course it's a stressful day because I have the other Foster baby in care instead of her friend; this one has a restraining order against mom and this kid has never been here so the day is already upside down -

Reply

This occupation is not for sissies! Hope your day gets better.

Laurel

Reply

Keep an eye on that Pica. My BFF's daughter had pica (no paper was safe!), plus some other unusual behaviors. At 2 1/2 or so, she talked in the 3rd person a lot (would refer to herself as "she"), and had a lot of temper tantrums over little things she couldn't control (like she HAD to walk up the stairs first, or every doorway first). Just a lot of "odd" little things. Turns out, she has OCD, and at 16, has been on medication for about 6 years. Mom caved on the meds when it got so bad with "poison" and "germs" in her food that the child lost 20 pounds. Oddly enough, she would eat dirt and paper at 8, but wouldn't eat FOOD at 10.

Just wondering if it's a tactile thing with your LO. I'd treat it like a behavior, but be mindful of what could come up later...

Reply

Mom is talking to the DR about the Pica issue because it started at home then came here... same with the stripping; today could have been much worse, but because of the new baby & a doll AND the backwards blanket sleeper (yep she slid one arm out just as she was dropped off - daddy caught her this time); she only managed to get down to the diaper 2 times today. I work 6:30-6:30 daily due to parents schedules so I am beat by end of the day... Next Thur we have the new Foster baby again & FRIDAY, THE OTHER ONE. (special needs out the ying yang).. I fit them in on days 2 sets of parents aren't scheduled to have their chid in care (one is here one day but not the next & vice versa for the other).

I've been doing this 14 years, but the PICA and stripping have never happened before, so I was at a loss lol

Reply