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What to Do When Your Toddler Doesn’t Want to Wear Clothes

February 1, 2020

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A lot of time and energy goes into clothing your toddler.

From choosing colors, to outgrowing their clothes every 20 minutes, new parents have their plates full with keeping their toddlers clean, comfortable and clothed.

So what do you do when all your toddler doesn’t want to wear clothes at all?

How do you deal with a toddler who just wants to be naked?

What to Do when Your Toddler Doesn't Want to Wear Clothes

{This post contains affiliate links, which means I may receive a small commission, at no cost to you, if you make a purchase through a link.}

At about 12 to 18 months, your baby will most likely want to run around the house naked.

This is completely normal, and actually could help a little bit with potty training.

Obviously it can be a bit of an issue when trying to introduce social norms.

And of course, you don’t want a naked toddler running around when you have people over for coffee or lunch. Yikes. lol

So what do you do when your toddler doesn’t want to wear clothes?

The best thing to do is not discourage this behavior entirely.

Set limits about where and when your toddler can be naked and enforce them.

It’s tedious, but repeatedly re-dressing your toddler may be the best way to get the message across.

Keep an especially close eye on your toddler in public. Not just because they might strip down, but because you don’t want to lose expensive things like shoes or jackets.

toddler wants to run around naked

Allow some naked time

Setting a “naked time” where your toddler is free to roam around the house for an hour or so a day is a good way to set limits on acceptable behavior.

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Make sure it’s a time when you can be around to monitor them very closely and make sure that they don’t hurt their more exposed areas.

Also, it’s probably best if naked time is when your house doesn’t see a lot of traffic.

Your toddler may be comfortable with their naked time, but friends and neighbors may not be. lol

Making play dates for right before or after naked time can be a good way to demonstrate the difference between private time and public time.

And it lets them start making their own boundaries in their mind.

toddler clothes on the floor
Striped Paw Patrol Shirt | Cute and Mighty Shirt

Make getting dressed fun

Have fun while getting dressed, and stress the importance of where and when it is okay to take off your clothes.

This way your toddler begins to understand how grown-ups wear appropriate clothes every day.

(note: if your husband sits around in his boxers all day in your house, don’t use him as an example. lol)

Use your little one’s newfound freedom to encourage them to choose their own clothes. Let your toddler dress herself as much as possible.

So hopefully she might like to get dressed as much as she enjoys taking her clothes off.

I like to give Toot a couple of weather appropriate outfit options rather than just letting her dig through her dresser.

It’s much easier for a toddler to decide if they only have two or three choices. Too many options can be overwhelming.

I also try to buy her some gender neutral clothes because she doesn’t always want to be girly.

Related:  11 Mom Hacks for Shopping at the Mall with a Toddler

Giving your toddler options lets them feel like they have more control over their lives.

Not having any control makes them want to do anything that feels like it’s their choice… like take all of their clothes off.

toddler refuses to wear clothes

Keep the discipline clothing related

The most important thing to remember is not to let your discipline about clothing become about your child’s body.

It’s easy to make your child feel ashamed of their naked body, even if that’s not what you intended to do.

This kind of discomfort can go a long way in determining how your child feels about their body in the long term even into adulthood.

I know that sounds scary. You don’t want to scar them for life. Just do your best.

Keeping the focus on the clothes and not their body can be easier than you think.

Remind your toddler that we keep our clothes on around other people. That is the rule.

Also explain weather and socially appropriate clothes.

It’s okay to wear a swim suit in the summer to the pool. It’s not okay to wear a swim suit in the winter or to a wedding.

Is this a sensory problem?

One reason your toddler might be taking their clothes off or refusing to wear clothes is because they don’t like the texture or there’s something bothering them.

My daughter doesn’t like tags. She hates them. I have to cut off the tags on most of her clothes or buy shirts and pants with printed on labels instead of dangling tags.

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Look at which clothes are being tossed on the floor. What do they have in common?

Is it just shirts and not pants?

Do they have scratchy tags?

Are they a certain type of fabric?

Does the inside have something like the back of a decal that feels weird?

If you can figure out a similarity, you might just need to avoid buying those types of clothes or alter them to work for your toddler.

Another thing you can try is switching to a gentle laundry detergent. It might be what’s causing your toddler to rip off their clothes.

There’s one brand of laundry detergent that I’m allergic to but only slightly. Just enough to make me uncomfortable.

Unfortunately, I don’t know which brand. lol So I just keep buying Tide because I know it’s fine.

See Free and Clear Laundry Detergent on Amazon

Does your toddler run around naked?

Let me know in the comments below.

This time in their life is a lot about exploration. So it’s important to let them figure out some stuff on their own. Set some boundaries, but allow them to do their thing.

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Toddlers · 13 Comments

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Comments

  1. Beth Ann says

    June 18, 2018 at 5:59 am

    Ahh, we went through this when my little was about 2. He wanted to be naked all the time. I was one of those moms who only wanted my son to wear nice striped shirts, or otherwise “dressy”. I definitely didn’t buy anything with trucks, characters, or the like. I was such a snob, haha.

    Anyway, eventually it got to a point where I had to get him some Mickey Mouse, or PJ Mask clothes, because that’s the only way he would get dressed. He still lets me put a nice sweater on him during the school year, but generally at home we are pretty lax. If he doesn’t want to wear pants he doesn’t have to.

    I also completely agree about the body shaming. It’s a fine line between your body and your clothes. We are always worried about this. We tend to try to push how awesome clothes are instead of how bad it is to be naked. For example, we talk about how we want to have pants on so our legs stay warm, and we can play and have fun and not have to worry about hurting our knees if we fall.

    The last thing that has helped us get my little one dressed (who is now FOUR! Where has all that time gone!?) is telling him as soon as he gets home he can put his favorite Batman sweatpants on. I don’t blame him, when I get home I love to get into my comfy pants and relax around the house.

    Thanks for the wonderful post, it really has me thinking about the wonderful journey my son and I have taken to get here, in the land of everyone wearing pants. Hahaha

    Reply
    • Niki @ Toot's Mom is Tired says

      June 18, 2018 at 6:38 am

      Lol that’s a good idea! Promise them they can wear their favorite clothes so they don’t take off the ones they have. I’m so glad he made it to the land of everyone wearing pants. ?

      Reply
  2. bindu says

    April 1, 2019 at 6:26 pm

    Yes my little boy 27 months old does not like to wear dress at all. May be it started when I allowed him to stay without diaper while potty training. now he wears dress only when we say we are talking him to mall. He likes playing in the play area of mall. Even for the park, he wont agree to wear dress. As soon as he returns home he wants to remove all the dress. not sure how to make him have some favorite clothes!!

    Reply
    • Niki at Toot's Mom is Tired says

      April 1, 2019 at 6:28 pm

      Some boys just don’t grow out of it. My husband has to be forced to wear pants in the house. ? I hope it’s just a phase he’s going though. Maybe once he hits 3 he’ll think differently about it.

      Reply
  3. E says

    June 19, 2019 at 7:18 pm

    Just keep your ears open for sensory-related complaints like seams, scratchy clothing, tags, etc. That’s not something that should be forced on anyone.

    Reply
    • Niki at Toot's Mom is Tired says

      June 19, 2019 at 7:18 pm

      Agreed!

      Reply
  4. Shanice says

    July 27, 2019 at 6:22 pm

    My daughter is 16 months an she takes the close off as u put dem on………….she hates close but like dressing up when going out

    Reply
  5. Shanni says

    November 7, 2019 at 3:12 pm

    My 2 1/2 yo fights me kicking and screaming exorcist style nearly every time I dress her. I’m a stay at home mom so it’s gotten to the point I only dress her to go outside. Now, she doesn’t even want to leave the house. She’d rather stay home naked than go buy new toys or go to the park!!

    Reply
    • Niki at Toot's Mom is Tired says

      November 8, 2019 at 8:44 am

      Maybe she has a sensory issue with the fabric or tags on the clothes? If she’s avoiding fun things because clothes are involved, it might be more than just she prefers to be naked. Maybe try different fabrics? Or cut off tags?

      Reply
    • Sarah says

      October 13, 2020 at 7:25 pm

      Did you ever resolve this? Any tips? I have a 2.5 year old son who is going through the same thing. It’s driving me crazy!

      Reply
      • Molly says

        November 21, 2020 at 2:53 pm

        Same issue here! She is 25 mos and will not wear pants! Period. She will wear a shirt or dress to go in the backyard but aside from that. Nope. She has potty trained during this time and we are under “stay at home orders” so it really hasn’t been an issue other than feeling concerned that it could be a sensory issue… can’t find any consistent issues re:fabric/patterns/etc other than – pants.

  6. STUTI says

    December 30, 2021 at 8:38 am

    My baby girl is 2 year 9 months old and she take off her paijamas and lowers everytime.. For very short time she wear socks and shoes.. In this winter even it is so cold and still I am facing same problem.. What to do pls suggest.. How to train her.

    Reply
    • Niki at Toot's Mom is Tired says

      January 19, 2022 at 12:40 pm

      If she’s almost 3 she should be able to tell if she’s cold and will tell you or cover up. Lots of little kids don’t feel as cold as we do because they’re burning so much energy. I wouldn’t worry about her being cold.

      Reply

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Toot's Mom is Tired

Hi! I’m Niki.

I’m a mom of a kid called Toot. Yes, I’m always tired!

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