# Changing clothes ALL THE TIME! help!



## ellesmama (Aug 11, 2005)

My oldest dd, 4 3/4, has been in the habit of changing her clothes several times a day for a couple of years now. Not everyday, but enough to make me annoyed since there is more laundry, and more mess with clothes on the floor. However, I have kept it to myself and now it doesn't bother me, mostly.

Now, my younger dd, 2 1/2, has started too! She takes off her clothes and changes all day long! It started off gradually, and now she is doing it everyday, without fail, and multiple times! She does it much more than her sister.

I know that this is normal behavior for the age and totally appropriate, but I need to know if I can lessen it for my own sanity.

The problem is they put on weather-inappropriate outfits and then it is a battle to get them to change into appropriate clothes. I have put all the summer and spring clothes away. They are just wearing things like skirts without tights, undershirts without a longsleeve t-shirt over it etc... And it is a huge mess for me everyday to put all the clothes back into the dresser that they have scattered everywhere. My older dd mostly puts back her clothes, but my younger one definitely does not. And my younger dd puts on her sister's WAY too big clothes all the time and it is a battle to get her into her own clothes.

Any suggestions? I just really want to put all their clothes up so they have no access, and get out 1 outfit for them everyday and that is it. Is this cruel? Is this even doable? I don't know where I could move the clothes to..
. Or do I just need to suck it up


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## AllisonR (May 5, 2006)

This hasn't happened in our house yet, though with DD I can see it heading in that direction fast! I saw another post on this under childhood years not too long ago. Maybe search for that. One momma's suggestion was her DD could change as much as she wanted, but she had to put the clothes away after she changed. At the end of the day, clothes that were not picked up were taken away, and put in momma's closet. If her DD had picked up, then she earned an outfit back. Again, haven't been there, but I liked this idea, and will use it when my DD starts changing clothes more compulsively than she does now.


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## anywaybecause (Jul 9, 2008)

One of my dds did this, too. I think it was somewhere around 4 1/2 that I started telling her, whenever I noticed a new outfit, to please go upstairs and put her other outfit back in the drawers or on the hangers. After a while, she just gave up changing outfits and at around years old she switched to playing dress-up several times a day, but always returning to her original outfit.

I guess it may have helped that I am often slow with the laundry, and there were times when she only had 2 outfits left in her drawers (if I can't tell whether something is clean or dirty, then it's dirty and it goes straight to the laundry area in the basement, kwim?).









HTH,

Wendy


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## Annalisa84 (Nov 18, 2008)

I think it's a phase most little girls go through! I started at about 3 and now my 3 and a half year old is doing it.

She's quite a neat eater, so she usually wears things more than once (twice, typically). I just pick up everything off her bedroom floor, sniff it, and examine it for stains, then put it away accordingly. (although I'm trying to get her to put away her own clothes after she takes them off. She only has a wardrobe not a closet and she actually does quite well, if something is still clean she puts it in the bottom of her wardrobe. I love that kid.


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## dillonandmarasmom (May 30, 2005)

DD (3.5) has been doing this for at least 6 months. Some days I go nuts inside with the constant, "Mama, can you take this off of me..." (damn buttons!), and others I just do it without even thinking about it. Usually it ends up on the floor, and I ask her to please put it up on the bed or in her cubes. She's pretty good about it now, but it used to be a constant job just picking up clothes.
BTW, some days she changes 10 times an hour...


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## orangefoot (Oct 8, 2004)

It's like their whole wardrobe is for dressing up isn't it? They are learning fantastic life skills that kids who are dressed by their parent don't learn til much later but







: at the mess it makes

My dd started doing this at about 2 and a half and she is down to probably one or at most two changes per day now at almost 6 (we homeschool so she has the opportunity!) Dd2 is also getting in the groove of changing but she prefers to change just the bottom of any combo rather than faff with tops as well.

I didn't mind the changing so much as the clothes everywhere so when dd1 started doing it I had a good look at her wardrobe and got rid of a lot of clothes to cut down on the myriad of combinations of abandoned garments. Then I moved all her clothes into the divan drawer under our bed. It is deep and wide so whatever was on the floor could easily be thrown in there and the drawer closed to hide it.

If you don't have a drawer then maybe putting all their stuff in a trunk or big laundry type basket would work. Anything that makes for child friendly pick up and put away will help and if they don't do it you can just bundle it all up and dump it in there with little effort.


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## TinkerBelle (Jun 29, 2005)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *ellesmama* 
My oldest dd, 4 3/4, has been in the habit of changing her clothes several times a day for a couple of years now. Not everyday, but enough to make me annoyed since there is more laundry, and more mess with clothes on the floor. However, I have kept it to myself and now it doesn't bother me, mostly.

Now, my younger dd, 2 1/2, has started too! She takes off her clothes and changes all day long! It started off gradually, and now she is doing it everyday, without fail, and multiple times! She does it much more than her sister.

I know that this is normal behavior for the age and totally appropriate, but I need to know if I can lessen it for my own sanity.

The problem is they put on weather-inappropriate outfits and then it is a battle to get them to change into appropriate clothes. I have put all the summer and spring clothes away. They are just wearing things like skirts without tights, undershirts without a longsleeve t-shirt over it etc... And it is a huge mess for me everyday to put all the clothes back into the dresser that they have scattered everywhere. My older dd mostly puts back her clothes, but my younger one definitely does not. And my younger dd puts on her sister's WAY too big clothes all the time and it is a battle to get her into her own clothes.

Any suggestions? *I just really want to put all their clothes up so they have no access, and get out 1 outfit for them everyday and that is it. Is this cruel? Is this even doable? I don't know where I could move the clothes to..
. Or do I just need to suck it up







*


No, it is not cruel at all. You shouldn't constantly be doing unnecessary laundry and putting clothes away. Get a couple of bins and put the clothes in it and put them in your closet or somewhere else where they cannot get into it.


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## Alison's Mom (May 3, 2007)

My DD, just turned 4, does this too. She loves wearing summer dresses, but I've put most of them away, so she wears skirts without tights and a short sleeve tshirt in the house. She would happy just wearing panties, or even going naked all the time, which I'm not OK with especially in the winter, or if someone besides close family is coming over.

If we are going out, I insist she wear tights and a jacket over her skirt and Tshirt, and she's OK doing that now. I've just bought more thick tights which seems to have lessened the battles. She just doesn't like wearing pants, but I insist that she does when we go to the park.

She changes frequently, including when we go out, and when we come home, plus when she feels like it. I used to get her to put these 'half dirty, half clean' clothes on her couch in her room so she could pick from those clothes instead of going to her drawer. This sort of worked, but we've recently put DS's bed in that room, and take out the couch so now she just hangs them over the footboard of her bed.

I feel your pain, and I'm hoping it's a phase of some sort. My 2.5yr old niece does this too, and I don't think she even learned it from DD.


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## MOMYS (Nov 5, 2008)

What about packing away their "everyday" clothes and have a HUGE box of dress up stuff! Not just whole outfits, but all kinds of add-ons!

Honestly our dress-up is THE best toy in our house (except maybe for Legos for the older boys!)


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## wannabe (Jul 4, 2005)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *MOMYS* 
What about packing away their "everyday" clothes and have a HUGE box of dress up stuff! Not just whole outfits, but all kinds of add-ons!

Honestly our dress-up is THE best toy in our house (except maybe for Legos for the older boys!)

But that's still going to have to be put away.

I would try having fewer clothes, maybe have 3-5 outfits at any one time and change out their whole wardrobe every couple of weeks.


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## cotopaxi (Sep 17, 2007)

Oh lord - I see what's in store for me. My dd is only 18 months, and she's currently doing this but ONLY with socks, lol. I guess she has no clue how to take off other clothing yet, so she's focusing on what's in reach? Of course she can't get the other pair on, so I'd actually be happy if she could entertain herself changing socks. Right now it's "take off socks, bring new ones to mama, whiiiine until mama puts the new ones on, enjoy the new ones for 10 seconds, repeat."


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## 1littlebit (Jun 1, 2008)

i'm 21 and i change at least twice a day









i don't think putting there clothes away is a bad idea. especially if you gave them a big bin of dress up clothes... the upside of the dress up clothes is that you just have to shove them back into the bin instead of putting them away nicely


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## cotopaxi (Sep 17, 2007)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *1littlebit* 
i'm 21 and i change at least twice a day









LOL, I'm 31 and, me too.







BUT, I hang / fold them myself afterwards and do my own laundry.


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## 1littlebit (Jun 1, 2008)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *cotopaxi* 
LOL, I'm 31 and, me too.







BUT, I hang / fold them myself afterwards and do my own laundry.









lmao... i do my own laundry,...and i hang / fold them... well.. eventually lol. thats why i think dress up clothes you can just chuck in a box would work.. no folding or hanging necessary


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## Anglyn (Oct 25, 2004)

No advice, this is my house! DD does it and now her younger brother is doing it too and Im losing my mind with the laundry!

Never realized til I read pp say THEY also change multiple times a day, but I do get up and change into work clothes, then come home and change, then after a bath, change again and Im in Texas, sometimes I change several times cuz I get hot...then cold...then hot....

damn. they get it from me. The behavior that drives me nutty is....my own. What a realization!!!

Of course, I dont wear something for ten min then throw it in the floor and spill pudding on it so it cant go back in the drawer....


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## mlh (Sep 29, 2005)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *ellesmama* 
My oldest dd, 4 3/4, has been in the habit of changing her clothes several times a day for a couple of years now. Not everyday, but enough to make me annoyed since there is more laundry, and more mess with clothes on the floor. However, I have kept it to myself and now it doesn't bother me, mostly.


I can totally relate. My dh was just asking me the other day why they go through so many outfits a day. My 4.5 yr old loves to wear summer time clothes so she will go up and change into shorts after I have her dressed in nice warm clothes! Then my 2 yr old follows and wants to change her clothes too! It is frustrating, but I haven't gotten to the point of trying to do anything about it. It is annoying to have to get them redressed into warmer clothes every time we get ready to go anywhere, but we just start getting ready really early.

So, no advice here, just know what you are going through!
Hugs!


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## Jannah6 (Aug 29, 2007)

I thought that my DD's were the only ones that did this. My oldest DD started doing this first and when DD2 was old enough she followed suit. Oldest DD is now 7 and youngest is 4. I've tried to stop them, but no luck







. If the clothes that they've changed are still clean I just put them back in the drawers or tell them to.


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## MOMYS (Nov 5, 2008)

But with the dress up stuff you just throw it back into the box! AND it is GREAT for imagination!


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## Jannah6 (Aug 29, 2007)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *MOMYS* 
But with the dress up stuff you just throw it back into the box! AND it is GREAT for imagination!

Yeah, I need to get some more dress up clothes. They ruined or outgrew the few pieces that they had. I'm going to be learning how to sew, so maybe I can make them some.


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## MOMYS (Nov 5, 2008)

I have put in old adult t-shirts; hats; caps; button up shirts (adult and kids); etc. etc. etc. They don't have to be specific "dress up" things....


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## punchy (May 26, 2006)

i was so tired of putting things away that i bought a big 'ol basket and threw her clothes in there without folding them. she can dump the whole thing out on the floor to find what she needs and then throw everything back in and if she doesn't get to it then it's not such an ordeal for me to do it. i've become much more calm about this since that basket came into my life. and regarding the inappropriate clothes based on weather, i let dd wear whatever she wants (i have to bite my tongue A LOT) and bring her snow pants/tights/legwarmers/jacket along with us. it gets us out the door and usually within minutes of being in sub-zero temperatures she's dressed appropriately. i know it's a pain bringing all that stuff along, but for me the power struggle was too much to bear. i had to be able to get out of the house without a fit. we're all happier now and dd is starting to wear appropriate clothes all on her own now that it's not about power. good luck.

p.


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## anywaybecause (Jul 9, 2008)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *orangefoot* 
It's like their whole wardrobe is for dressing up isn't it? They are learning fantastic life skills that kids who are dressed by their parent don't learn til much later but







: at the mess it makes

ITA -- my dd who changed her clothing umpteen times a day mastered getting dressed herself quite a bit earlier than her sister. (They're twins, so it's easy to notice differences like that. For some skills, I have to constantly reassure the "slower" girl that it's okay to learn at a different pace, and remind her of things she learned before her sister. Ahh the competition.)

But really, OP -- if it's driving you crazy, we all have to define our limits. If this issue is one you need to see some change with, then by all means put most of her clothing up on a high shelf, or something.


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