# 7 year old won't wear underpants or most pants



## ShannonCC (Apr 11, 2002)

My seven year old insists on going commando which would be ok with me except she wears dresses most of the time and is a very active girl. VERY active. Get the point?

She can't seem to tell me exactly why they aren't comfortable (and this only started a few months ago - before that she wore undies and pants fine for years!) so I don't know if anyone here can help me but does anyone have any recommendations?

Anyone with sensitive kids who managed to find a brand of underpants/pants that were acceptable?

On different occasions she's complained things are "too tight" "too scratchy" and "too low". She won't wear pants with zippers or buttons and, for pants and undies both, she insists they not be low rise. She prefers briefs for undies and the pants have to go up past her belly button.

HELP. This is beginning to be a serious issue. We've already missed at least one playdate because she wouldn't put on underpants.

And let me stress, I'd be ok with her wearing what she wanted if she wasn't accidentally flashing people on a regular basis. You just can't wear a skirt and no undies and then do forward rolls, or jump off of things or twirl around (hmmmm, just thought of that scene from Postcards from the Edge - it TWIRLED up!







)

Ok, seriously, please help me here!


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## paquerette (Oct 16, 2004)

What about leggings, bicycle shorts, or leotards (the one piece kind like a tank top and pants or shorts combined). I've heard that sometimes girls with sensory issues to pants or underpants wear those.


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## ShannonCC (Apr 11, 2002)

Despite the fact that she wore leggings for years, they have recently been deemed "too tight"









Hmmmm, leotards. I'll give that a try, though then there's the going to the bathroom issue but I'm sure she can manage.


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## angela&avery (May 30, 2002)

sweatpants?? what about boxer briefs under her dress? or bloomers? they are looser anyhow..


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## addax (Jul 29, 2005)

Have you tried letting her wear them inside out? I just read about that in a sensory book as a solution.

I really like the Old Navy adult underwear because the edges that go against legs and top are extremely comfortable, not frilly or scratchy. Maybe the little girl underwear would be similarly comfortable?


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## Slabobbin (Jan 29, 2004)

I've heard good things about Hanna Andersson underwear.


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## ShannonCC (Apr 11, 2002)

I'll go with the cheapest and easiest first and ask her to try them on inside out tomorrow







Funny, I was thinking just that thing tonight.

I never thought of boxers. If the inside out thing doesn't work we'll try them or leotards. I've heard people talk of Hanna Andersson too but (gulp!) the price! Yikes, I hope it doesn't come to that!

The ONE pair of pants she'll wear right now is sweats, but she won't wear her other sweat pants. And the one pair is a size six and falls far above her ankle now, but the size 8s she has she says are too small in the waist and the size 10s are too big







I cinched in the 10's to make the waist fit better but she still won't wear them. She can't seem to tell me why either (and she's usually very articulate).

Thanks for all the suggestions


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## ~member~ (May 23, 2002)

Both of my 9 yo's went through a similar 'stage' when they were about 6-7 yrs old.
Old Navy has soft 100% cotton unders that worked really well. Also, for my dd, she spent almost an entire year using three different swimsuits under her dresses and skirts, before we found the Old Navy underwear. It's still a little pricey, $7 for 3, is what I paid.

My ds was not interested in dresses or skirts, so it was a little easier to just avoid zippers/buttons, etc on his pants.









Neither one seems to be so picky anymore. Now it's all about hair! "I can see a lump in my hair! My ponytail is not tight enough!"


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## chel (Jul 24, 2004)

my dd was like this from about 3yrs to 4.5yrs. One day she just came up to me and said, "look, I can wear panties now". So I don't know how to "fix" the issue, but I did deal with it. During that time she wouldn't wear panties, pants, shorts, skirts (basically nothing around her waist). She lived in overalls and shortalls. As she was with me most the time, I did the leotard method, she could pull it down pretty well but I never would let her wear it when away from me as I was afraid it would be too difficult. I would look into bathing suits, but try to find ones easy to pull down.
dd is much better (wears panties). Though it's been hard finding pants. I just found a pair of khaki and jeans at Old Navy, that have a stretch waist, like maternity jeans. I think they go up to 5T but are very long, so most likely too small for OP, but for other they might want to look into them.


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## Breathless Wonder (Jan 25, 2004)

After reading about this thread, and reflecting on it, it seems to me that there were a few children that I knew who went through this, at about the same age.

I wonder why?


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## ShannonCC (Apr 11, 2002)

The Hanah Andersson undies are $18 for 3, so $7 for 3 seems cheap in comparison









I just had her try the undies inside out. She said the problem is they "don't go up enough".

Ok, these are briefs and land above her belly button. I mean, what does she want, undies that go to her armpits? Other than sewing my own (which I don't think I'm up to), I'm not sure what to do here.

I think I'll pick up a leotard today and see what happens.


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## AndiG (Mar 3, 2005)

what about boy's underwear?
I wore men's underwear during my first pg and was AMAZED at how much more comfy the material was.
Very very soft.

On the leotard idea, what if you cut them off mid chest height? Gets them up 'high enough"?


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## hottmama (Dec 27, 2004)

How about cotton yoga pants? My son complains if anything is "scratchy" or "too tight" (or "too big", wet, dirty, etc) and he loves Old Navy's girls yoga pants and leggings (they're loose fitting and flared at the bottom).


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## MrCoffee (Jan 25, 2006)

From a sensory standpoint, I just like heavy cotton with the least amount of seams possible. When I wear a shirt, the tags on the back tend to rub against my neck and cause a lot of itching. That's one problem with my Asperger's, it's that hyper sensitivity I deal with every day. So, I had to cut the tags off the neck of my shirts in order for them to be useable. With all this in mind, maybe look for something that doesn't have seams that can rub up against skin, and is made of a soft material that won't be noticeable after being worn for a while.

As one member pointed out, male clothing would tend to be the most durable and comfortable. A good place to start would be studying what construction workers wear on the job. Jeans are strongly preferred over slacks, and shirts are usually cotton or flannel. The workers definitely wear T shirts, and what ever is breathable and as absorbant as possible. Quite obviously, Fruit Of The Loom can make a good quality product with great durability. With that in mind, maybe think about some work cloths and, (um), well, guy's underwear (there, I said it). If she REALLY wants to go "commando", then just tell her that you've never seen an Army soldier wearing a dress!

MrCoffee


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## Fay (Sep 21, 2005)

Hanes makes seamless boxer briefs for boys (available at Target and other retailers). Some girls with sensory issues prefer boxer briefs. Lands End makes girls' skorts and skirts with sewn-in cotton shorts underneath -- I think that would be worth every penny.

I personally hate girls' and womens' underwear because the elastic grips very tightly around the thighs. Sometimes underwear is more comfortable when it is worn inside out -- the seams can be itchy in all the wrong places. And a girl who is growing quickly may be getting perma-wedgies from her small underpants.


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## freestyler (Jan 28, 2005)

I'd almost be tempted to lay out like 6 to 12 pairs of underwear/boxers/swimsuits/all-in-one dress with shorts/hanna anderssen/old navy/lands end/tights, etc, whatever you can find, and say "Look, you choose, and find one that's comfortable, because this is what there is to choose from. You have to cover yourself properly when we go out." She can wear it inside out and upside down and backwards and forwards, as long as she wears it. At some point, once you've given her all the choices you can, what else can ya do? She's gonna have to just choose something that works and get on with her life already! Once she's chosen something comfy, you buy a bunch of it and forget about it. For me, the main thing would be, I'd want her to choose and get it over with! I would go crazy if my daughter kept coming back to me a million times with "it's too low/high/tight/too many seams/whatever." Gads. I'd be like, "This is all the kinds of undies and shorts and stuff there are. Find your favorite! Let me know what you pick sometime today or this week, and we can start going on outings again!" There's a limit to how much we can do, you know? I like the posters' suggestions about all the different things you can wear!


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## IamCoupongirl (Jan 3, 2003)

HANNA ANDERSSON!!! I know it seems expensive, but they're the bomb!

They come up really high (which my dd1 loves) and they're oh so soft. They're great for my 2 girls, and they're both on the long/lean side. My dd1 is back in her "it's too tight/scratchy/low" phase, so I sympathize with ya. The Hanna panties are all she'll wear.

I just recently had to box up all her size 5 gymboree leggings, because they suddenly became too tight in the waist. We've had good luck with Gymboree leggings (and bike shorts in summer).


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## Pookietooth (Jul 1, 2002)

What about leggings? The cotton ones should be soft, they could be worn either under a dress or instead of pants. Also, what about overalls? For awhile, my ds would only wear overalls, because he didn't like the elastic waist most pants that fit him had.


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## freestyler (Jan 28, 2005)

Yeh, I second that. Hanna Andersson rocks. There's usually a sale about now; I stock up at sale time.


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## lauraess (Mar 8, 2002)

Hey, no-undie mama here







My dd stopped wearing undies about 3yrs old when i encouraged her not to. She was finding them uncomfortable at times, wanted to be like mommy, and i thought she'd have less redness that girls often get due to irritation in those closed little parts.
Her pappap, nana, and teacher each had a small issue with this








The teacher not only talked to me about it on the phone, at my invitation but then a few months later at a conference. She is a bit old-fashiioned and insisted that we'd be having problems with this as dd got older.

I think a little girl with a dress should in most public places where undies and of course if she's going to play in the sand-box or dirt, but otherwise... what's the big deal?


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## lauraess (Mar 8, 2002)

oops! I guess i should have read the whole thing









My apologies as nothing I said in above post was helpful to your situation.

However, I dooo know Hanna's to be very comfortable for the kids-- as my dd Did wear them for a while.

Good luck.


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