When toddlers won't let you get them dressed...

at what point do you just force them

I usually give sidney about 10-15 minutes to play or run away from me in her room while I am trying to get her dressed. But there comes a point when I can't wait anymore because we've just run out of time. So I end up dressing her while she is screaming no or crying hysterically. Makes me feel bad. I've tried dressing her in front of the TV or in front of the mirror...only helps sometimes. I let her try to get her clothes on herself but she is just too young and gets more frustrated since she can't do it.

So do I just force her or does anyone have any other tips I can try.

(Same goes for diaper changes and getting her into her carseat )

Re: When toddlers won't let you get them dressed...

I have a really hard time getting DD dressed when she is fighting me, so I will usually give her a 5 minute break, if it is still a problem then she gets a 1 minute time out, after that she is always willing to get dressed so she can get out of time out. I wish I had a solution on the car seat though, she always does it at the worst times!

Re: When toddlers won't let you get them dressed...

Re: When toddlers won't let you get them dressed...

I give Andrew 5-10 minutes of running around in just his diaper (and getting that on is also a struggle!). Then I just try to corner him and put one item on at a time. He fights me the whole time including jacket and then carseat. I am usually exhausted by the time I get into the car.