2.1 DD driving me nuts re clothing / shoes

[GingerDoodle]

This really started on her 2nd birthday when she refused to wear the party dress she had picked (after putting a vest under it and some tears it went on) and went down hill...now we are down to a handful of clothes and 2 pairs of tights (socks are a total no-no) that I can get on her.

Please don't tell me to just shove her in - the tantrums are epic and a lot of the time she can get the clothes off again.

Shoes are the same; she mostly lives in her boots or whellies. Just got her new shoes and she put them on and instantly hated them.

To be fair she has just been diagnosed with eczema (only really bought on by a cold but she has had dry skin for a while).

I don't mind her having a choice - I actively encourage it but feel its got out of hand and I am at my wits end with it. Is anyone else in the same boat?

[socially]

Poor little thing, sounds like she's really sensitive!

Can you get some super soft vests and tights to go underneath everything? Bio cotton type stuff?

As far as shoes are concerned I'd let her wear whatever is comfy at that age, and change into slippers when she can.

Is she otherwise developing as expected? I only ask because my friends son is very sensitive to clothes and has ASD.

[GingerDoodle]

She's developing find and i've no real concerns - she's a bright little thing, her language is coming along nicely. She's independent (and stubborn) as anything.

I'm finding it really hard to deal with as it seemed to come on overnight and then get worse.

[WookieCookiee]

DS2 (7yo) still hates coats and trousers (he wears shorts). He has had quite strong ideas about what he wants to wear from about the same age as your DD.

I tend to just go with the flow and let him dress himself - he wears the right kit for things he absolutely has to eg school uniform, football kit. If her boots/wellies fit her OK I wouldn't worry too much about not wearing shoes. Is the party dress stiff? Might be a case of looking good on the hangar but not being comfortable to wear.

[socially]

I'm just speaking for myself, but I would put this down as not worth the argument.

As long as she's clean and warm, I'd let her wear what she wants. She'll probably grow out of it and she's only very little still.

Glad to hear she's doing well otherwise - sorry, rereading my post I may have been a little blunt. Not intended!

[GingerDoodle]

No offence taken! Normally I go with it just a bit low today re the new shoes and the fact we are hosting a frozen party soon (she loves frozen) i ordered Anna & Elsa dresses so she had a choice - instant hate. We went to Monsoon and they had a frozen eq dress which she'd loved when we went in before - hell broke out when i suggested / tried to get her to put it on (it's expensive so i wasn't buying it on the off chance she'd wear it)!

[Lovelydiscusfish]

Not sure how (and even whether) to address the behaviour, but on a practical note, could you buy more of the clothes she does wear, if they are still in the shops? If not, you might be able to find duplicates on eBay? Might be worth stocking up in the size up, too - just in case this lasts a little while. Then you won't have to be washing everything incessantly.

[DIYandEatCake]

My dd (now 3.5) has also been very fussy about clothes since she was tiny. We used to have battles about getting dressed - the advice of offering two options was hopeless as she'd just say 'no that one, no that one, want purple one!' When she was about 2 I decided to stop battling, I stuck pictures of different types of clothes on each drawer of her chest of drawers to show what was in them, and told her she could choose her own clothes. It was brilliant, she started choosing her outfit before even waking us up, and learned to dress herself very quickly. She comes with me to shop for clothes and shoes, and does brilliantly at choosing clothes and dressing herself. Sometimes her choice of clothes is a little unusual (eg the other day she proudly announced that all her clothes 'matched' because they all had butterflies on...!) she lives in leggings and long sleeve t shirts but that's ok. She has grasped that parties mean wearing something smart sometimes.