Does anyone have any tips for wearing shirt sleeve tops and also hair washing?

[terribletimes]

These two things are causing mass meltdowns in my house at the moment - does anyone have any coping strategies?

My son will only wear long sleeve tops or a short sleeve top with a jumper over the top. This isn't causing us too many problems now but with the weather getting warmed I think we need to start thinking of ways tog et him into short sleeves.

We've tried letting him pick his own short sleeves out but it doesn't make a difference. The only way to get him in it is with a long sleeve jumper over the top. We've tried dressing with the TV on. We've tried incentivising short sleeves -like he loves stickers and putting a star on his chart, but he would rather not get the incentive and wear long sleeves! He wont keep it on at all not even for a minute using a sand timer.

It used to be that he wouldn't want to take off his PJ top so we have made some progress but knowing how long it takes I'm trying to find a strategy that works before summer hits! He also wont wear a waterproof coat but we got round this by taking him out without it in the rain and him eventually asking for it!

The other major meltdown is hair and body washing. So with the hair he doesn't really want to get it wet, but he can tolerate that if I count to 10. But he doesn't want soap on his hair or on his body, he can't even let me rub it in for 5 seconds before being allowed to wash it off. We only use it twice a week although he has a bath every night - using soap only once a week seemed to make him worse!

We've tried all different soaps, him rubbing it in using a flannel, me bathing with him showing him me rubbing in soap, him rubbing soap in me etc, putting the soap in like bubbles, leaving the soap on for 5 seconds before washing it (this worked with teeth and we can now do 15 seconds per section of mouth!). But he's not having any of it!

[NoHaudinMaWheest]

I would ask yourself if the short sleeve thing is worth the battle. Like Polter's ds mine wears long sleeved t shirts all the year round and has done for years (he's 19).

With the washing thing it can be difficult if he is really dirty/smelly but actually we probably use more soap than is strictly necessary in western culture. Ds uses tons now (OCD) but when he was younger could accept it occasionally if he could see the necessity.

[terribletimes]

Thanks both for the speedy replies - I think it is worth the battle, but I'm not intent on it IYKWIM? It's reassuring to hear your children are ok in long sleeve tops in the summer - last summer he wore long sleeve tops so we didn't have this problem :(

He runs around and gets hot and sticky (He's 3.5) so I thought it might have to be something I need to get him used to. I'm all for picking my battles though so maybe we should wait and see what the summer brings?!

On the soap front he does need it, he gets quite whiffy and dirty, he's a sticks and dens type of boy and he still has a nappy over night so that's a bit pongy too after a few morning even though I do whip it off as soon as he wakes.

I do try to make things fun but once he's decided you can't really cajole him. He has to decide to do it if that makes sense? I wonder if you can get dinosaur soap? I could throw out the soap that in it and decant his soap into it. Wonder if that might work?!

[Cakescakescakes]

We had the problem where ds wouldn't wear long sleeves even in winter. He just experiences hot and cold differently to a NT child so was never cold. So for ages I didn't worry about it but this winter I bought 5 identical long sleeve tops cheaply from Sainsburys and made one into a tshirt and left one fully long sleeved and made the sleeves on the other 3 into varying lengths in between short and long. We started with the tshirt version which he was happy with. Then a week later I tried the slightly longer sleeved one which he tolerated after a couple of attempts, then a week later one that had slightly longer sleeves again etc etc until after about 6 gradual weeks he would happily wear the long sleeved version. I hope that makes sense? We were eventually able to introduce other long sleeved tops too then as his sensory tolerance had increased. So you could try the revers starting with a long top and working to gradually shorter sleeves.

With hair washing etc sometimes you just need to grit your teeth and do it. Cajoling doesn't work in our house so I do bath on alternate nights and hair washing once a week. He hates it but I just calmly do it as quickly as possible with minimal chat and fuss. He is now 4 and getting more tolerant gradually.

[AntiquityReRises]

ds is 4 and still washed just by the bubble bath in the water, rubbing skin. He's still in nappies and plays out and he gets clean enough. dh does baths and he worked on getting him used to getting it wet and getting it on his own face. It involved letting ds pour water on dh first then lots of praise for getting his own hair a bit wet then just built up. I think it's taken about a year!

It's rarely hot enough in this country to definitely need short sleeves, just keep enough water around. ds hates the switch over from long to short and so far is unable to undress himself so he just gets used to it. Though in hindsight we usually rub the exposed parts of arms and legs which helps until he's used to it. Then he's the same when we have to get him back into winter clothes. But like I say, he does get used to things, if he didn't I'd just buy thin material.

[terribletimes]

Thanks Cakescakescakes that's a fab suggestion, he's just started letting us roll up his sleeved so I think it might work although he does hate wearing a long sleep top that he's just started to grow out of and pulls the sleeves all the way down on it! Argh. Maybe he can make do with sleeved rolled up in the warm weather? I think he likes the pressure around his wrists? Maybe short sleeves and wrist sweat bands would work .

We've not long come home from Central America and thinking about it he is fine with his top completely off so maybe I can take his top off if he gets boiling? It's funny the things I need to think about these days!

AntiquityReRises - my son doesn't like bubbles being in the bath, but does like bubbles . He also loves pouring water over DHs head and having water poured over his head . But once he realises his hair has become wet in the process he hates it! He also hates taking things out in the rain, so if he wants to take a toy car to a friends house and it's raining he insists on taking a bag for the car to go inside.