How can i get him to keep a hat on!

[Charleesawmummykissingsanta]

Ok so as many of you know were in NZ now and although its only just summerish coming from the uk were bloody hot, but DS will not wear a hat! im scared he will get to hot, were ive tried wearing one myself for him to copy, i have brought him one with a chin strap, a normal cap and even tried just persistence but it seems to have failed, hes 15 months, i did get him to wear it at the zoo by distracting him with cake but im afraid he cant eat cake all day!

You can't

oh great! its jsut they have a no hat no outside play rule at playschool, anf we want him to beable to play in the garden without getting to hot!

It's only when you can "reason" with them that you can get them to keep it on. Short of using heavy duty sew-and-stick velcro, sewing it to the hat and stickin it to their head.

dont know i never had this problem, i think it would drive me mad but i would stay next to him and just keep putting it on his head and looking at him saying "hat on" if he refused take him inside and keep doing it til he gets the nessage,. could take a looong time though

I had this problem with DS in the summer (he was one in April). I never found anything that worked. In fact, he used to take other children's hats off for them (obviously thought they were daft for wearing them! )!

my dd1 was like this and dd2 is starting to be like this... being in Aus - I can appreciate the seriousness of this.

what worked for dd1 - starting kindy where the yhave the no hat no play rule - her teacher would simply put her hat on and say very matter of factly hat on - or sign and say it to get dd1 to put it on herself. If she did not put it on or leave it on - she would go inside. Took a few times but now - she puts it on and wears it no worries.

Her hat has one of those chinstraps but with the pull up toggle.

do you have a hat?

i was having this problem with my 14 month old slinging his winter hat off. until last week when i bought one for myself. he'll happily wear his if i wear mine...

Ask at Playschool exactly what they do and say when a kid won't wear their hat, and then do that over and over again. Honestly he will get it soon. Once he sees everyone wearing a hat he will start to get it.

Can you get him to pick out a hat he really likes ( I know he's a bit young...) with a fave character or similar?
We had a summer hat that all 3 of mine wore as toddlers, for some reason they all liked it, having refused to wear others I bought.
Otherwise agree with others, enforce the rule and he will get the idea.

This was one of our rare 'non negotiable' rules over the summer - DD is very fair, and did'nt have much hair (she was 17 months at the time). The rule was, hat or pushchair (with hood up). If she took her hat off and wouldn't have it back on, in the buggy she went - not as punishment, as protection. It worked pretty well - and by the end of the summer was a non issue. The other thing that helped was saying 'look, Mummy is wearing a hat too' though as I loathe wearing them, I didnt' do this as often as I should have

ds would wear his hat no probs at nursery - all the other kids were too. Still won't at home. I got a large pagoda type thing to put over his sand pit and toy area to protect him. But I think he would have got the message if I'd locked him back in the house if he took it off.

the only hat my dd keeps on (14 months) is one with a velcro chin strap. the rest are scattered and lost around the streets of London

my 14 month old won't wear a hat for anything - and its cold over here at mo! I have looked everywhere for a hat with a chin strap like you describe mommie, but can't find one, i was told for safety reasons. I just have to keep the hood of his jacket up whichhe tolerates, but doesn't really cover his ears..

My son started taking his hat off at about 8 months old. We were living in Atlanta at the time and it was really hot. He learned how to take it off and kept doing it. I just kept putting it back on as he was far too young to reason with or put him in the puchchair which had a big shade (he preferred the carrier). It took about 1 month of me doing this but now he pretty much leaves any hat on. I was adamant about it but also he was quite young when I started insisting on hat (from birth really) and is now used to wearing one (both in the sun and in the cold).

My niece and nephew who live in Italy always wore hats (sun and winter) no question when they were little until about 10years old. In fact kids in Italy all tend to - much more than here. That is because parents see it as really important, no-negotiable, everyone does it and it starts young. I think in the UK the weather is milder and parents don't see it as worth the hassle most times, so when they are on holiday and want the kids to wear hats they aren't used to it and don't like it.

If you are persistent enough he is young enough to get the idea. The main decision for you is, Is it worth it? If so you need to keep doing it no matter how much he dislikes it. If he won't wear one make him sit in the pushchair with a parasol or shade instead - give him the choice.

I wouldn't worry about playschool, once he sees other kids doing it he will too.

Anna

Definitely second SantaClausFrau- worked for my dd but was hellish to do.

AS in we did it about 3 million times before she got the message. No arguments after that though- she was about 17mo

Mine has a balaclava - not the terrorist type, one big hole for the face. Stays on, and keeps neck and ears warm too.

lol! hadn't read original post!

I recommend a good sunscreen andnlots of patience then!