DD is SOOOOOO difficult! Anyone else experience this?

[Taler]

If me or DH wanna try something on her she always kicks off. Protests, tantrums etc. As an example we bought a buoyancy jacket for her for our forthcoming holiday but needed to try it on her. She totally refused! We tried to make a game of it: "mummy try it on" "daddy try it on" etc but she was having none of it.

DH feels we pander to her in these situations and quite frankly I agree!

How do we manage these situations where we can get her to do why we need her to do but without her feeling so upset???

How old?
A buoyancy jacket is (I imagine) quite bulky and different to things she normally wears, so it may have been an overwhelming experience for her.
Another time, I would give her plenty of warning and show pictures, perhaps read stories that show other children doing/wearing/ whatever it is you're wanting her to do.

She's 22 months old.

Yes do acknowledge its very different to normal clothing but just seems rather extreme to have to 'plan' something like this.

Potty training (for example) I of course will 'plan' in terms of reading her books about it, talking about it etc but we are talking about trying something on for a split second! And yes I know she doesn't realise it'll be momentarily but she just makes such such a fuss. Makes what should be a really quick simple task into a mammoth one.

Sorry if I sound at all harsh, I am usually pretty patient and understanding.

Some children will take new things in their stride, others won't.
Your dd is her own person, she's showing you that this is a scary experience for her.
At 22 months she's little more than a baby, I think maybe your expectations are a little too high and outstrip what she is able to do.

Is it the same when you dress her in the morning? Does she like to dress herself?
If the aid goes on like s coat I'd be tempted to leave it close by and let her discover it herself.

My dd is 19 months and suddenly developed a fear of things going over her head. We just found workarounds as best as possible based on her current wardrobe, but if we need to put something over her head then we warn her, say we understand it's a bit scary for her, give her time to express herself and usually within a minute of two she will help us put it on quickly. She hasn't point blank refused yet...

I hate trying new things in, my dd hates trying things on. In a safety instance, as here, I would have just wrestled it on, without any prior build up if you know she hates it! Element of surprise and all that.

And I utterly abhor tight things over my head-almost used to have a panic attack in a comedy like way trying to wrestle things over my head. All my tops have loose necks now!