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Behaviour/development

Talk to others about child development and behaviour stages here. You can find more information on our development calendar.

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Original poster

Anyone else have to practically pin their 2 year old down to change their nappy?

29 replies

LittleMy34 · 12/03/2008 09:13

Feel terrible and as if I am abusing my son, but in the mornings he simply WILL NOT get dressed and in order to get his nappy off and then into clean nappy and dressed I have to almost pin him to the floor. And then he cries, but I don't know if it's because of the manhandling or because he's angry that he didn't get his own way.

Is this normal? Is this bad? Will I raise a small psychopath? Seem to have one already!

Any tips for other ways of handling it? We've tried negotiating, we've tried getting all the teddies to lie down next to him (worked once), we've tried threats, we've tried bribes (this works sometimes, but I'm not keen) and sometimes it's five to eight and we just HAVE TO BE OUT OF THE HOUSE!

help......

OP posts:

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Original poster

LittleMy34 · 12/03/2008 09:21

bump

OP posts:

SheherazadetheGoat · 12/03/2008 09:24

potty train?

OracleInaCoracle · 12/03/2008 09:25

totally normal. i had to chase ds around with a nappy from about 1. and hes stronger than me!

SpacePuppy · 12/03/2008 09:25

yip ds does the same, I give ds a stick of lip balm to play with, it means I have to wipe his face afterwards but worth it, or sometimes in front of the TV when his favourite show is on. On other days I put everything ready and tell him to come and tell me when he is ready to be changed (it usually takes about 30sec to a minute) then he comes and lies down for his nappy change (he feels in control then I think). But yes the manhandling thing happens here too.

iloverosycheeks · 12/03/2008 09:26

i feel your pain!! My DS is exactly the same and mornings are turning into battlegrounds, my only tip is to tickle them or try and make them laugh, then swoop in with toy car or something to distract them, doesnt always work tho', hopefully someone else will come along with more tips soon....

MuffinMclay · 12/03/2008 09:26

Yes, same here with ds1 for nappies and dressing. I dread him needing a new nappy out in public.

Distraction, bribery, shouting in despair, all fail here. If dh is around he holds him down whilst I do the nappy or apply clothes, but that isn't an option on weekdays.

sweetkitty · 12/03/2008 09:27

I use pull ups they are easier at least for pees.

Either that the good old TV works well, oh look theres Pingu gives you a good 5 minute window (in fact it's also our clothes and hair window)

alarkaspree · 12/03/2008 09:28

This is normal. Is it a new thing? If so maybe he wants more independence - could you let him take the nappy off and put a new one on standing up?

My ds (almost 2) was a bit like this and I did potty train him. Now I have to manhandle him into his pants instead.

OracleInaCoracle · 12/03/2008 09:28

agree, try pullups, then ds can help too. also a great stepping stone to potty training!

bran · 12/03/2008 09:32

I bought a changing mat with a harness for ds who was a wriggly as an eel. He protested at first, but it was gentler than trying to pin him down and it stopped poo going everywhere. When I had to pin him down I was always afraid of catching him with my nails or of holding on too firmly.

After a short while I was able to offer him a choice of with harness or without and he knew that if he tried to escape I would use the harness so he used to cooperate.

chrissnow · 12/03/2008 09:33

I've got another one here. dd2 19 (or is it 20?) months .
Sometimes I have to pin her down with my legs on her arms . Sounds barbaric, but if there's poo . . . . .
I use pull ups so for the most part she happily(ish) steps in and out of them.
It probably does sound like I'm abusing her terribly from the neighbours side of the wall though!!!

Original poster

LittleMy34 · 12/03/2008 09:34

That's good thinking on all counts - I have been thinking that potty training might be the answer as he's very bright and articulate and able to communicate, and I think he hates the passive aspect of nappy changing. Books sometimes work, but not always!

I'm about to leave work and thought I might start potty training after that, but maybe I'll just start now....

Good to know that I'm not the only one having to insert a screaming child into a nappy every morning feeling like a mean old bag

We use cloth so not keen on disposable pull ups, but might order some washable training pants and see how we get on.

Thank you!

OP posts:

SheherazadetheGoat · 12/03/2008 09:37

don't bother with training pants. if he seems up for it go straight to normal pants and put up with a week or so of accidents. he will soon get the idea.

HonoriaGlossop · 12/03/2008 09:46

I used pull up nappies and for me I'd rather have a happy child who is not being forced in this way, than worry about the environment

Your child would probably be much happier to step in and out of a pull up

Original poster

LittleMy34 · 12/03/2008 09:49

That's true Honoria and certainly worth thinking about.

We do have some Bright Bots which are very like ordinary pants with some extra absorbency, and he loves those and asks to wear them sometimes, so might use those and see if that helps. Last time we did though, he kept saying Wee Wee! and going to the potty every five seconds and doing nothing, and then forgot all about it a bit later and just used them like a nappy for the rest of the day. Still, baby steps....

OP posts:

HereComeTheGirls · 12/03/2008 12:36

I think a better question would be, does anyone NOT have to chase their 2 year old and pin them down to change a nappy

ally90 · 13/03/2008 13:59

I tried everything ie toys, distractions, tickles etc...nothing worked apart from phsyically pinning her down (restraining her from getting up, gently!) and waiting calmly and firmly until she stopped struggling, and yes she was crying I did ask her to lay still first (she understands what 'lie down' means, she did it once and totally surprised me!) and then pinned her down. Took about 30 secs/1 min for her to stop struggling and as soon as she did I sat up and went to change her nappy praising her quietly. Then she tried to get up again, so I did it again for less time...now nappy changing time is a breeze. I ask her where her nose/face/ears etc are and she happily points (keeps her hands away from the messy bits she wants to scratch) and we are both calm and happy. And as a bonus to her, its over much quicker...we both win. Reason I got determined to do something is because she was a complete angel for dh

belgo · 13/03/2008 14:00

I remember this well. Potty training certainly solved the problem!

TheHonEnid · 13/03/2008 14:02

yes

this is why I am potty training her at easter (although not quite 2)

minouminou · 13/03/2008 14:06

We have a load of episodes of the backyardigans recorded, and when DS really will not co-operate, i stick on one, and sing along with it, this gives me, like many others have said, a quick window to do the essentials
this morning, i saw him laying out his favourite soft toy on a cushion and it looked like he was positioning him to change him.....i wonder if pretending to change this toy alongside will help, so i'll give it a go.....just a thought for you....maybe you could rig up a pretend nappy for your ds's fave toy and incorporate it into the routine
s'gotta be quicker than all the wrestling

RipMacWinkle · 13/03/2008 14:06

Yup I've got a "runner" here too. And even though he's only 17 months I'm surprised by how quickly he can get up off that changing mat and escape...

RipMacWinkle · 13/03/2008 14:06

Yup I've got a "runner" here too. And even though he's only 17 months I'm surprised by how quickly he can get up off that changing mat and escape...

RipMacWinkle · 13/03/2008 14:07

Ooh that's never happened before!

chocolateshoes · 13/03/2008 14:34

DS suddenly did this last month & after a week we decided to toilet train. It was def worth it!

3missys · 13/03/2008 14:35

A big hnads UP for my 2! 2.4 years and 1 year! Good job I am trained in Control & restraint!

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