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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

Cant keep a sun hat on!

24 replies

Lucymoo · 20/06/2005 10:48

Hi,i know it sounds silly but i cant get my ds of 14months to keep a hat on.Im really worried that he's going to frazzle in this weather,has anyone got any tips?

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jessicasmummy · 20/06/2005 10:49

i wish i did - jess is 11 months and wont keep a hat on either!

Merlin · 20/06/2005 10:50

Bit of elastic under his chin! That's what I had to do with DS1 when he was that age. Now he reminds me about putting a hat on!!!

QueenOfQuotes · 20/06/2005 10:50

DS2 is 18 months and won't keep one on either

I just smother as much sun cream I can around his 'hair line' and cross my fingers.......

WigWamBam · 20/06/2005 10:50

H&M used to have baby hats that tied under the chin, might be worth a look see if they still do them.

QueenOfQuotes · 20/06/2005 10:50

Tried the elastic with DS2 over the winter (when he was about 12 months old) did work, he just pull it off.........

MandM · 20/06/2005 10:52

DD is 4 and I still can't get her to keep a hat on...so no advice from me I'm afraid!

nell12 · 20/06/2005 10:55

M & S do sun hats with velcro chin strap; about £5.
Otherwise take him shopping and get him to chose his own hat, or get a plain one and some fabric paint for him to customise, he MAY wear it then!
Good luck!

throckenholt · 20/06/2005 10:59

mine will happily wear any hat they find indoors, but refuse to wear them when needed outside . Kids are really perverse. Sorry - no advice !

spots · 20/06/2005 11:00

DD 13 mo; won't keep Gap velcro-strappy hat on. I have her in buggy with hood angled to keep sun off, or under tree/brolly/fishing tent/rug slung over two ladders/inside!

She is also quite bald.

Original poster

Lucymoo · 20/06/2005 11:00

Thanks for all the tips,i think i'll be trying the strap one,i'll let you know how we get on!

OP posts:

QueenOfQuotes · 20/06/2005 11:01

oh yes Throcken - DS2 does that, run's round with anything he can find as a hat inside, goes outside, and dumps it on the floor

(or as yesterday he dumped his cap in the drain.........so it's now in teh washing machine ARGHHH)

Jayzmummy · 20/06/2005 11:02

Try a bandana. My Ds's would never wear a sun hat but when we tried a bandana we had no problem. Also when its really hot you can dampen it down and it helps to keep little ones cool.

jenkel · 20/06/2005 11:41

My two dd's would never wear hats, 3 and 1 1/2 until now. And they want to copy daddy exactly. So they each wear a red Ferrari baseball hat and sunglasses, wont wear any other type of hat. So they wear pretty little dresses and a red Ferrari baseball hat, mmmm lovely......

Hayls · 20/06/2005 12:00

This worked for my 17mo...when she takes the hat off I say 'hat on please' and put it back on. WHen she takes it off again I say 'hat on please and put it back on. When she takes it off again I say 'hat on please and put it back on. And so on... I ended up following her around the garden for ages doing this but she eventually got bored of it before I did and just put it back on. Now she sometimes takes it off but doesn't argue when I put it back on. If she's determined not towear it I tell her that we have to go back in until she puts it on and she'll normally wear it (or the tantrum when I try to carry her back in distracts her!)
It will try your patience SO much but it should work. I know my method sounds a bit harsh but she is really pale skinned (Scottish in England-not used to nice Summers!) adn I'm very paranoid about the sun.

(FWIW, that's what Supernanny advises!)

QueenOfQuotes · 20/06/2005 12:01

Hayls - Supernanny should try that with DS2 - he'd think it was a fabulous game LOL

jackeroo · 20/06/2005 12:04

DS 12 months is the same too... i got him a hat from gap which has an under the chin thing which sometimes works. also i put the hat on him while he's asleep and when he wakes up it sometimes takes him quite a while to realise it's on... not ideal though!

clary · 20/06/2005 12:06

agree with others, you need to find him a hat he really likes (this has worked for us) - even if it means buyign something you persoanlly don't like (my pet hat hates: characters (for anyone) and bright pink for girls - but I will bite the bullet if I need to!).
Take him to the shops and choose one. Pumpkin patch are very good for hats that genuinely fit (is it because they are Australian??)

QueenOfQuotes · 20/06/2005 12:06

With DS1 (who at 4 3/4yrs LOVES wearing his hat now and always looks for it before going outside in the sun) I just kept putting it on him before he went outside, invariably he'd 'discard' it - but eventually he got the hang of it - can't even remember when he stopped taking it off - just 'happened'.

Hayls · 20/06/2005 12:12

Oh and agree that different hats might work better. Dd's favourites are a white one with a monkey on it-she's obsessed b y monkeys- and one with a flap at the back that she picked off the shelf in TEsco .

jamese · 20/06/2005 19:23

My DD is 18 months and now understands that no hat means we stay inside. I get her to wear her hat (let her choose 1 of 2 hats) every time we go out. We were playing in the garden about a month ago and she kept taking it off so I said that is she took it off a 3rd time we would go indoors (I do 3 strikes and you're out with everything). the 3rd time, I picked up her and brought her indoors. Made her stay in for 5 mins then tried again - she now happily wears her hat - funny thing is that as soon as she comes indoors (or even in a shop) she takes it straight off - but hey I am happy with that.

zebraZ · 20/06/2005 22:05

Trial and error I found that certain styles of hats work better than others on babies, baseball caps get flung off very fast, but the sort of short brim, soft cloth all-around brim hats work quite well, if you distract them while you're putting the hat on & keep distracting them for a while afterwards... eventually they notice and fling it off again.

But DS2, with only thin blond hair on top of his 12 month old hair, had his hat on most of the day yesterday.

bobbybob · 21/06/2005 03:47

Are you wearing a hat too? If everyone else wears them I've noticed that the toddlers do too.

If he takes it off put him back inside and continue to have your lovely time outside where he can see, then after a couple of minutes take the hat back and put it on him. The second it comes off - no warnings, back inside. Warnings or saying "the next time you do that"... just make it a game. You must wear your own sunhat while you do this.

eidsvold · 21/06/2005 06:35

can totally sympathise with this - my dd - even with it tied under chin, elastic etc would not keep a hat on. Now at almost three we are gradually getting there - helps that the aussie sun is sooo harsh and that she has to keep it on or it is no play at playgroup. I think too she is always having to wear it so as the year has progressed she is getting better at it. Her hat is a size bigger which I think helps - doesn't feel so tight on her head and has a pull up toggle which I pull up tight enough that she can't slip it over her chin - then once she is playing or occupied - she forgets about it!!

acnebride · 21/06/2005 08:57

Another vote for trying different hats. DS loathed a Gap one I panic-bought one sunny day, and I think it was just too tight. He now has a FlapHappy one that's allegedly a year too big for him, but after 7 or 8 goes at putting it back on his head, he mostly sticks with it. It's a PITA but he has fair skin like me and in the past I've burned so badly I blistered so I just have to stay with it.

Hate the expense though. I've spent £30 on all ds's summer clothes - and another £20 on these [expletive] hats.

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