Toddler won't wear a sun hat!

[coffeeforone]

Does anyone have any tips to persuade my 2 year old, who will not wear a hat for more than 5 seconds, to keep his sun hat on? I think we have been a bit relaxed about it until last week or so (he will happily wear sun cream, and his toys in the shade, he doesn’t have fair skin) but the nursery have now introduced a rule ‘no hat, no outside play’.

He wouldn’t wear a hat at all this winter either but would allow his hood to be put up occasionally.

For the last week or so we’ve:

• took him shopping to pick a hat. He fooled us as was very excited trying them on in shop and we bought a couple with his fave characters (dinosaurs/peppa pig). But refused once we left the shop and went outside.
• told him only allowed outside if he puts his hat on. He puts it on then pulls it straight off once outside. Bring him back in for repeated tantrums/meltdowns. He’s just turned two so a bit young to negotiate/explain.
• wearing hats ourselves (though I hate eating hats too! ). He doesn’t seem interested in copying us when we coax him. Just wants the pull ours off too!

Any tips what I can do? He goes to nursery full time so I really feel bad that he will miss out on outdoor play, but I understand their rule. Help!

I would let him take his hat to nursery andlet nursery deal with him if he misses out then he misses out, at home i would put suncream on his head try and keep him inthe shade and keepputting his hat back on without a fuss.

Thanks @MrsJayy I do always put a hat in his bag (though not expecting him to wear it). I never used to make a fuss at home, but the nursery spoke to us about their rule, so I have made much more effort over the past week or so I the garden and in parks etc. I think I’ve made too much fuss and he hates hats even more!

Will he wear a bandana? Mine would never wear hats, but were quite happy in bandanas - possibly cause you can't see it in the way you can a hat?

I would just keep putting it on him i know it is a total pain.

Oo yes Dd2 used to wear bandanas

Do the same as nursery and bring him inside if he takes it off.

Perseverance
My 18 month old refuses hats he was inside most of yesterday because of this but nursery somehow manage to get him to do it. I'm sure if he misses out when his friends are outside he will eventually get it

We have a similar difficulty most of the time with our three year old who will only wear his sun hat when the mood takes him. He will sometimes wear his Dad’s baseball cap for a short period but also seems generally not to like hats. We have found nursery can often get him to do certain things more easily than we can (wearing his Easter bonnet, for example) so I am with MrsJayy: see if nursery can coax him into wearing it, praise him when he does wear it and - unlike me - don’t stress too much if he won’t wear it!

Speaking of Easter bonnets, would he wear something that wasn't a sun hat? Like a cowboy hat or something play related?

We too are in the midst of hat wars. We also wear hats, and he's allowed to wear one of ours if he likes - he likes his daddy's hat particularly. But he's not allowed to have no hat - even if that means following him around, patiently repeating 'If you want to play outside, you must wear your hat' for half an hour. Or longer.

We've had some dreadful screaming fits but the message is getting home now that Mummy and Daddy are more persistent than you, kiddo.

Of course when he does wear his hat there is much rejoicing and praise for him. He did also choose his own hat, etc etc. But at the end of the day, he is a pale, red headed child and he needs a hat, so if we have to keep going at the expense of his good mood, so be it. I will not have him getting burnt.