Pants on the Ground

My child....will not....keep...his clothes ON.

No matter what he is wearing - he's like Houdini, I swear - he can get out of anything.

This is a recent development. The past few days, he has been experimenting with unsnapping and unzipping his pajamas so that when I go into his room in the morning, he has one arm in and one arm out. Perhaps he's been noticing the one-shoulder dresses popping up all over the runways lately. Regardless, it was cute. Note the use of was.

But now Mister Big Boy likes to be just plain naked! He knows how to take off socks, pants and diaper. And no matter how many times I keep dressing him, he just keeps taking everything off. I even asked my friend (and mother of four) "What should I do?! Ignore it? Let him run around like that? Just stop bothering to dress him altogether?"

She laughed and said her kids ran around essentially naked until they started preschool. I'm beginning to see why!!

I had to consult my Parents Magazine archives on this one. Yes, I'm a huge nerd and I rip out articles that I think will be helpful to me in the future - separating them into categories, putting the articles in sheet protectors, and then putting them in cute binders for later use. I know I could probably type in a search on their website, but I like having everything at my fingertips. And you wouldn't believe how much they have come in handy so far! My husband makes fun of me and whenever I tell him about a new fun "stage" Josh is going through, he laughs and says, "Perhaps it's time to consult the archives" or "Good thing you have the archives" - I think he just likes using the word "archives."

So here's what an old Parents article (yes, from the archives) has to say on the matter of toddlers who run around stark naked:

"If the stripping makes you uncomfortable, set limits. Some parents choose to let their toddler run around naked at home or in their backyard but not in public. After a while, your child should lose interest in baring it all. But if you make a big deal about it now by yelling or laughing uncontrollably, he may continue doing it to get a rise out of you. Avoid labeling the behavior as 'naughty.' You want to encourage your kid's curiosity without instilling shame" (Parents, July 2010, p. 158).

The last thing I want to do is instill shame. But the last thing I want Josh to do is keep stripping - especially in the dead of winter! For now, I'm just going to try not to make a big deal about it and re-dress him only when necessary. I just feel guilty when his little toes get cold without socks...and as much as I love the sight of his cute little bum-bum, it needs to stay warm too!

Despite the teasing from my husband, I'm so glad I have the archives at my disposal...if I asked him for advice, I'm pretty sure he would say "if you can't beat 'em, join em!" Then we'd really be in trouble!!!