My Son Flips Out During Diaper Changes!

Hope someone else has a good idea that works. I just calmly told my children that they had to be changed and then just pinned them down and did the deed as quickly as possible. LOL! Good luck!

Both my daughters did the same....have you tried stickers in funny places? On his nose, tummy, belly button, toes, feet, elbow, etc......It worked for a little bit with my girls to distract them while I got the job done. Good luck, it will pass soon, as he gets older and starts to understand more.

One of our sons went through a phase like this. I was at the dollar store and found a small toy (lightweight and easy for him to hold) that made sounds/played songs. It worked to distract him, especially since he got to push the buttons himself. He only got to play with it during diaper changes. Since it was so cheap, it stopped working after 6-9 months. But it got us through that phase, and I would totally have been willing to get another one if need be.

A mylar baloon, with a string he can pull on, can work too. They last for a while.

I hope this helps,
D.

A swat on his bare bottom worked for my son. He may need a reminder swat about once a month, but was well worth it for the reduction in struggles. Remember, every time you tell him to lay still and he doesn't do it reinforces the idea that he doesn't have to listen to you so don't tell him to do something you have no control over or are not prepared to enforce with consequences. It's not too young for them to learn that every choice they make has a consequence, good or bad.

Get a little potty and tell him he either needs to hold still or use the potty, he could be an early trainer.

I started making mine a helper when he would not hold still. He would hand me the diaper, the baby powder, wipes, ect. It worked for us.

My son went through a phase where he thought it was funny to wiggle and twist around. I'd try to hold him by his legs and he'd go into an alligator death roll.
It sounds like maybe your son thinks that diaper changes are play time.
What finally worked for me was I told him if he didn't lay still, I wouldn't change his diaper. A couple of times I just got up and put the clean diaper away and told him he'd have to wear the dirty one. (About 5 minutes was all it took). That was like torture to him because he literally could not stand to even just have a wet diaper on. So, he decided to be still for me. He was super easy to potty train because he didn't really like diapers and he didn't like pee or poop on him.
I hope you find something that works so you can get a "grip" on him now because the sweet little cherubs just keep getting stronger.
Good luck!

I think many kids will do this (my girl did) and what you need to do is show that you are the alpha dog. Hold him down. Do not release him until the diaper is changed. You were correct in using a stern "no" but you need action (dont let him move) to be happening simultaneously. This sends the message loud and clear. Saying No and then not enforcing it by letting them wiggle and roll away is sending the wrong message.

May daughter fussed because of the wipes. Even though they said no alcohol, they burned and really hurt. (I know, I tried her wipes when I had hemorroids. OUCH! I nearly passed out from the pain.)

We switched and tried every wipe on the market. We eventually switched to Pampers Naturals w/Aloe Vera. They are in the teal blue bag. They are the ONLY wipes that don't burn. We've tried them all.

My daughter is 8 and we still keep these wipes in the bathroom.

Stephanie

Tell him he gets something special if he is just calm and gets the diaper changed quickly then follow through with like stickers for a sticker book or a snack.

Bubbles, balloons and a ceiling fan all worked to calm my kids during diaper changes. You may also want to move to the floor or bed for safety sake.

Hi Collette! My son did this quite a bit at around 12 months. It started when he had really bad diaper rashes after coming home from day care. Totally understandable because it obviously hurt. But even after the diaper rash cleared up, he hated being changed. I tried the "No" method, but that just made him more resistant, so I took the path of least resistance and always made sure he was properly 'entertained' while being changed. I have cards with pictures of different animals on them. Every time before I went to change him, I'd let him pick two (one in each hand) and would then lay him down on the changing table. He'd spend the whole time babbling at the pictures of the animals while I described them to him. The lesson I learned is that it's more important that they don't see diaper changes as an unpleasant experience. If they anticipate pain or are reprimanded each time they go for a diaper change, they may associate it with something bad and then resist even more each time you change them. If you make it somewhat enjoyable though, they may not fight as much later :). Hope this helps and good luck!

oh - one other thing you can try - change him in different places. I've read that this helps since they may take an interest in the new environment and forget to fight it ;).

My son was at his worst for diaper changes around this age too. Although I found it was the worst when he had a dirty diaper. I had tried all the suggestions below and it just didn't work for him.

So I ended putting him on the floor with his head towards my crotch and put my legs over his arms while I changed him. It only took a couple weeks of changes this way to get him to understand that I am not going to fight him while I changed his diaper, especially with a dirty diaper.

I talked to him and explained he needs to "lay still" & "wait" until I was finished. He screamed and threw a fit but I got through the changes, and eventually he stopped fighting it and we went back to a "normal" change.

Now when he's restless I can tell him he needs to wait & lay still and then we either sing songs or count 1-2-3 and he is side tracked enough to let me finish!! Hopefully one of the other suggestions work for you, because I got many weird looks during this week of changes, but it got me through it without getting frustrated or angry. Hope it helps!!

We give our daughter a clean diaper, it's always worked. Now that she's older and can talk we play "guess which character is on the diaper?"

So why not give him a bottle? It seems like a good solution to me. Let him have it for now, and later, when you get rid of his bottles, re-try some of the other distractions.

C.,

Keep one hand on him and play a game as you change his diaper-- also, what about a sippy cup with water? Stickers also work--- you could put one on his hand for him to look at or his diaper at the end of changing him.

Molly

Hi C.!

OH boy!! Boys are sooooooo wiggly!!!! My sister's daughter NEVER wiggled like my boys. Anyway......

I also tried all of everyone's suggestions, and they all truly helped. But the tactics eventually would wear out.

The one thing they REALLY helped me, was singing the "A B C song". I would "master" my tempo to finish the Song as I was done with the diaper change. Besides my son laying still, he was also learning his A,B,C's because he eventually began singing with me.

When diapers were REALLY bad, I would tell him that Mommy needs to sing the ABC song twice......peeeyouuu!

Anyway, it worked for me!

Later, when my boys were a little bit older, I swtiched to counting to 30.

Then, of course, they could pick ABC or Counting :O)

Good luck with your little wiggle worm! I'm sure you know that this is totally normal.

~N. :o)

First of all relax! It is normal. They start to hate to be confined and naturally want to wiggle away and get their freedom. They will kick and scream and try to escape. You need to go about it with a different attitude.Don,t let it rile you. Keep smiling at him and give him a baby hard page book or new rattle or toy that he only gets during the change. Start to tickle him and play a peekaboo game or start to name the body parts and keep him interested in you with his attention on anything else but what you are doing. Make it a fun time or you will continue to have problems. He will soon learn to enjoy the time more or at least tolerate it. Don't let it get to you because I know it can be frustrating but remember to make it fun then you will not build on the frustration.Pretty soon he will play the catch me if you can game! Hope this helps.JC

My son was the same way. Two tips: 1. Give him a piece of wax paper to play with during the diaper change -- they like to crinkle it up so it's a good distraction. 2. Put one of his socks over one of his hands. He will use the other hand to try to get it off. (Both of these things worked for me!) Good luck!

Hello, My 15 month old grandson tries flipping over and off the changing table. I've recently been helping care for him since the birth of his baby sister. What I found worked for me was using the nose syringe to blow a few puffs of air into his face to get his attention, then singing to him. Earlier I had been singing "Where is Thumpkin" with the finger motions, and he began to mimic the motions. When I sing that song while changing him, he starts doing the finger motions and it really keeps him occupied, while I change him. Another thing I used on his dad when he was a baby, was having a few kitchen utensils that were safe, yet interesting. (Items with movable parts like an ice cream scoop works real well.) But do not allow him access to these items unless his diaper is being changed, otherwise they will lose their appeal. Try to have everything ready to go for the change before you lay him down, this will help speed up the process. Good luck. L. J.

Try changing his diaper while he's sitting on your lap facing away from you. By boys had reflux so we figured out how to do this - even with cloth diapers so with disposables it would be easy. I second the idea of a potty... any sign of independence regarding elimination is a great sign! Every time you take a diaper off sit him on his potty while you're getting the new diaper set up... surprisingly many times he'll pee again right after going in his diaper. Now that he's more mobile you can keep an eye on him while you're using the BigToilet if you have him take a turn on his little potty at the same time... it's great modeling and saves you from wondering what the crashes and booms are while you're trying to do your business :P

I usually let my daughter hold on to something when she gets restless during a diaper change. A toy or something that makes noise. This phase will pass.