How to get a jacket on a squirmy toddler

Damselfly's got a few tricks for getting a jacket onto her toddler:

I'm not sure if this is a bona-fide hack, but it works for us. My 14-month-old boy fights me every time he has to get dressed or undressed. And when it's rainy or cool, I put him in a jacket in addition to his regular clothes. To help with the jacket, I start with one that's a size larger than his regular clothes because it goes on easier. Then I put him in his high chair and slip the jacket on him from behind the chair. Being behind / above my boy makes it easier to zip up the jacket, too. To top it off, I put a fun and safe zipper pull on the zipper for him to play with.

Related: Put shoes and socks on kids AFTER strapping them into the stroller

Comments

[Chris]

This reminds me of another great related hack for putting pants on wiggly kids

http://www.parenthacks.com/2007/02/getting_pants_o.html

[Matt]

14 months might be a little young for this idea, but as he gets a little older, we put the coat on the floor and have my son stand at the hood side. He puts his own arms into the sleeves, and then can flip the coat over his head. Putting the coat on himself makes him feel much more part of it and we have less fighting.

[oh amanda]

What a great idea! I need to get a zipper pull for my daughter's jackets!