Infants usually have problem moving from one phase of activity to other. Be it merely sleep to wake up transition. It can be really challenging for them. Most of these little angels take diaper changes to be a rough part of their lives and simply hate it. Morning diaper changes are particularly the most difficult time as we as adults don’t have the luxury of time at our hand and we just quickly get through our task of swooping in the baby and picking him up to get him changed.
Normally children resist diaper changes because you completely disrupt their fun activity and change their diaper which automatically becomes a negative experience for them. To resolve the power struggle, you can simply let your child hold the key. Just don’t interrupt their play. At other times you can distract them.
Here are some of the things that you can do to make diaper changes a happy time for your child:
1. Establish a fun and positive environment
Diaper changing is normally looked upon as a yucky task but you can always make it an intimidate time for you and your little one by setting a positive and fun tone. Infants understand more than you think they do. They sense it when you are actually enjoying the task or when you are simply rushing it through to simply get done with it. Make sure you have got positive expressions on your face when you do the task. Make sure you smile a lot at your baby, use positive language, use humor and remain animated. You can even play peek-a-boo with the diaper. On the whole, it will convey the message that diaper changing is so much fun.
2. Don’t rush through the task
Okay, we get it that you don’t have all day for this little task but there is no point in rushing with changing diapers when you know your baby is going to fuss and make the delay anyway. How about slowing down a bit and making diaper changing a fun task where you are able to make some connection and bond with your baby. Babies sense everything in their surroundings. They know it when you just quickly rush through the diaper change and make it feel like something nasty. They are bound to react to it in a nasty manner too by acting like they are a victim of something really nasty.
3. Make the baby anticipate this moment
Babies love knowing what’s coming next. They feel more secure when they can predict what’s this all about rather than when they have to scream what’s happening. Babies basically like all sorts of things around your house from spoons to plastic cups. What you can do is keep selected items in a basket which you give to the child only when your change his diaper. You can change his diaper while he enjoys the stuff in the basket or give him one item at a time from the basket after you have changed his diaper. It will take him some time to develop trust that he will certainly get his desired thing when he gets his diaper changed but keep doing it consistently.
4. Wait before you change
Don’t immediately change the diaper as soon as he has soaked it. Wait for about 15 minutes before you change. This is to give him time to realize that he is wet and it is now time to change. You can even amend your morning changing routine in such a way that you are able to give more time to changing diaper and dress. Make sure that you have gathered all the things that you need when you decide to change the diaper. Just don’t interrupt his play and suddenly start changing his diaper during the rest of the day. Give it some time.
5. Make him laugh
Being a parent you probably know what makes your little on laugh. Start acting silly and animated to trigger laughs. Laughter minimizes stress levels and increases connection with you baby. If you want your child to cooperate with you when you change the diaper, simply make him laugh for at least five minutes before you start with your task. You can make noises or act silly to make him laugh. After five minutes, simply connect diaper change with all the fun.
6. Communicate with him
When you don’t communicate with your children and simply do their thing, they feel you are just pushing them around. As a result, the child resists other activities like changing diapers which doesn’t come as a surprise. You need to head down to your child’s level and look at the world through his eyes. Connect with him. Talk to him. Make comments on his little movements and tell him ‘look you are wet’. This way you will be able to gain his cooperation.
7. Change Locations
Did you know it is actually certain places that trigger certain behaviors? Your child might be upset with diaper changing because of the place where you do it. There might be something in the room that distracts and irritates him like certain sounds, lights or toys. You can try shifting to a quieter room or bathroom and check if you are able to break the ice of uncooperative behavior.
