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Diaper distraction

Make diaper changes with your toddler fun to prevent struggles

By
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Originally published in Today's Parent February 2009

Remember the days when you could lay your baby down and take your time removing the diaper and cleaning everything up? Your little one might have fussed a bit — or even cried — but she couldn’t do much to evade the process. Then she learned to roll over, and it’s been downhill ever since (sometimes literally).

Your average toddler considers having her diaper changed an irritating intrusion into her busy life. With bugs to examine, magazines to rip up and adventures to be had, lying on her back while you change her diaper seems like a waste of valuable time. Her wiggling and attempts to escape can make things pretty messy. How do you keep everything under control?

There’s no one answer, but many parents of toddlers have found some strategies that work for them — at least some of the time.

Malgosia Halliop says her diaper-changing challenges started when her son, Lachlan, was just eight months old and learning to cruise around the room while holding onto furniture. “He hated being pinned on his back with his legs in the air,” she says. “My mother-in-law said she thought he found it undignified. I realized he’d be much happier standing up while I did the changing. So I had him hold onto the side of the bathtub while I dealt with the diaper.” This was also handy for a quick wash-down in the tub to clean him up if needed.

Things got trickier once Lachlan started walking, but Halliop says it was still easier to manage diaper changes with him standing. “You just have to be quick, so you can get the new diaper on before he walks away,” she says.

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