Extreme clothing sensitivity with my 4 year old daughter

My daughter is 9 and I go through the same thing. She started a private school w/ uniforms and I am not kidding for the past 30 days every morning has been a huge out of the normal struggle! I am exhausted too and completely understand you. I honestly have spent over $700 in uniform clothing because the bottoms on the skirt annoy her the armpits arnt right, the stiching on the socks make her have a fit. It's to the point where she only likes fluffy pajama pants and mocassins!! maybe we can help each other...

My daughter has had clothing senstivitiy issues since about 18 months (she is now almost 7).  Also about 18 months she developed a dairy allergy and started on vitamins with fluoride because we don't have fluoride in our water.  Last month we had her dairy allergy treated with accupressure (which cured it!!!!) and the accupuncturist suggested that we take her off the fluoride to see if that helped with the clothing issue.  This is a tricky point because I do believe in the importance of fluoride to help prevent tooth decay which is why I had her on it in the first place, but as you all know, the clothing battle is exhausting, so we gave it a try.

She is still cautious about what she will wear, but she definitely is willing to wear more clothes than before.  Hallelujah!!  So I would suggest removing fluoride if possible (it takes three weeks to get it out of their system so don't expect immediate results) and have food allergies treated if there are any.  I wish I knew which one fixed it, but as they were simultaneous on both ends I really can't separate them out.  Also she may just be growing out of it.  Good Luck.  I hope this helps someone else too.

It seema like most of these kiddos have Sensory Processing Disorder. I would recommend you read Sensationak Kids and get an occupational therapists evaluation.

We did go to an occupational therapist. The main suggestion was the wilbarger method of skin brushing  but I work, so brushing her skin every 2 hours for three weeks, really isn't an option for us. Maybe it can help someone else though. My daughter hated it. I have been told since that this is common and they when they stop hating the brushing, their clothing will also no longer bother them.

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I just want to cry reading these posts, thank you!!!! I have a 5 soon to be six year old who has about driven me to the brink with her sensitivity to her clothes and the never ending battles. have tried all the tricks you all have tried. but am hopeful that the 5-HTP will be the miracle been waiting for. For all of you parents out there I know your PAIN I love my child but can hardly stand to be around her when dealing with this ( hard to admit) I have two grown children from previous marriage and never experienced this. If all else fails we must remember to breathe and what our child wears no matter how inapropriate it may seem to us pick our battles wisely for thier sake as well as our sanity.

Not sure if 5-HTP is safe to use.

 

I thought I would offer some hope. Not crowing here, or saying I have the answer for anyone else, but telling my and my daughter's story of the last year from agony to reasonable comfort. My daughter was the same as yours and all the rest -- inconsolable, freaked out, screaming and horrible. Every morning was horrible. She was tardy to school 72 times last school year. I chose to make her a partner in the solution. Told her what this was, that it was beyond her control, that her only job was to try hard to tell me what she felt. We used laughter, silly getting dressed games, yelling games (a way to let her yell without it feeling like it was at me and so much better for keeping the emotions in check), and finally, as soon as she had clothes on we left the house so she couldn't tear them off again (often yelling). The second part was to try EVERY type of clothes until we found pieces that worked and then buy 10 of them. She wore the same thing to school every day. I gave up cute dresses and shirts with any embellishment for a steady diet of leggings and over-sized men's T-shirts. The choice of clothes changed a few times as we've been at this. Over the summer the same for summer camp. And then this year... 2 tardy days. She is a bossy little know it all about what she will and won't wear and has just started to ask to try new things. Underwear - yes! Again only one kind (and yes I bought 13 different brands and styles until we found the one that worked). Same with socks and undershirts. It's not solved, but it is SO much better.

I have a 5 year old daughter and she has had a clothing sensitivity since about 2 1/2.  Thank you everyone for sharing your stories.   It certainly helps to know that I am not the only one dealing with this problem.  

Here are some things that to some degree work for us:

1. I give her breakfast/food (with high protein content) before getting her dressed.

2. I make sure she does not get overtired (good bed routine, afternoon rest...).

3. When she gets upset about her clothes she puts on I give her a long hug to calm her down or divert her attention to doing something active she likes to do e.g. jumping on the trampoline

4. I make sure she is not hot when putting her clothes on (cooler shower, ice block, lying on the cold floor etc. helps)

5. I buy and give her clothes she likes or agrees to wear (normaly quite loose and soft, two sizes bigger, cotton etc.) 

6. I remove all the tags.

7. I make sure she has been to the toilet.

7. I let her scream it out sometimes. 

8. I bought myself ear muffs. :-)

 

 What really makes me sad though is that she will avoid/stop doing the things she LOVES like

- riding a bike so she does not have to wear a helmet

- kayaking so she does not have to wear life jacket

- skiing so she does not have to wear tight boots

- swimming so she does not have to wear bathers (the 2 size bigger ones fall off)

- dancing so she does not have to wear leotard and ballet shoes

- ice skating so she does not have to wear skates

- playing dress ups 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

My daughter seems to have some of these tendencies, and the list of things she won't wear is growing. No tights. No leotards. No socks with polyester in them. No jeans. Only oversized turtlenecks (I bought the boys' size). Careful with the sleeves pushed up under a jacket. No two layers under the winter coat. Going around only in underwear when staying at home. No pajamas--only nightgowns, and sometimes, no nightgown while sleeping.

We are talking comfort, here. We all like to be comfortable. Go with the flow.

I have stuck with all cotton as best as possible. When something that she is wearing is bothering her, I just let her pick out other clothes, even if they don't match. I know I am lucky because she will find something she is willing to wear. I sympathize with those who have uniforms to contend with.

I remember my unwillingness to wear nightgowns with scratchy lace on the sleeves and neck, and the realization that 100% cotton didn't make me sweat like nylon shirts and sweaters did. I do anything to avoid wearing nylon hosiery these days.

I keep this in mind as she loudly protests and complains, acknowledge that she wants to change something, and let her fix it.

I also buy a lot of clothing in her favorite color and with her favorite animal on it. It's a psychological pick-me-up for us all. And I wash the clothes free of perfumes. 

Best wishes.

thank you for the encouraging advice I know all us parents writing in need perspective reminders. thank you

If you are still following this post...was there resolution? I am a 58 year old woman who has struggled with clothing sensitivity since the minute I could remember someone asking...

you know im 40 years old but i have the same symptoms as children. i was always a little more sensitve to clothing than other kids i actually remeber thinking anyone who would ware a turtle neck had mental problems but as the years past, what i didn't know were ocd symptoms became increasingly taking over my life I ended up on zolft and it worked wonders for me. I don't know if their is a connection between the two. but my dermatologist blew my off like it was all in my head. She said i hope your sesitivity will clear up on its own. It maybe worth it to look into "worrying sensations" the serious clothing sensitivity didint start untill six months ago luckily for me im a veteran and have free medical though the va. and i was able to talk my pshychiatrist into giving me somthing not addicting for sleep becuase the sheets and blankets dove me crazy and sleep is very imortant. lack of sleep agravates mental dissorders. at home I d sit around in nothing but shorts. good luck I am trying to find a solution too and it seems i have know choice but to look into a cuase that could be the senstive skin problems caused by my nerves. Im going this evening to B12 and the 5htp

A good way to desensitise your daughter to this is by tickling her all over for about an hour a day until she improves. It sounds crazy, but I'm an OT and I have done this with several children like your daughter and it has helped all of them. Good luck!

It is amazing to hear of all of your stories. I had this problem myself as a child and now so does my oldest son (he's 4). I know how it feels and feel really bad that he has to go through this too.

I have a small business and have recently decided to focus on creating clothing options that meet the needs of more sensitive children. i would love your input! I know what my son needs in terms of clothing but am trying to connect with other families experiencing the same thing and get their opinions as well. If you don't mind completing a short survey I would really appreciate it!

The survey covers questions like: "what does your child finds the most upsetting/uncomfortable about their clothing?" ,"what features do you look for in clothing" and "what type of clothing has been the hardest to find?". You can skip any questions you don't want to answer.

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If anyone has any questions or would like to share their story, please feel free to contact me. There are lots of families dealing with this problem- you are not alone!

She is turning 8 soon, and while there are still some issues, we have learned to adapt so it hardly seems like a big deal anymore. She wears leggings every day, and seamless t-shirts or dresses in t-shirt material. She loves "Happy Feet" socks and boy-short style underwear. Instead of tights, she wears long socks and legging shorts under her dresses. I've found a style of shoe (at Payless) that she likes, so I just buy those ones in a bigger size each time, and we avoid the shoe-fight drama. She really is much better than she was before - she can wear sandals (even though sand gets in between her toes) and she can stand to have her hair brushed without screaming. She does have mild eczema, so we try to make sure we keep it in check. I know that when she wakes up in the morning, it is the worst time of day for her, so I ensure she doesn't ever need to wear anything other than her favorites in the beginning of the day. If we have a wedding to attend, for example, she would put on her leggings and t-shirt when she gets up, and we worry about putting on the dress later on. I am thankful to have known I wasn't alone back when we first started, and I wish I could've known how much better it would be now. I had some family members who were super suportive, and some who made snide comments, so I hope it helps to know that there are others going through the same thing and that it can get better. Patience and deep breaths!