This post was originally published on the Kelly Wels blog. Post may contain affiliate links meaning if you click and buy I receive a small commission. Thank you. There comes a time in many toddlers’ lives when a simple diaper change turns into a rousing game of “catch me if you can.” You reach for a wipe and next thing you know, you’re chasing a bare hiney across the house. The desire to feel the cool breeze on their tushie, combined with the satisfying “rrriiippp” of the diaper isn’t exclusive to cloth diapered toddlers. Disposable diaper users have been known to resort to duct tape, backwards zip footie jammies and other extreme measures. Fortunately, as a cloth diaper user, you have more options!
This new diaper removal “skill” often comes as a surprise. While you’re making spaghetti, your toddler is making a puddle on your good rug. Or while Junior is “napping peacefully,” he’s actually creating a “masterpiece” in his crib. (Don’t worry, the open-mouthed, wide-eyed look of joy on his big person’s face when they see what he made, is reward enough.)
For some kiddos, keeping pants on is enough of a deterrent. For others, they can somehow manage to unfasten a hook & loop diaper through any clothing. In that case, the next step is snaps! Unfortunately, some talented littles manage to defeat them too! Side snapping diapers are still easy for adults to open, but are more difficult for toddlers to manage, since they have to reach backwards, grab, and pull forward.
At one point, WAHMies made a diaper with hook closures that required coordination and fine motor skills that little ones just don’t possess. You could even plan to use these as a cover over other diapers or as a night time diaper.
If you really need to bring out the big guns, some parents have put the diapers on backwards to eliminate access to the closures completely. I haven’t tried this myself, so I don’t know what the diaper wedgie situation would be. 😉
Do you have a diaper Houdini?
Maria wants to live in a world where cloth diapers are the norm and moms can make parenting choices without judgement. When she’s not chasing her 18, 14 and 11-year old kids around, you might find her checking out the latest gadgets, organizing something (again) or exercising in the fresh air. 
My sweet Houdini can take off snaps and his clothes when put on a timeout in his crib but never when it is potty time.
lol! Both of mine were able to figure out snaps, and side snaps! My oldest even figured out how to do the hooks on WAHMies!! For a while I had to put my son in onesies for nap time otherwise the diaper would be off for nap! But it’s kind of hard to find those in bigger sizes! He still takes them off from time to time but oh well. I am not going to go hunt down 3t-4t onesies/jumpsuits. He’ll hopefully use the potty soon (he is 2 years old).
Oh man!!