Keep Your Toddler From Unzipping Their Pajamas

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The easy secret to keeping your toddler's pajamas on all night. No pins, no tape, no fuss!

Dear Footy Pajama Companies:

I appreciate everything you’ve done to keep my babies toasty warm over the years. However, I have an question for your Footy Pajama Scientists, whom I suspect know NOTHING about children.

As you know, infant pajamas have a nifty flap over the zipper to keep it hidden from curious fingers. 

The easy secret to keeping your toddler's pajamas on all night. No pins, no tape, no fuss!

However, as soon as baby reaches toddler stage (with all the curiosity and fine motor skills that entails), the magic flap is gone. 

The easy secret to keeping your toddler's pajamas on all night. No pins, no tape, no fuss!

What the HECK were you thinking?
Signed,
Mama

Can you guess what caused this rant? Yep–Little Peanut unzipped her pajamas, took off her diaper, and was naked as a jaybird in her crib this morning. Cute, perhaps. But the potential for a poo-finger-painting disaster cannot be ignored. I had to find a safe way to keep her pajamas on.

The Problem

But how do you keep a curious toddler from unzipping her pajamas?

Some people suggested pinning a safety pin across the top of the zipper to block the mechanism. It would be hard for her to get a safety pin undone, but why chance it?

Another friend suggested duct taping her diaper shut. Seriously. While I’m sure that would keep the diaper on, it wouldn’t keep her from disrobing and getting cold in the middle of the night. And it would be seriously annoying at diaper change time.

I needed something that couldn’t hurt her, wouldn’t piss us off irritate us during a middle-of-the-night diaper change, and that wouldn’t involve me buying her a bunch of new pajamas.

The Solution

Ladies and Gentlemen, I present to you the finest in toddler-proof technology. Soft, comfy, and already in her PJ drawer:

The easy secret to keeping your toddler's pajamas on all night. No pins, no tape, no fuss!

Yep, that’s exactly what it looks like. Slip a t-shirt over those footy pajamas and the zipper is hidden once again! You can easily unzip for diaper changes, and there isn’t a safety pin in sight.

Additional bonus: the cute tee covers up the fact that she’s wearing Jackjack’s hand-me-down tractor jammies. It might be a little harder to disguise the dinosaur ones, though.
The easy secret to keeping your toddler's pajamas on all night. No pins, no tape, no fuss!

Hi, Im Pam!

I created Brown Thumb Mama to share my natural living journey, and help you live a greener life. Thanks for being here!

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50 thoughts on -Keep Your Toddler From Unzipping Their Pajamas-

  1. I’ve figured it out!!!! No need to buy anything ….

    Our son is 28 months old and can get out of just about everything posted on here .

    After nights of trying everything I figured out that if you have a pair of zip up pj’s with a tighter neck (not stretchy) you can cut off ( using steel snips) the zipper piece you grab onto and just slide a Hair pin in and out of the zipper when the parent is putting the pj’s on and off ….this way the child has nothing to grab to slide the zipper up and down and it’s actually even hard for us to slide it down without the hair pin in it .

  2. I always thought that little zipper flap was so the zipper didn’t flip up and poke little ones neck.
    Also that is seriously ingenious. Kudos.
    Though my 2 year old peeled it off with quickness. 🙁
    Stuck with backwards Jammies. 🙁

  3. This brilliant hack saved us for the last two months but now the 17m/o future. Engineer has figured out how to reach up under the shirt to unzip. I don’t want to cut the feet off his jammies cuz we might not be done having kids, but maybe I will size up and try turning them backwards. I just worry that will be so uncomfortable for him with twisty bunched up fabric. Probably still more comfy though than getting poked with a safety pin that I am positive he will figure out how to open in like 10 seconds.

    1. I just read elsewhere to do a onesie over the jammies instead of a t-shirt. And now I’m thinking why didn’t I think of that on my own.

  4. Thank you so very much for this. My foggy “mom of a newborn and a teething toddler” brain couldn’t think of any possible solution. Then this post came up in my google search. Thank you! Also, I LOLed that your website is “brown thumb mama” considering the topic of this post. Thought that was a very laughable coincidence.

  5. Well, I have 100% working solution on this topic. Simply, make a small holes near the neck area of sleeper and zipper. Then buy a very small lock which you can use to connect the hole and zipper together. This prevents your toddler from pajamas removal even if she tries everything.

    In case of the worst issues, when he/she tries to destroy the pajama, buy or create something like this: https://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2013/08/09/article-2388136-1B3722D6000005DC-929_306x423.jpg

  6. Hello Louanne..I am interested in seeing a pic of your idea. I am a mother of 5; 3 being in their 20’s & I am usually very savy w/ comming up w/ a solution trust that I’ve had my fair chair of challenges lol but my little one who has autism; he is little Hudini & has figured out pretty much every method I’ve used..velcro, clasps, removable zipper head, grips, etc…however, my current method has been working beautifully so far but I am always open to new ideas so please feel free to send me pics @ chillieinpa@yahoo.com Thanks & have a Blessed Day!

  7. The answer is to sew an eyelet clasp so that it crosses both sides of the zipper and just below the zipper head so that when you clasp it together after zipping it up, it that will prevent the child from being able to unzip it. If I could post a picture, I could show you but I don’t see there is a way to post a photo.

  8. What would you do to keep a kid from unzipping their sleep sack? My daughter is almost 2 and just learned how to unzip anything and everything! She uses a wearable blanket because she just doesn’t understand the concept of sleeping with regular blankets, but she also enjoys taking all her clothes off and her diaper. I’ve been putting her sleep sack on backwards the past few nights but when she wakes in the morning, somehow, she is already naked, waiting for me. I just know I’m gonna come in to a mess one of these mornings. Have you tried the safety pin trick? Because my squirmy daughter can hardly sit still to let me zip and button her clothes on her, I can’t imagine she’d sit still long enough for me to go slowly enough with a safety pin so I don’t accidentally stick her. What would you do?

  9. Avatar photo
    Jahnid Figueroa

    Lisa….I feel your pain LOL. My little one is very detailed & figures it out too every time! However, I was determined to find a solution to stop this issue w/ out spending the over exaggerated costs for the back zippered footed PJ these venders charge. I FOUND A SIMPLE ANYONE CAN DO SOLUTION @ AN INEXPENSIVE PRICE / gets you the same results as the expensive ones.
    1) Kmart carries Joe Boxer Boys / Girls Microfleece Sleeper Pajamas at a reasonable price / currently on sale $10.50 different styles / nice durable quality; you can buy 4 plus @ the price of 1 for a zippered footed back one.
    2) I use these sleepers backward w/ zipper on back to keep his fingers out of zipper reach; so I usually buy 1 size up & no hooded sleepers to prevent any type of neck irritation when worn w/ no problem…eventually he figured out if he pulled forward around the neck area.. zipper would eventually unzip itself lol OK! I tried to resolve this issue but AGAIN mines figured out the snap strips mechanism & would get his figures in & pull it until it would unsnap & voila! Ha Ha mom I did it again! I can now pull & zipper was unzipped again lol) what a stinker! Well I wasn’t giving up either of course; so 2 SOLUTIONS / METHOD that WORKS *take a sm. shoe string, cut it in half & sew each half by the ends across from each other on the top where the zipper falls in between both sewed in pieces & then tie / double knot if need be like you would your shoes & this will prevent the zipper from unzipping when & if pulling mechanism occurs OR you can also try High quality Clasp Brooch in the same manner. MISSION ACCOMPLISHED (relief it was) SO I THOUGHT LOL UNTIL… he figured out how to go through the pant legs ugh! WOW my little Einstein! OK so here we go again lol….I experimented w/ my sewing machine, some socks & sewed them into the jammies 🙂 HAPPY TO SAY ISSUE RESOLVED @ a reasonable cost & NO UNEXPECTED messes in his room in the morning 🙂 Hope this helps anyone struggling w/ this problem & their little Einsteins 🙂

  10. I’m still searching for a better solution than paying $30 for the brand that makes them with the zipper in back. My little one can take his shirt off even over pjs. I have 2 pairs of snap ups without feet that I turn backwards and a zip up pair that had a hole in the toe that I cut the feet out of and put on backwards. Keeps him in them but difficult for diaper changes. Will keep trying lol

    1. You have a little Houdini on your hands! Gosh, I’m not sure what to suggest. Hopefully another reader will have an idea for you, Lisa.

  11. I want to thank you so so so much for this idea! Although now I feel like a dummy for not thinking of this, (haha I’m a little slow sometimes) you rock my socks!!!!

  12. I have twin daughters who cannot be contained in their pajamas. We’ve tried everything. Finally found that The Children’s Place has zip up one piece jammies with no feet. Got those, put them on the girls backwards – success…until one figured out how to unzip the other’s. Now we have a new conundrum – off go the jammies, off goes the “insurance” (a snap crotch onesie underneath) and rrrrriiiipppp…there goes the diaper. So far, there have not been any poop incidents as a result – but I am at a loss. I will try the shirt over the jammies tonight!

    1. You have a couple of very smart girls! When you think you might lose your mind from the shenanigans–remember how successful they will be as adults, because they’re so smart. Great problem solvers!

      1. Oh my goodness it is soooo good to know I am not the only one with crazy smart twinsie girls!!!! We have tried: duck taping the diaper, shirt over the jams, backwards, backwards with a shirt, inside out, inside out with a shirt, inside out and backwards, inside out backwards and a shirt, tied the zipper all those combos over again!!!! Still to no avail!!!! These girls are going to rule the world someday!!!! Now onto the expensive no escape jams… We shall see if their claims can hold up to these two!!!! I love my girls and each time I find poo art I honestly laugh out of disbelief- what can a mother do short of a straight jacket?!!

  13. What a brilliant idea! My son is now three. When he was 1 1/2 -2 he started unzipping his footed pjs. We had many morning where I would wake up to “poop art”. I called them poopcapades. ugh. So we just switched to shirts and pants at night. For some reason he doesn’t try to take them off.

    Erica

  14. That’s what I did with my daughter! However, then she started still figuring out how to get out of it all, so we ordered the PJs online that have the zipper in the back. They are wonderful! So soft and durable with great footies on them!

  15. Ha. Yeah We have tried this. Sadly, my toddler has has managed to take her shirt off( and pants, and socks, and any other possible inhibitor of nudity) as well. The little buggers!

    1. My 2 yr old disrobes at nap time too. She has pulled a onesie off (without unsnapping it). She has pulled tshirts off. She is a pro. She is naked when I come to get her any time she sleeps. ‍♀️ I’m going to buy jammies that zip up the back.

  16. That’s a great idea! My toddler is in backwards pjs right now. We just twist the feet forward and it works great. He gets so mad since he loves being nakies! 🙂 I forgot to tell my mom to put them on backwards when they were having a sleepover and she had to clean a poop everywhere incident. Poor grandma! haha. Gotta love our curious kids!

  17. The clothing companies probably assume that all kids are potty training at the same time and that the child should be able to unzip their own clothing to use the toilet. NOT!

    In a child’s defense, I hated footie pajamas when I was a kid because my feet would get too hot. So I love Carol’s suggestion – just cut the darn things off!

  18. When a young couple in our small group was having this problem with their toddler, my husband suggested that they cut the feet off the footy pajama and then put it on backwards, zipper in back. It worked.

    1. That’s a great idea too! I’m hoping to keep them intact so I can donate them to our local food bank. Families in their parenting classes can shop for kids clothes for free!

    2. Hate to burst your balloon, but I tried both solutions. My grandson was able to get his clothes off both times. Perhaps the only solution is to redeploy the strip of cloth with the snap.

    3. the backward zip is a great idea and it does work, except the collar on the back of the jammies is way
      higher in the back then the front so it’s uncomfortable…If an adult isn’t willing to wear pj’s backward bc
      it’s uncomfy then why should we make our kids? and then you can’t donate them once they grown out
      of them so we end up with an entire drawer of pj’s that are now going to a landfill/dump

    1. I’m so excited to try this tonight, we have been doing a backwards zipper on pjs with no feet, but he seems slightly uncomfortable with the neckline being a littler higher than normal!