I think my son, Brennan, was a little over two years when he became obsessed with taking his diaper off. That was back in the day when diapers with snaps were a rarity so toddler removal was fairly easy. Thankfully, he grew out of the phase and I learned my lesson by putting him in pants that also had snaps. Then, a few months before he turned three he started the potty training process; we went with the naked approach which was effective, however, it created a little nudist! Many times I could be heard exclaiming, "Brennan put your clothes on!" Naturally, these phases passed but there's one phase that we recently went through that had me wanting to rip my hair out! It started out with an obsession with pajamas. Brennan would get dressed in the morning and by lunchtime he was in a new pair of PJ's. Afternoon would come and he had to do another PJ change. I thought the PJ phase would make me go insane but I was wrong. Let me introduce you to the cause of my questionable sanity for the last six weeks. Meet Mighty Mouse. This brilliant shirt was a present to Brennan from my in-laws. I think his original love for the shirt came from a misunderstanding that it was Mickey Mouse and then he remembered that his Grandpa and Nana gave it to him. That fact only increased his love for it. Day in and day out, for what felt like an eternity, Brennan would emerge from his bedroom wearing this bright orange shirt. I really honed my negotiating skills; every outing was a struggle because, of course Mighty Mouse had to be worn, whether or not he was filthy. From what I've read most children go through this clothing phase. For my sister, it was a purple dress with red knit tights, at the age of four. For my friend's daughter it was a tutu with pink leggings. Here's what I do know from personal experience:

• As difficult as it is, don't make a big deal out of it. It's a phase of independence that every child must go through. Really what other things can they really control in their little world? Don't squash the independence phase.
• No one keeps track of what your child wears every day except for you. Really, why did this shirt bother me so much?
  
  No one else cares about it, nor do they really remember what my child is wearing day in and day out.
• Kids will be kids; pick and choose your battles. I found that I had to remind myself of  this frequently.

Has your child gone through this? What did you do? It's okay, you can vent your frustration here...I won't tell.