How can I get my toddler to wear a coat without a power struggle?

[VioletGP]

My three-year-old has started this new thing where he absolutely refuses to put on his coat to leave the house, even when it's freezing. The standoff in the front hallway is adding twenty stressful minutes to every single outing, and I’m at a loss for how to handle these daily power struggles without it turning into a huge fight.

[AdamSM]

Totally relatable. Our three year old did the same for weeks. The hallway standoff would stall every trip. I started keeping a jacket within reach, kept it low drama, and we walked out together no matter what happened. It helped a little but it did not feel solved.

[SofiaL]

One time we tried a reward chart for getting dressed but he tore it up in frustration and reset the stakes. It felt worse than the problem. I stopped and let the morning be slower.

[Luke_M]

I wonder if you are fighting the weather or something else like mood or sleep. It seemed to pop up when he was overtired. When we shifted bedtime a bit, the mornings were easier but the jacket thing persisted.

[EvelynJR]

A friend told me to let him pick the outerwear and help with the hangers the next morning. We did a tiny bit of that and he paid more attention to the pieces he picked but again not a silver bullet.

[PenelopeHS]

I keep thinking maybe the issue is not the clothes at all but the idea of leaving the house. He wanted to stay and play and the outerwear was just a symbol. Sometimes we went anyway and I pretended we were going to the playground and then turned around halfway and came back. The behavior faded sometimes.

[FrankW]

Do you think the real problem might be something else going on like a fear about what is outside or a sensory thing with the texture of fabric?