There’s nothing cuter than a little fuzzy head of hair and tiny face adorned with a pair of baby shades. Or perhaps that little plump face inside an adorable bonnet or topped with a nice summer hat. Don’t they look so adorable? Inspired by what’s possible when baby faces and top-notch fashion come together, you rush out to buy your baby the perfect accessories. Your youngster is going to roll in style.

So you hit the malls and come home with all the latest gear, determined to turn your baby into a live version of Mr. Potato Head and have yourself more fun accessorizing than you’ve had in years. You pick out the perfect look, and try it on your baby. Then the first thing they do is proceed to yank whatever it is off their head. The second thing they do usually consists of either A) Putting them in their mouth for a good gnawing, or B) Seeing exactly how far such items will throw. So you try again. Same result. You wonder if perhaps it’s broken. But since the baby never came with an instruction manual, there is no way of knowing. So then you wonder how that parent of the baby in the cute little hat got their child to wear such props.

The trick in getting your baby to wear such accessories is really quite simple, though perhaps a little sinister in nature: put them on while they’re sleeping. That’s right parents, trick your baby! If you gently apply the items while they’re taking a nap, they awaken from their slumber and don’t even realize they have them on. All humans, and babies especially, don’t so much register touch or weight as they do changes in touch or weight. It’s the reason we don’t consciously feel the clothes that are touching our body constantly, unless a movement provokes sensation and draws our attention there. So if you can apply the items while they’re sleeping, when your youngster stumbles back into the world of consciousness, they won’t be cognizant of the fact that something is there.

The greatest part is that after a few sessions of this, your baby should begin to grow acclimated to the items, and may be much more tolerant to wearing them even when applied while fully awake. If that doesn’t work, there’s always Super Glue. Kidding!