Most of the toddlers are ready to start learning dressing skills around age two. Here is how to stock your little one's wardrobe so learning self - dressing skills will be easy, plus some tips to make it fun.
Sure, you are still snapping snaps, buttoning buttons, and lacing up those cute little bootie, so it’s hard to believe your child will soon be dressing herself.
But with her advancing fine-motor capabilities, growing curiosity about how to do stuff, and ever-insistent can-do (it myself!) attitude, that momentous milestone towards magical toddler liberty right around the corner. Your mission is to set the stage for your toddlers — and then your preschoolers— to master self - care and successfully dress by helping them to learn these basic dressing skills.
Zipping Skills: This skill is a fun one. After all, zippers make a neat noise when you zip them right. But unzipping is actually easier to master than zipping up, so start there (at around 22 months).
Practice on a jacket with a big plastic zipper (or tie a short piece of yarn to a smaller metal zipper) so it’s easy for her to see and maneuver. The drill (for now) is you zip up and she zips down. At around 33 months, help her give zipping up a go by fitting the two sides in place at the bottom. Then suggest she pretend the zipper is a car on a road — she’s the driver and it’s her job to get the car to the top. Zip, zip, zoom!
Putting on a Jacket: Your mom (or preschool teacher) may have used the topsy-turvy jacket trick when you were learning dressing skills — and for good reason: It works!
Once your toddler is about 33 months old, lay a jacket on the ground, zipped open and on its' back. With the hood or collar near her feet, have her stand over it and bend down, feeding her hands and arms through the sleeves. Next, tell her to pull the jacket up to her chest (so it looks like she’s wearing it backward and upside down with the hood pointing to the floor — how silly is that?). Ask her to raise her arms up to the sky so the jacket goes over her head, then wiggle the jacket down behind her back. Ta-da! There you, go easy-peasy .
Slipping on a Pullover Top: Right around your little one’s third birthday, it will be time to have her try putting on her own pullover or T-shirt.
Stand her in front of a mirror ,you stand behind her , and guide a shirt over her head. When you’re at her forehead, say, '' I can’t see you,” and ask her to pull the shirt down over her face and around her neck. Hold out the sleeves and tell her to push her hand and arm through, one at a time. Stick to simple, loose shirts (a big no-no to turtlenecks for this lesson) without buttons to make it easier on her. To sharpen this skill, have her practice putting a pint-sized pullover on a doll or stuffed animal .
Buttoning Up This is one of the toughest dressing skills, so give your little one (age four is about right) plenty of practice time.
Show her how to grasp a button with one hand and the fabric around the opposite hole with the other. Help her push the bottom of the button through the hole (“See it peeking through?”). While she holds the button, tell her to use her other hand to pull the hole open more (this is way tricky, so go slow and keep smiling). Then lend a hand to slip the rest of the button through the hole. (“There it is!”) Clothing with big, bright buttons and large holes will help her get the hang of it, and so will practicing on stuffed animals (or willing siblings or Dad) with buttons on their clothes.
Toddler Dressing Tips
- Keep clothes comfy and easy to put on and take off. Not only will this make it easier, it will also get them excited that they can do it by themselves. When they get frustrated with snaps and buttons, it could discourage them from continuing to try. Look for clothing with elastic waistbands, velcro instead of buttons, and that is soft and stretchy.
- Let them pick their clothes. You may want to make sure they aren't choosing from their pyjama drawer, but letting kids choose their outfit empowers them to learn self-care. I've heard of parents that let their preschoolers choose between a handful of outfits, so that they get what they want but they don't look totally unruly.
- Don't just do it for them. Sometimes you're running late and you just need the kid dressed, We get it. But make sure there is a time of day when your child can go for it without your help. It may be after bath time when they're putting on their pyjamas , or on a weekend when you're not pressed for time. You'll be surprised at what they can do when you back off just a bit.
All you need is faith , trust and a little pixie dust.