It’s not uncommon for parents to struggle with children who refuse to dress themselves. This can be especially difficult during the winter months when bundling up is a must. From stubborn toddlers to growing pre-teens, some children just need a little help getting dressed in the morning.
When you see your child struggling with getting dressed, don’t give in right away. The best option is to give your child time to get dressed. This gives them space to learn how to do it on their own. Talk with your child about how they feel when they get dressed and why they don’t want you to help them dress themselves. These things being said, here are a few way that you can help your children learn how to dress themselves:
Un-Dressing
When your child is just beginning to learn dressing, it is better to start with un-dressing first. You can start by unbuttoning their shirt from the top and work your way down. After that, you can help your child with their belt and pants. Undressing involves unbuttoning a shirt, taking their pants off by themselves. Assist them a few times and then, ask them to do it independently. They may hesitate or need your help, but keep encouraging them to try to do it themselves.
Move On To Dressing Up In Simple Steps
Once your child is a bit confident with undressing, you can move on to teaching them how to put on a shirt. When your child is putting on their shirts, you can teach them the steps they need to take and make it clear for them. Finding arms and closing buttons can be some of the most difficult tasks for the toddler but you need to do it with them and let them have their time to prepare and execute it. You, as a parent, are a spectator and need to have a lot of patience with the child. Make them repeat the tasks every once in a while for them to wrap their mind around the process.
Do Not Give Up After One Try
When helping your child learn how to dress themselves, it’s important to understand that they will need time and practice. Giving up after one try will not help them at all. Encourage your child and ask them to try again after a few minutes. Take sufficient time to explain their clothing. Don’t rush the process or do it in a hurry. Skip letting them dress themselves when you have to be somewhere urgently but for planned events, go on and let them have their time. It is important that you let them do it themselves even after a few failed attempts. The child may get irritative or throw tantrums but encourage them with a loving hug.
Get Dressed With Them
Another way of teaching your child to dress up on their own is by dressing up with them. It is a known fact that the child learns most efficiently by watching their parents. When you start to dress with them, they also follow your footsteps and are motivated to dress up. They imitate you and have less drive to quit in between. It also develops a habit in them to be properly dressed and be representable even at home and not only while stepping out. It helps them a lot to learn how to dress up without your help.
Teach Them Various Techniques
Dressing on their own is not necessarily a simple process for toddlers and it can be challenging for them to grasp the concept. When you’re teaching your child how to dress themselves, it’s important that you teach them a variety of techniques. You can start by focusing on the basics and teach them how to get their arms through the sleeves, before you move on to buttoning up their shirt, putting their head through turtle neck or zipping up their jackets. As your child grows more confident with getting dressed, you can begin to teach them other techniques like rolling up sleeves, tying up their laces and rolling up pant legs.
Organs Coordination
Coordination is very necessary for kids who are learning how to dress themselves. You can help them by having them hold up the shirt before putting it on.
It will be easier for them to learn how to put on the shirt if they’re holding it. Dressing up themselves will help the children to attain better coordination of their organs and develop cognitive skills. You don’t always have to tell them where to put arms and where to put the head, let them figure it out after some time and let them try different items of clothing.
When you teach your child that they need to get dressed before they can go out and play, they’ll realize that getting dressed is important. Like every other thing with kids, teaching them how to dress up will require constant help and patience till they learn how to do it themselves. But this also can be made fun if given enough time and understanding.
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