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Dressing independently is an essential life skill that every child needs. Just like any other skill, it has to be learnt first. This makes it your job as a parent to teach them how to do it the right way.
When your little one learns how to get dressed without your help, it also helps them develop other crucial skills like fine motor skills, gross motor skills, cognitive skills, and more.
That said, teaching a child how to dress independently can be rather difficult. That's why in this article, you'll find some of the most effective tips that will help you teach your little one how to dress by themselves and gain some confidence while at it.
1. Make them sit down
The first step to learning how to dress independently is getting comfortable. Your little one needs to have proper balance and to try to use their core the entire time. Sitting down will prove especially useful when learning how to wear pants, shoes, or socks.
Sitting down also allows them to focus entirely on one thing. They'll get to avoid the distraction that comes with trying to balance while dressing at the same time.
2. Start slow
You want to start them off with the easy stuff. Since it is easier for kids to take off their clothes than to put them on, this should be your starting point. You can then gradually progress with increasingly challenging tasks until they are proficient.
Starting them slow in this way will help boost their confidence going forward. Plus, when kids are getting dressed, most of the time, it is usually as part of a set schedule, like getting ready for school. This puts a lot of pressure on the process. Taking the clothes off, on the other hand, is usually part of a more relaxed session, like around bedtime.
Starting your little one off with simple tasks like undressing will also spark an independent interest within them towards dressing by themselves. They'll start thinking, if I can do this, why not that, too? This will make the process of teaching them how to get dressed on their own a lot easier for you.
3. Get clothes with elastic waists
Whether its pants, shorts, or skirts, elastic waists will go a long way in making the process of helping your little one learn how to dress by themselves a lot easier.
Elastic waist bands are easy to put on and pull off. Therefore, whenever you can, go for sweatpants, simple skirts, or shorts. You can also opt for skirts that come with inner shorts for extra comfort.
Once they are comfortable with putting on their elastic pants, you can then graduate to pants with buttons or a snap. Proceed through each step gradually until they are able to dress themselves fully.
4. Get them to participate
Before their first lesson, you should make it a habit to have them participate in the process of putting on clothes. Things like pushing arms through sleeves and pulling up pants may seem trivial, but they go a long way in helping them learn how clothes work.
Encourage them to find their way around their pants, t-shirts and sweaters. Doing this will build their confidence and make them believe that they can do it independently if they had to.
5. Teach them how buttons and snaps work
This is one of the most challenging parts of wearing shirts or jackets. However, you need to start encouraging them to do it on their own. Sure, it might take a little longer at first, and it might even end up looking wrong and mismatched when they are done, but the experience adds up and they'll get better at it with time.
6. Get organized
Lay out their clothes correctly in the morning or in the evening. You want to make dressing up as easy as possible. You should also arrange their wardrobe in a consistent way; pants separated from shirts and so on.
If your child is a little older, you can even let them help out. Show them how to properly arrange a wardrobe and how to lay out the clothes they need to put on.
Kids thrive on order. When you take the doubt out of what clothes they need to put on, getting through it becomes easier for them. Consider storing their clothes in labelled drawers to make things even easier and more fun for them.
7. Patience is key
We touched on this a little earlier on, but the importance of patience when teaching your child how to dress themselves cannot be overstated.
Try to make the process fun for both of you. You could incorporate games and rewards into it. The most important thing is not to be frustrated at their failure. Kids pick up on these things, and when they notice your frustration, it chips away at their confidence. This might end up taking you a lot of steps backwards in your progress.
Final Thoughts
At the end of the day, it's all about being realistic. No one can figure out how to dress by themselves within one day. Be patient and let your child learn gradually through practice.
For even better results, demonstrate how to do things. For example, you can button your shirts together, or let them dress in front of a mirror so they can see what they are doing. This will make it easier for them to identify their mistakes and figure out what to do about them.
Learning how to get dressed will help boost your child’s confidence and sense of independence. It also makes them feel like they have achieved something. Plus, it is just an essential life skill that everyone should learn.
With the tips outlined here, and with lots of patience to go with them, you should be able to help your little one learn to dress independently. Good luck!
