Intro
Do you feel rushed to get your kids ready in the morning and wish they could do some of it on their own? Promoting independence with dressing skills builds confidence for kids and is an important developmental skill. It also provides you with more time allowing you to enjoy your morning a little more. Below you will find the average age a child may reach a specific dressing skill along with fun activities to build independence.
Dressing Development
1 year old
Cooperates with dressing
Pulls off socks
Pushes arms through sleeves
2 years old
Removes unfastened coat
Removes shoes if untied
Helps pull down pants
2 and a half years old
Removes pants with elastic band
Assists in pulling on socks
Unbuttons large buttons
Puts on coat
3 years old
Puts on pullover shirt with minimal help
Zips and unzips jacket once on track
Puts on shoes without fasteners (may be on wrong feet)
3 and a half years old
Unzips zipper on jacket
Puts on mittens
Unbuckles shoes
Dress with supervision
4 years old
Removes pullover garment
Zips jacket zipper
Put on socks and shoes correctly
Identifies front and back of clothing
5 years old
Dresses unsupervised
Ties and unties knots
Puts belt on loops
6 years old
Ties bows
Closes back fasteners
Dressing Activities
Play dress up
Pull scrunchies on feet
Pull pop toobs up around waist and then overhead
Practice getting dressed while sitting down
This allows the children to have a stable base of support and focus on the motor planning of dressing
Add a dressing activity in a fun obstacle course
Example of steps
Stepping on series of pillows
Throwing socks into a basket
Taking shirt off and on
Crawl through a tunnel
Place stickers or clothespins on bottom (front and back) of shirt for child to pull off
Fastener Development
2 and a half years old
Unbuttons large buttons
3 years old
Zips and unzips jacket on track
Buttons large buttons
3 and a half years old
Unzips separating zipper
Buttons 3-4 buttons
Unbuckles shoes
4 years old
Zips jacket zipper
5 to 6 years old
Ties shoes
Fastener Activities
Hand strengthening activities
Practice two handed tasks such as lacing, pop beads, playdoh, opening containers, etc
Practice!!!
Conclusion
Providing plenty of opportunities for practice and giving children time to complete a dressing skill will give your child the quickest road to success and independence. Children are excited to do things on their own and seeing them accomplish a new skill is rewarding for parents as well. If you feel rushed in the morning make sure to give them time to practice during other parts of the day when you have more time.
Have more questions about dressing skills? Contact me at calli@confidentkidstherapy.com
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