On chaotic mornings, it’s so much easier to just stuff little arms into shirts and tie kids’ shoes ourselves instead of letting them take a whirl.
But at some point, you know, they’re going to have to get in some practice time. After all, your children may tire of waiting in line for the teacher to zip up their coat at preschool. Plus, it’s gonna be tough to find a cool pair of kicks with Velcro closures when they’re in middle school. Read on for great parenting advice and dressing lessons for preschoolers.
Teaching Your Preschooler How to Dress
Teaching your preschooler to dress themself is a great way to develop their independence, increase self-esteem (“I put my socks on myself!”), and improve those fledgling motor and coordination skills. Want to make the learning process as smooth as a freshly pressed shirt? Follow us.
Whether they’re slipping into sleeves or wrestling up tube socks, set the stage to make it all easier. Here are some great ways to get started with dressing lessons for preschoolers.
Practice How to Dress at Playtime:
Kids learn best in context, but trying to teach your child to tie shoes or zip a coat when you need to get out the door isn’t the best idea. Instead, introduce new skills when you’re not in a rush, such as when you’re playing dress-up. “Or phase things in by letting your child dress herself on the weekend but helping her on weekdays,” suggests Janice Burke, Ph.D., chair of the occupational therapy department at Philadelphia’s Thomas Jefferson University. Take them to a children’s museum and visit the dress-up station.
Relax Your Dressing Standards:
Using seams or tags to help your child orient himself is great, but don’t insist that shirts be right side out or that pants’ tags be in the back initially. “Kids need to learn basic dressing skills without the added pressure of doing it ‘right’,” says Barbara Chandler, Ph.D., an occupational therapist with Therapeutic Services and Design, in Asheville, NC. And don’t worry: Teachers and other parents can tell your child dressed himself, and they think it’s cute!
Sit Behind or Beside Them When They Dress:
Or, you can even try sitting in front of your children, with your back to them, and have them peek over your shoulder. Why? It’s easier for kids to mimic your motions when they watch from their own natural perspective. Here, you’re showing them exactly what they’ll see if they do it themselves. If you sit face to face, your motions are harder to follow because they’re reversed. For the same reason, don’t have your kids dress while looking in a mirror. It’s usually just too confusing. This is a very important dressing lesson for preschooler parents!
Putting On Coats, Sweaters and Sweatshirts
Difficulty Rating: 1 button
GO BIG:
Buy a slightly larger coat so your child can step into and shrug out of it without completely unzipping it. they’ll rarely need to connect the zipper on their own (which is a much harder skill; see “Fasteners,” on page 136).
PRACTICE DRESS TEDDY:
Have your children put a loose sweater on a stuffed animal before they try it on themselves. It’s easier for them to understand the steps on a body other than their own.
DO THE OVERHEAD FLIP: “Kids love this method because it looks like a magic trick!” says Burke. Place the open coat or sweater faceup on the floor in front of your child. The neck or hood should be nearest to their body. Have them kneel down, put their arms through the sleeves, and then stand up and raise them toward the ceiling. This will flip the coat over their head onto his back. Voilà! Dressing lesson for preschoolers mastered!
Teach Your Preschooler How to Put On Pants, Shorts and Skirts
Difficulty Rating: 1 ½ buttons
TRY A TRICK FROM GREAT-AUNT NELLY: No, elastic-waist pants and leggings aren’t as cute as jeans and other zip-up pants, but they make a good foundation for a young child’s wardrobe. Kids will be able to put on the pants themselves, and they’ll have a better chance of making it to the toilet in time if they don’t need to fiddle with special closures.
HAVE A SEAT: Kids can’t balance well enough to put on pants/shorts while standing. (Come to think of it, neither can many adults!) And beds are often too high for them to sit on. So have your child perch on a low step, chair, or stool. For pants, coach them to insert one leg and push through so his foot lands directly on the floor (not on the fabric). Have them pull the material just past their knee and repeat with their second leg, then stand up and pull everything up over their backside.
Help Your Preschooler Put on Shirts Independently
Difficulty Rating: 2 buttons
CUE UP A TEE: It’s easy for kids to slip their arms into an open button-up shirt when dressing, but to actually close it? Not so much. Instead, begin this dressing lesson for preschoolers with T-shirts or pullover sweaters. Be sure the neck of the shirt is loose enough to slip over your child’s head easily. “Some kids get really nervous when the shirt covers their face and they can’t see what else they’re doing or where they are,” says Chandler. Really stretchy fabric or shirts with neckline snaps are ideal.
DO THE TWIST: If you want your child to know front from back (again, it’s not crucial in the beginning), buy shirts with a picture/pattern on the front. Once your children have the shirt around just the neck, teach them to swivel the shirt around until the picture is over their tummy. Then they can slip their arms into the sleeves, one at a time, knowing the shirt is in the right direction.
FASTENERS:
Zippers, snaps, and buttons—once your kid can handle ’em, a world of clothing will open up.
Zippers
Most kids can pull up zippers easily. Actually connecting an open-ended zipper is much tougher. To teach your children this skill, begin by showing them how to pull down the slider (the part of the zipper with the pull) tight and straight so it automatically stays together with the stationary stop underneath it. Next, have them push the teeth side of the zipper firmly into the slider slot. This is tricky; they may have to practice quite a few times before the zipper moves correctly.
Add an elasticized loop or ribbon to make a small zipper pull easier to hold on to.
Difficulty Rating, Just zipping: 1 button Connecting zipper: 3 buttons
Snaps
These fasteners are very difficult because it takes strength to connect them. Also, kids have to precisely align two quite small pieces—one of which is hidden under fabric. A doll whose clothes button, snap, and zip can give your child practice—but this is probably the last fastener they’ll master. It is a more challenging dressing lesson for preschoolers.
Difficulty Rating: 3 buttons
Buttons
Put an adult cardigan sweater (with large buttons and loose buttonholes) backward on a chair and have your child stand behind it to practice buttoning and unbuttoning. A sweater on a stuffed animal also works well.
As far as technique goes: Show him how to hold the button with the index finger and thumb of one hand, then push it through the hole and grab it on the other side with his other one. It’s easiest for kids if they have both of their mitts touching the button during this “handoff.” Then he’ll pull the button through and lift its edge over the buttonhole to secure it in place.
Difficulty rating: 2 buttons
Dressing Lessons for Your Preschooler: Socks and Tights
Difficulty Rating, Socks: 1 button
Difficulty Rating, Tights: 3 buttons
USE COLOR: Socks with well-shaped, colored heels help kids position them right. Let them get the sock fully on her foot (either by grabbing the opening with both hands or by “scrunching” the material down to the toe and pulling on), then help her twist it into position. Coach her: “Your heel goes where the gray color is!”
THINK HARD ABOUT TIGHTS: They’re adorable with dresses but murder for little girls (and their often-frustrated moms) to get on. If you can, choose tights made of heavier sweater material (rather than thin nylon), as it’s easier for little hands to grip and pull. And trim your daughter’s toenails so ragged edges don’t snag. As with pants, your child should sit on a stool or step, scrunch up the fabric, then put one leg in, pull up just over the knee, and switch to the other leg. When both are in, pull ’em up!
Teach Your Preschooler How to Master Shoes and Tying
Difficulty Rating, Most Shoes: 1 button
Difficulty Rating, Laces: 3 buttons
TIE ONE ON: Have kids try out their skills on a practice shoe—like an old sneaker— at first. Put two different-color laces on it to simplify your instructions: “Cross the red lace over the blue one…”
START WITH BUNNY EARS: Have them make loops in each shoelace, cross them in an “X,” tuck one through the hole, and tighten. As a memory aid, say aloud: “Make two bunny ears. The bunny runs around the tree. The bunny jumps in a hole. Close it up tight!”
MOVE ON TO SINGLE LOOP: Tell your child to start by making an “X” with the laces, tucking one lace through, and pulling it tight. Then teach him this memory aid: “Loop it” (have him make a loop with his right hand), “swoop it” (left hand pulls lace around the loop), “and pull!” (tuck left lace into the hole and pull it through). Victory!
Teri Cettina, a freelance writer and contributing editor for Parenting magazine, is a mom of two daughters and lives in Portland, OR.
