Little girls in dresses and little boys in tuxes — we love to dress our babies in cute clothes. But eventually our children need to learn to dress themselves.
There are many steps to dressing with every age of development. Before children can begin to dress, they need be aware of their bodies: they must have body awareness, body position, motor planning, bilateral coordination, and gross and fine motor skills. The trick with children is to think backwards: they always learn to take clothes off before they learn to put clothes on!
It seems we are always amazed at a little six month old who can take off their socks and booties. However, it can be confusing keeping track of what children should be able to do and at what age. Here are some things they can do:
- 1 YEAR OLD: By one year old, they should be pulling off socks and shoes (no matter how cold) and pushing arms and legs through garments.
- 2 YEAR OLD: At two years they are stripping down to their diaper; maybe they love being naked, or maybe they are practicing and perfecting taking off their clothes. (Remember that taking off clothes comes before putting them on.)
- 3 YEAR OLD: At this age they are putting together snaps and large buttons with both hands.
- 4 YEAR OLD: Four-year-olds can zip up jackets (though they may need help starting the zipper) and put on socks with the heel and toes lined up correctly.
- 5 YEAR OLD: At five they can dress all by themselves and tie knots (lots of them). Just plan ahead to give them extra time to figure it out. This gives them independence and self pride.
- 6 YEAR OLD: They should be able to tie a shoe by this age. There are many ways to tie a shoe—like tying a knot with two bunny ears or bunny going through the hole, two loop/two tie method, or one handed tying.
For both girls and boys, playing dress up is the perfect motivator for practicing dressing. If your child is not putting a shirt over their head yet, try putting on necklaces to give them motivation to practice this motion. Laundry or chores can also be used to teach children dressing skills. Matching socks by colors or patterns helps them learn to match; folding clothes helps with bilateral coordination, motor planning, and sequencing; and hanging clothes on hangers can help build upper body and hand strength while also increasing fine motor skills.
If you are worried about your child’s progress, Occupational Therapy can step in and help your child meet those goals with adaptive equipment and techniques. Therapists can also determine if there are other issues that may be affecting children or hindering their milestones, especially sensory or texture issues. Don’t hesitate to contact us with questions!