How to teach your baby to dress himself. What a child can dress and what is useful to teach him: an approximate diagram of teaching dressing by age

When purchasing clothes, make sure that your child can put them on independently. Use pants and skirts with elastic, wide T-shirts and dresses, and easy-to-put on Velcro shoes.

However, as your child gets older, you may want to buy things with zippers. Do this when you see that the child has mastered this type of clasp and needs additional training.

1. Closet organization.

Select lower shelves for children's clothing that the child can easily reach, or make a crossbar on which clothes can hang at the child's height.

1. Child's choice of clothes.

Children should choose what they want to wear. But for small children it may be difficult choice from large quantities clothes. Therefore, give your child a choice of just a few options: choose 2-3 pairs of trousers, T-shirts or other clothes suitable for the weather, and place them on the children's shelves. You can comment on the options: “Do you want to wear a skirt or pants? Red or blue T-shirt?

1. We choose clothes in advance.

If your child needs to quickly get ready in the morning (for example, to go to the garden), you can prepare clothes with your baby in the evening and put them in a box or basket. You can say the child’s choice again in the morning: “Yesterday you put it in the basket blue jeans, white T-shirt..."

1. We teach how to dress.

Show how to put things on. Sometimes something that seems so simple and obvious to parents can cause great difficulties for a child. Therefore, show slowly how to put on this or that item of clothing, as if breaking up your actions. When your child tries to dress himself, do not rush or correct him.

If your baby asks for help or is noticeably nervous and unable to cope, be sure to help him.

1. Selection of outerwear and accessories according to the weather.

To make it easier for the child to dress himself, it is better to put street clothes in a prominent place. Choose only clothes that are appropriate for the season. Make a hook for your baby's jacket so he can hang it in place himself. Place the boots in a certain place so that the baby can always find them himself and return them to their place. It is also better to put hats and scarves (suitable for the season) in an accessible place, for example, in a small basket. Children love to use an umbrella in the rain, just like adults do. Do not deny them this opportunity; teach them to dry it upon returning from the street in the same way as is customary at your home.

Go to the window in the morning and see what the weather is like: maybe today is warmer than usual and you can go for a walk without a hat. Or it's raining and you need an umbrella. Teach older children to watch the weather forecast the way you do.

1. We learn to put on a jacket.

In Montessori groups you can often see this trick, which greatly simplifies the process of dressing for children and surprises people unfamiliar with it. So, a child can put on a jacket as early as one and a half years old.

The child places the jacket on the floor, with the hood facing him, inserts his hands into the sleeves and throws them over his head. So the jacket is put on without the help of adults!

1. Learning to put on shoes.

Just like clothes, choose simple shoes. Usually the first thing babies try to do after one year is to put on their own shoes. Therefore, the first shoes should be put on very simply and be without fasteners or with Velcro. Place a chair near the entrance, invite the child to sit down and calmly, without rushing, put on his shoes. It should be noted that in Montessori groups, children who put a shoe on the wrong foot are not corrected. Children quickly notice that they are uncomfortable and learn to put on their shoes correctly.

1. Mutual assistance in dressing.

Children in a Montessori group usually help each other while getting dressed. Therefore, if you have several children, invite the elders to help the kids. Surprisingly, children often understand older children's explanations better than their parents'.

1. Self-care of clothes and shoes.

After the walk, invite your child to inspect his clothes and shoes. Shoes should be cleaned or washed if necessary. Possible stains on outerwear too. Give your child the opportunity to do this on their own. Teach your child to inspect clothes in the evening and put dirty ones in the laundry basket, and put clean ones back in the closet.

At some point, parents begin to think about how to teach their child to dress. After all, the baby will have to master skills that are so useful in life with the help of adults. This is not always an easy process; it often takes a long time, but the result is worth it. The main thing is to be patient so as not to discourage your child from learning.

When and where to start?

It is important not to waste time, because it is easier to do this when the child is interested. Around the age of 2 or a little later, he begins a period when all he hears from him is “I myself.” The little one strives for independence, and if you support his initiative, then teaching him something will be much easier.

Dressing and undressing for a baby are interconnected processes. But it’s easier to take something off yourself, so you can start with that. From the age of one and a half years old, it is worth offering to take off your cap and socks yourself. After two, the toddler is able to cope with other items of clothing. Parents should encourage even minor achievements and praise him. When he starts to succeed, he will probably want to try and put something on himself.

Parents will have to show a lot of patience. After all, at first it will be difficult for the child; it will be difficult for naughty fingers to overcome the fasteners; he will do it very slowly. If you rush him or scold him for being slow, then getting dressed will begin to cause unpleasant associations and stress for the baby. In the future, he will simply try to avoid this, leaving it to adults to handle the outfit. There is no need to rush to correct the suit, especially if the flaws are almost invisible.

Dressing up is fun

Of course, parents will have to help the child turn the blouse inside out or button it up. small buttons, but at the same time it is necessary to pronounce your actions, explain how and what needs to be done. To maintain the interest of a baby who is only two or three years old, it is better to choose something that is easy to put on. You can pull your pants halfway so that the little one can continue. By treating this activity as a game, he will quickly get the hang of handling more complex items of clothing.

A good example can be shown with the help of toys. Children love to feed them, put them to bed, and you can also dress them up, dolls are especially suitable for this. Items designed to develop fine motor skills are also useful. For example, in stores there is large selection lacing. You can make them yourself. Sew on soft toys and clothing buttons, laces and Velcro. Sew buttons to the rag different sizes, make a loop in the other - this way the baby will have the opportunity to train and learn a useful skill.

We must not forget about personal example. The child strives to be like adults. By watching how mom or dad dresses, he learns this himself. He will enjoy dressing up in a race with his elders, choosing his wardrobe items from those laid out on the sofa.

To maintain your baby’s interest, you can recite rhymes, sing funny songs, tell what interesting things await you on the street. Dressing can be translated into game uniform. For example, imagine that your legs are trains and they need to go into tunnels (pants or tights). After putting on a blouse, you can clap your hands, when you pull up your panties, you can stomp your feet.

Choosing simple clothes

It is important that the clothes intended for the baby are easy to put on. This will be useful for those who are interested in how to teach a child to dress independently. At 3 years old, he is already able to pull on his socks, pants, boots, take off his blouse or T-shirt, and unzip a zipper. But if the T-shirt has a narrow neck, then the child will have to make efforts that he is not yet capable of at two or three years old. Therefore, it should be quite free. This also applies to sweaters.

The problem can also arise with socks. Small products that fit neatly on a child’s foot are difficult to put on with clumsy hands. For this purpose, a larger size with a loose elastic band would be better suited. You also need to choose the right shoes. The baby will not be able to unlace them or tie their shoelaces. It is worth giving preference to shoes with Velcro: they simply open and it is easy to place your feet in them. Pants should also be plain, with an elastic band. It is better to avoid overalls during this period, as well as dresses with a clasp on the back.

Explain how to dress correctly

It should be explained how to put things on correctly. It is better to pull on your trousers while sitting, and stand up only after your legs appear from your trousers. When putting on a T-shirt, the top of your head must pass through the neckline, otherwise you might get stuck. Most likely, this will have to be repeated more than once.

Parents should take into account the opinions of their children regarding the choice of clothing, even very young ones, who are two or three years old. After all, it’s much more pleasant to wear what you like, and such little ones already have desires. You can offer to choose your own outfit for a walk. So that it doesn’t turn out that the baby wants something that does not correspond to the season, it is better for parents to select several options and show them to the child.

It often happens that the baby gets confused in what order to put on the items of clothing. To make it easier for him to navigate, you can make a poster together: cut out suitable pictures from magazines and paste them on a sheet of Whatman paper. This will help the baby remember what to wear after what, and distinguishing the back from the front will not be difficult if the front part is decorated with an appliqué or noticeable pockets.

Parents should avoid mistakes

It's good when the baby's clothes are in open access and he can first simply sort through and study it, and then try to pull it on himself. Parents' belongings can also make you want to try them on. They are easy to put on because large size, besides, this is how the need to be like mom and dad is realized.

At four years old, children are able to completely undress, dress under the supervision of elders, and button and unfasten buttons. Even if the time for the first attempts at independence is lost, it will be somewhat more difficult to teach the child, but, of course, it is possible. Most children are able to dress themselves completely independently by the age of five. By this age, as a rule, they are able to cope with laces.

Even when a baby can do a lot, he still needs support and praise. Parents should not make the following mistakes during the learning process.

• You should not delay the start of training; it is better to do this during the period of independence, which lasts two to three years.
• If the baby has already learned to undress, then you should not stop there. This process is similar to dressing, so he needs to learn further.
• You can’t rush your child, even if it seems like he’s barely fussing, this can discourage him from doing this activity. It's better to get up a little earlier and calmly get ready.
• There is no need to help your child if he is struggling with the clasp unless he asks for it.
• When it is clear that something is difficult for a child, then you need to calmly explain to him how to do it correctly. Under no circumstances should you scold him; on the contrary, find something to praise him for.
• It must be remembered that children perceive explanations better in a playful form.

Children are able to quickly learn new skills. But still, for this they need the help of their parents, who must patiently teach them everything they need. Therefore, adults should know how to teach a child to dress independently. Turning this process into exciting game, you can cope with an important stage in development.

How to deal with the wisdom of dressing so that children do not interfere with the actions of their parents, or even learn to dress on their own?

Sometimes the process of getting dressed turns into a real battle. The child is spinning, twisting, acting up, trying to sneak away. How can you learn to get along with this process?

The child does not want to get dressed: what is the reason?

The process of dressing seems quite boring and tiring to the child. Small children are constantly in motion - bending, twisting, refusing to follow directions. Their interest quickly switches, they want to move and learn new things.

It’s easier to deal with little ones - put them nearby a bright toy, and then hand it to the baby. A bright object will attract your baby's attention while you change the diaper. You can talk, sing, make unusual sounds, keeping your baby's attention.

Try not to make a problem out of the topic of getting dressed. As a child grows, his progress periodically gives way to regression. Support your child's desire to act and remember that by the age of 5-6 he will be able to cope on his own.

How to teach a child to dress: solution

The older a child gets, the more he can take on during the dressing process. Learning to undress is easier for a child than to get dressed. Therefore, it is worth trying to master this skill first.

The most difficult thing is to learn how to fasten buttons, zippers, and fasteners. It's better to train when you have enough time. Pay attention to individual operations, show how to beat the buttons, and the child will start dressing himself with pleasure.

You will be surprised when a child who dresses independently suddenly begins to hesitate, hang around and refuse: “I don’t want to,” “Mommy, dress me.” This happens when interesting activity suddenly turns into a routine, becomes tedious and boring. You can force it - and turn the game into an obligation.

Or you can meet halfway. If he's tired, cranky, or just wants you to take care of him. “Okay, let's play little. I’ll dress you and tell you how to do it right.” Or distribute tasks. Take the most difficult thing for yourself - a shirt and buttons, and ask your child to “beat” the shoes. Remember - the game returns interest and desire to act.

And a few more clever finds for parents:

• Teach your child that there is a clear dressing algorithm. Draw a sequence with your child and teach him to refer to this drawing while getting dressed.
• Encourage your child to independently choose things for today's walk (from those that you consider appropriate). This will interest him.
• Buy things that are easy to put on.
• Turn the process into a game: “Now let’s dive into the sweater, close your eyes and hold your breath...”
• Turn the process into a competition: “Hurry, we need to get dressed faster than dad!” Hurry up, he’s already buttoning his shirt...”, “Can we get dressed while dad counts to 10?”
• Use a “bridge to the future” (forecasting, pointing to a “bright future”) as a method of persuasion: “You need to get dressed quickly to go to the park/slide/toy store.”
• To bypass the child’s resistance, use the “choice-without-choice” technique: “What will you put on first - socks or a shirt?”, “Do you want to dress standing or lying down?”

To clothe a child, many parents experience almost all the torments of hell. Tears, whims, reluctance to put on tights or a hat, a sweater - all this exhausts parents, who in the end simply take it out on the baby.

Why are children so capricious in their clothes?

Each case is individual and is explained by different circumstances. The baby may not like the color of the T-shirt, but warm sweater for example, he gets stabbed, winter hat uncomfortable, and the jacket is heavy, or the child is simply not in the mood, especially in the morning when he needs to get ready for kindergarten. However, the “War on Clothes” can be won if you use certain tricks. Please note that in kindergarten such problems do not arise: the child puts on his clothes without any whims, even if in the morning he stubbornly did not want to pull on his tights.

Parents' tricks

First: choice. Children already at the age of 3 years are very well versed in clothing, its color and shape. That is why it is important to give the child the right to choose. It is worth inviting him to choose the jacket or sweater he wants to wear. Ideal option– make sure that the baby puts on the thing that you offer him.

Second: Buy children's clothes together with your child so that he is directly involved in the choice. This is especially true for girls. Since they are more capricious in clothes than boys.

Third: ingenuity. Every kid has their own idols from cartoons and fairy tales: so why not sew the faces of your favorite characters onto a T-shirt or sweater. Even an unloved T-shirt, after the face of Masha or Spider-Man appears on it, will become your favorite. Things depicted bright pictures, scenes from cartoons, children wear with great pleasure. It’s true that they say that children’s clothes should be bright, interesting, and not monochromatic and boring.

Fourth: having bought new thing, do not rush to put it on your child. First, tell us about the meaning of this thing, how beautiful and comfortable it is, and that in this dress (or pants) she (he) will look beautiful in kindergarten. The child needs to be interested.

Fifth: if the child’s stubbornness is due to the fact that you put a bunch of sweaters on him, then, most likely, the reason lies in the fact that it is simply difficult for the baby to carry this load on himself, and it is inconvenient for him to move while playing. In this case, you need to choose warm clothes made from natural fabrics and threads that can keep you warm in winter and do not require additional clothing.

Remember that yelling at a child does not help solve the problem, but only makes it worse.

• Should a child really dress himself?
• When to teach children to dress themselves
• Why is my child behind and how to fix it
• Tips for teaching your child to dress

Mastering self-care skills - important stage child development. It is important not only that each new skill opens up new prospects for him, but also that each mastered skill makes the life of a parent much easier. You can safely take your baby to kindergarten, without worrying that the teachers won’t change him in time, or, for example, it’s easy to get ready for a walk with two kids - dress the baby while the preschooler is getting ready to go outside on his own.

In a word, if your child dresses himself, it changes everything!

Should a child really dress himself?

Paradoxically, parents themselves often become an obstacle to learning new skills. You may feel that there are reasons why you do work for your child that he could do on his own. But the damage that this causes to the child is not comparable to that modest savings time and nerves that you are counting on.

Firstly, a child whose initiative is constantly seized by a parent quickly loses confidence in his abilities and gives in to any new task, which does not allow him to develop according to his age.

Secondly, the baby may consider any efforts at all inappropriate and turn to his parents for help even in cases where he is definitely able to act independently.

Thirdly, a child who is not able to dress himself does not develop the habit of taking care of his clothes in time. appearance and quickly eliminate possible problems. At school, such children, of course, can already handle buttons and laces, but they still look untidy and sloppy.

Finally, if daily procedure Dressing for kindergarten or for a walk always requires your direct participation; sooner or later it will begin to irritate you. After all, it is logical to expect help from the child (this would significantly speed up the process), but even if you are late, you will still have to do all the steps alone.

When to teach children to dress themselves

In all programs preschool education(which are drawn up taking into account the Federal State Educational Standard for preschool education, that is, in fact, are the same for the entire country) the everyday skills that children must master before school are also taken into account. The timing in different programs varies slightly - you can easily assess how far your child is behind or ahead of his peers.

2 years

The baby dresses and undresses with the help of adults: the parent or teacher unfastens and fastens clothes and shoes, but the child puts them on and takes them off himself, taking into account the correct sequence (first panties, then tights or pants; first a T-shirt, then a sweater).

3 years

The child can handle simple fasteners (large Velcro, buttons, zippers) himself. He neatly folds his clothes on the high chair, and also straightens his clothes throughout the day (for example, he can tuck a loose shirt into his trousers without the teacher’s reminder).

4 years

The child undresses and dresses completely independently; adult assistance is required only for tying laces and fasteners on clothes located at the back or side.

5 years

At this age, the child must tie his shoelaces securely, and also learns to take care of his clothes: hang them on hangers and put them in the closet, and keep his clothes in order. Only a little verbal instruction is required from an adult.

6 years

The child not only dresses and undresses completely independently, but completely independently maintains order in his closet; can separate clean and dirty items, as well as those in need of repair, uses a clothes brush, and sews on buttons with a little help from parents.

Why is my child behind and how to fix it

If your child is about to go to school, and he still doesn’t get dressed, then most likely... you are to blame! Here typical situations, which develop in families of dependent children.

"We're late"

In some families, a situation arises when parents simply do not have enough time to wait until the child gets dressed. “Hurry up, hurry up, we’ll be late for kindergarten!” - this is the motto every morning.

Dear parents, until you wake up (and go to bed!) on schedule, follow the daily routine, act according to the schedule, you will not stop being late everywhere. There is only one way to avoid rushing in the morning - get up early and prepare everything you need in the evening!

"I'll do better"

Some parents are annoyed that their child does not dress as neatly as they would like. And the shirt is tucked in unevenly, and the shoes are laced crookedly, and in general, you want the baby

The situation can only be corrected with regular exercises. Buy or make a lacing toy for your baby, patiently and carefully correct him if the buttons are fastened in the wrong order, explain how to put on this or that item without difficulty.

"It's much calmer this way"

Finally, there are mothers and fathers who are annoyed that the baby is capricious and stubborn during dressing independently. It’s easier to quickly do everything yourself - even if the child is still in the mood to make a fuss, at least this stage can be skipped faster.

Children are capricious while dressing in two cases. Firstly, if they are constantly being rushed and urged on (and then you need to take on board the tips for late parents), and, secondly, if the child is not able to do the task - and then the matter can be corrected with regular exercises. Until your child gets comfortable with laces and fasteners, trust him to put on underwear, tights, socks and a shirt, and outerwear help put it on (so that the baby does not sweat before the walk) Gradually invite him to put on new items himself.

It's never too early to learn! Even one year old baby can pull on a Panama hat and socks. Be sure to praise him for this.

If you notice that your child is taking the initiative while getting dressed, be sure to praise him, even if he did everything wrong.

• ” Be patient. Take me to get dressed certain time(let's say 10 minutes) and do not seize the initiative at this time, only help delicately.

Make no exceptions to your dressing ritual. There is no need to say “today I will dress you myself, because we are in a hurry,” or “because I will do it more carefully.” This way you will only convince the child that he himself is clumsy and does everything slowly and sloppily.

It is better to complete part of the task than not to undertake it at all. If for some reason the child does not want to get dressed, put some clothes on him and offer him to finish what he started. If, on the contrary, his enthusiasm dries up too quickly, calmly help him finish dressing.

• ” Choose clothes for your child that he can handle on his own. A minimum of simple large fasteners can magically speed up the process!

Choose clothes for your child that he likes. He will definitely try to wear it with pleasure!

Wear outerwear together. The child put on his shoes - and you put on your shoes. The child put on his hat - and you put on your hat. By imitating your actions, your baby will quickly master the science of dressing.

Learn dressing as you play. When dressing and undressing dolls, the child will remember the order of putting on clothes, and toys with buttons, zippers, Velcro, and lacing will develop not only fine motor skills, but also the technique of using fasteners.

Your baby is growing - it's time, it's time to learn new skills! Well we have some fun ones for you - maybe they will help the cause!