School-Aged Children

Do you expect your kindergartener to get himself ready in the morning?

Should I just dress him myself when he gives me a hard time?  
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Re: Do you expect your kindergartener to get himself ready in the morning?

  • My mother had this issue with my younder sister.  She started setting a timer for everything. 

    If the timer went of, she stepped in.

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  • You should not just dress him. 

    Get him up, lay out clothes, and then tell him breakfast will be served when he arrives in the kitchen dressed for the day with an empty bladder and brushed teeth.  No TV, no toys, no lying on the couch until he's dressed and ready, and his breakfast is eaten.  THEN, with any remaining time before school, he can watch TV, chill out, or play.

    I was amazed at how willing my kids were to get moving in the morning when I made them get ready before eating! My DD has always been a pill about getting dressed in the morning, and this worked wonders with her.

    If he really gives you a hard time about getting out of bed, get him an alarm clock and remove yourself from the situation entirely.   My DS is a sound sleeper, and it was getting to be a daily aggravation to wake him up.  He never says "no" to the alarm clock, though!

    High School English teacher and mom of 2 kids:

    DD, born 9/06/00 -- 12th grade
    DS, born 8/25/04 -- 7th grade
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  • It depends on the morning. DS is a very heavy sleeper and is horrible to get up in the mornings. Sometimes he dresses himself and brushes his teeth then I fix his hair. Other mornings I dress him because he is still half asleep. He will then brush his teeth. 

    DD is 4 and in preschool and she gets up when she hears DS in the bathroom usually. She dresses herself, goes potty, and brushes her teeth. Then she comes downstairs for breakfast. She wakes up much easier than DS. 

    So I think it depends on the child and what works best for you guys.   

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  • DD is very good about getting herself ready.  She gets dressed as soon as she wakes up and won't come downstairs until she's dressed.  I'm guessing this might be an issue with DS, he still has over a year until kindergarten, but I have such a hard time getting him to get dressed in the morning. 
    Ms. A  - 2007, Mr. C - 2009
  • alakealake member
    My girls go to a school with uniforms.  They get their clothes on and I do their hair in the morning. 
  • Yes.  My kindy DD gets herself totally ready about 99% of the time.  She will at times need help with her tights or brushing her hair if really Knotted or if she wants it up but she is already getting great at putting in a pony tail on her own.  DD#2 who will be in kindy in the fall can also dress herself and get herself mainly ready on her own.  She is not a morning person so it takes her longer to get started and she sometimes needs more help at this point but I am sure by the time school starts in the fall, she will be at the 99% point as well. 
    Jenni Mom to DD#1 - 6-16-06 DD#2 - 3-13-08 
  • rsd12rsd12 member
    I expect my preschooler to dress himself with little help now. In the fall I will expect him to get fully dressed on his own before school. He will be in kindergarten in the fall.

    Boy 1 2/06 - Boy 2 12/07 - Boy 3 9/09
  • Yes - if they are capable of putting on their clothes make them.

    I never noticed how much I babied my oldest.  He was almost 14 when my little one was born.  The morning that I was going back to work after the baby was born I went in and  woke up oldest so he could shower and get dressed.  I turned to walk out of the room and he looked at me and asked me if I was going to get his clothes out for him.  I realized that out of habit that when I woke him up I pulled out his clothes and laid them on the bed.  The child wore uniforms so matching things was not an issue.  I told him no that he was old enough to do that on his own.  

    Since then I have been trying to make up for lost time on the teaching independence.   

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  • imageneverblushed:

    You should not just dress him. 

    Get him up, lay out clothes, and then tell him breakfast will be served when he arrives in the kitchen dressed for the day with an empty bladder and brushed teeth.  No TV, no toys, no lying on the couch until he's dressed and ready, and his breakfast is eaten.  THEN, with any remaining time before school, he can watch TV, chill out, or play.

    I was amazed at how willing my kids were to get moving in the morning when I made them get ready before eating! My DD has always been a pill about getting dressed in the morning, and this worked wonders with her.

    If he really gives you a hard time about getting out of bed, get him an alarm clock and remove yourself from the situation entirely.   My DS is a sound sleeper, and it was getting to be a daily aggravation to wake him up.  He never says "no" to the alarm clock, though!

     

    This this this this! This was the ONLY method that worked for our Kindergartener....he is strong-willed and very clever with his multitude of "excuses" ;)

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  • I expect my kindergartener to get dressed himself in the morning, but I am prepared to throw him into clothes if need be.  Not a thing to battle over, IMO.  Get dressed or I'll get you dressed.  The bus comes when it comes and won't wait for someone who is dawdling.

    I probably dress him twice a month, but it is not a battle.

    promised myself I'd retire when I turned gold, and yet here I am
  • I've been expecting my DS to get dressed for school since 3 year old preschool.  This year, for 4 year old preschool, he also has to brush his teeth and check his school supplies as well.  If he forgets something, he just doesn't have it for the day.
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  • Im glad that I am reading all your post because my daughter is in Kinder and she has the hardest time waking up and I find myself dressing her while she's sleep so I can hurry up in the mornings.  I like the method of not turning on any TV's before dress because that is what usually slows us down.
  • tammy79tammy79 member

    The only person I dress is my 3 year, since he's not quite there yet, but are slowly working on teaching him how to dress himself. 

    But everyone else DS#1 ( 6), and DD ( 4), dresses themselves. I have all the clothes laid out, and ready to go the night before, they wake up, use the potty, come down for breakfast and then dress themselves. I did have to use a timer for DS#1 when he was younger otherwise it would take him forever to get ready. When they are ready before me, they usually grab a book to read/look  or play  while they wait for me. 

  • My son is starting kindy in August.  For the last year he has been very independent.  I do laundry and put away his clothes.  However, he knows exactly where everything is kept.  He has been waking up on his own and getting dressed.  He won't brush his teeth until after he eats breakfast.  He is looking forward to kindergarden and also the uniforms he will have to wear. Before he became so independent I had to get him up and get his clothes out for him.  I was lucky I guess.  He decided on his own one day that he was a BIG boy and was going to go to BIG boy school soon so....He said he had to be a BIG boy and get ready on his own!  No fight anymore in the morning!  Yeah! 

     

  • I made Emily a short "to-do" list white-erase style for her to check off every night before bed and every morning before school. At night, part of that list is picking out her clothes and I do help her if she asks or seems tired or frustrated. In the morning, getting dressed is first on her list, before breakfast!

    There have been times she's whined and insisted on having breakfast BEFORE getting dressed... I don't fight her on it, I just remind her that if she doesn't "get her list done", there will be no free choice (play time) before school. Free choice is really important to her so, 99% of the time, this reminder lights a fire under her. :)

    eclaire 9.10.06  diggy 6.2.11

  • I'm with the others. He's capable of dressing himself. He's shown me over and over again and as I'm going to be busy making breakfasts and getting his sisters up, moving and dressed I can't be fighting him too... we'll never make it to school on time! We've already started talking about expectations once school starts and him getting himself dressed is one of them.
  • My kids at kindy always got themselves and their school bags ready. This last year K was in full day and got her own lunch packed. 5-6 (or younger) is well old enough for them to pick clothes and get dressed on their own, but having a routine, including wake ups, makes a huge difference.
  • Unless he has motor delays I cannot imagine dressing a Kindergartener.
    Jen - Mom to two December 12 babies Nathaniel 12/12/06 and Addison 12/12/08
  • Unless he has motor delays I cannot imagine dressing a Kindergartener.

    This-  I pretty much expect my 3 year old to dress himself- I lay out the clothes and help with buttons and zipppers, but he gets dressed, puts his shoes and socks on, gets his coat on, eats his breakfast and sometimes even carries his bag out the door. 


     

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