getting dressed

KatieandMark06 · February 2013

I still have to help DD get dressed at 4 is this normal? Maybe I am doing too much and I should just be handing her her clothes so she will learn? She is very smart, her teachers say she knows everything you need to know for Kindergarten and is overly smart. She has never had developmental delays of any kind.

mommyjahr · February 2013

DS (3) is able to get dressed on his own and does so from time to time. Most of the time I still dress him. I think it has more to do with him not caring if he ever changes out of his PJs or not. He also rarely cares what I have him wear.

Do you let her pick out her outfits? May make her more excited about it?

NJLH · February 2013

I still dress my 4 year olds. They have trouble getting shirts over the head. Also, if I leave them to try to do it themselves, they procrastinate and take forever. So I usually just take over. I guess I need to work on that.

LoCarb · February 2013

Mine can dress herself but often I help due to the time constraint. She still has issues putting the tag of clothing on the back side.

KathrynMD · February 2013

DD has dressed herself for at least a year. .. I normally pick out a couple options and then she puts them on. She will occassionally fuss and want something else and that's fine w/ me 90% of the time. If she really needs to wear something I pick - for church or a special occassion, I give her at least a day warning.

She puts together some ridiculous outfits - leggings w/ sundresses w/ a long sleeved shirt over top - and I'm OK with whatever she chooses as long as its seasonally appropriate. A few times I've let her wear a sleeveless dress with a jacket.

jalaiaa · February 2013

The boys dress themselves but if I'm not around to correct them shirts and shoes are sometimes backwards.

keg · February 2013

For the most part, my DDs get themselves dressed. They definitely pick out their own clothes (and it's hopefully pretty obvious...). They sometimes still need some help with tights, but other than that, they do pretty well. Their willingness to do it themselves does vary from morning to morning however. :-)

funchicken · February 2013

I'm trying to encourage DD to be independent about getting dressed, so I cleaned out her dresser and got rid of everything that didn't fit well or that she didn't wear very often. Most of the time she'll go in her room, choose an outfit, and get dressed all by herself. We've been working on this, though--six months ago, I was getting her dressed 95% of the time.

shannm · February 2013

We now make DS dress himself prior to getting breakfast in the AM. I will ask him if he wants me to pick stuff out and he usually says no. He then often comes down in pants that are too short (bc I don't purge his drawers often enough) and his mismatched shirts backwards. We turn the shirt around and then let him be. I think giving him this control helps with independence and drives him to want to take care of it himself.

macchiatto · February 2013

By age 4, they should be able to mostly dress themselves but it's normal to still need help with fasteners like buttons and snaps (and of course, tying shoes/bows).

We've worked hard with my boys on developing the skills (one of them was in OT for a year plus other therapies) but they still have issues with motivation and focus so we have to stay in the room with them and remind them what to do, which way the shirt goes on, etc.

ncbelle · February 2013

Callum has dressed himself completely for over a year probably? Now I just tell him "go get dressed" and he does it...although we still need to work on "matching"

I think if you just give her the clothes and let her do it, she will do it.

Smores730 · February 2013

We pick out together what she'll wear the next day at bedtime and she's on her own. She'll get me if she needs help with a button on occasion and of course she can't tie yet. Overall though if there's one thing I've learned from being a teacher of young kids it's that they'll be as lazy as you allow them to be.

LoveEeyore · February 2013

ine have been doing it mostly on their own since potty training-definitely by 2.5. But when we potty trained, when they had accidents, they had to fully undress independently and dress with minimal help. DD#2 spends 40 minutes putting together outfits assembling, switching. raiding her sister's clothes, has always loved dressing herself and has been fiercly independent. The other two have gone through helpless phases but have been able to for a long time.

I still carry my kids' coats and backpacks for them- it never struck me as important. But the dressing is a huge thing to me- the best natural consequence when potty training so it was a focus for me. All moms have different focuses. I know I get weird looks as the pack mule going in to take my 3 preschoolers to school, and have gotten comments that they will be teased in elementary school if Mommy carries their bags. But it was never a speck on my radar of the 8 million things I needed to do. Don't sweat it, now it's on your radar and I imagine if you start expecting it she'll rise to the occasion.

WestCoastMommy · February 2013

My son is 4.5 and I still dress him. Mainly because I want it done correct and fast. He can and has dressed himself so I know the issue is me just standing back and being patient and allowing it. My DH never dresses him and makes DS get ready for bed by himself and he does just fine.

howleyshell · February 2013

For a fun incentive in the "speed it up" department check out the ap "Lickety Split".

A fun "beat the clock" function for getting dressed, putting on PJ's, etc and a "count down" function for getting them to do things for a certain amount of time like brushing their teeth and taking turns.

My kids LOVE it, we get out the door faster and it's gone a long way in curbing nagging for me.

stever · February 2013

DS does everthing but hard to close snaps. Sometimes he plays helpless, but he usually dresses himself.

rsd12 · February 2013

I know between 4 and 5 yrs old my older guys figured it out on their own. By the time they started kindergarten they can do everthing but tie a sneaker. My almost 3.5 yr old won't dress himself. He can, he chooses not too... I don't have the time to fight this battle right now! They were just prouf of themselves to do it, that was enough encouragment for them. That is not gonna work with my little guy! But as a pp wrote, I don't carry backpacks... they won't let me!

jlw2505 · February 2013

I think it varies from kid to kid. My older DD is 6 1/2 and for the last year or 2, she has been mostly getting herself dressed although she still has some mornings when she is tired and wants help. I would say that she was around 4 to 4 1/2 when she started getting herself dressed more often. My younger DD will be 5 next month and while she can get herself dressed totally alone and does on some mornings, she more often wants help just because she is tired. It has nothing to do with ability. Again, I would say it was around 4- 41/2 that she started to be able to do everything herself.

We have the girls pick out their clothes the night before so in the morning, if they are up and ready, they can just grab their clothes from the top of the dresser and get dressed - no help needed.

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