Tips for Helping Little Toddlers Dress Independently

The fun times of ‘I do it myself’ have begun!!  Sharing big news – that might not seem big- but huge for little humans on a mission to ‘do it myself’: self-dressing!

Sharing this to say that sometimes we might brush off their attempts at ‘i do it’ because we truly think they’re too young, which I was guilty of the first time she snatched her pants from my hands & placed them on her legs. What first came to mind is ‘oh, you’re still too little.. 15mo is early for self-dressing.. I giggled and then continued dressing her. The 2nd time she snatched them though, I stopped & reminded myself: just give her the space to try!

2 weeks later, she’s putting her pants on daily with minimal or no support! 😱❤️

 

Here are a few tips I’ve found help in enabling self-dressing for little toddlers:

 

1. Wait till they show interest, which varies a lot (my 1st couldn’t care less till closer to 2yr) Trying to push them when not ready only backfires.


2. Have a little dedicated ‘dressing place’ with a little chair or stool – that helps especially with bottoms so they don’t worry about balancing, plus the little elevation helps them see the holes. For us it is simply her couch in the living room now because it’s the warmest room & I can work while she practices, over and over again.


3. Start with 1 item at a time. Pants for us since she chose it, but also easier than tops. Underwear (if your kid is wearing them) are easiest, followed by shorts, and then loose elastic waist pants.


4. Mine likes to try herself 1st before she’s ready to see me demonstrate, but when she’s ready to look, I helped by showing her how to find the waistline & open it to find the holes using my own pants.


5. We do a little ‘where are your toes’ to help her push through until the toes pop out the other side.


6. She sometime still needs help finding the other hole, I wait till she looks at me & asks for it.


7. I do NOT ‘fix’ her big achievement by adjusting them right away (as long she’s happy), we just celebrate it & walk proudly with our bums out, because we just put our own pants on ‘all by myself!!’ 🎉

 

Oh & PATIENCE!!! 😅