Kids Dressing themselves

[milano]

mapleme's post in the funny kids thread reminded me that I have been wanting to ask this for awhile. When did your kids start dressing themselves? J is newly 3 and knows to put his arms and head through the proper holes when I'm getting him dressed but he doesn't actually dress himself. Should he be doing that by now?

[mapleme]

The only reason that I know that M can dress herself is because of these quiet time sessions. She still requires us to help her with regular daily dressing. I think she likes being catered to.

[niko8083]

B just turned 3 in May. She can now dress herself when she wants to. Things are sometimes backwards or inside out. She can take things off a lot easier than putting them on still, but she will do it.

[tj]

P turned 3 in may. She is capable of dressing herself mostly. But is in a huge baby phase, so she always wants mommy to dress the baby. She usually puts her undies on backwards, and can't do socks very well. But she can do her bottoms and tops fine.

I wouldn't be worried that he doesn't dress himself. But maybe work on it occasionally. It is hard at first Bc you know you can just do it faster. But if you aren't in a rush, have him do it. The more independent he gets, the more your arms are free for baby snuggles!

[nikkipal]

My M was 3 in April, and she frequently rejects what I dress her in so that she can put something else (a dress, pink if possible) on. As long as it's clean/fits/weather appropriate, I'm good with it. If my laundry were more organized, she'd probably do it all herself.

[kona]

O will be 3 this month. She is capable of dressing herself with extra time, things on backwards etc. She will always ask for help though.

[CurlieWhirlie]

M is 3 and he has the ability to dress himself but not the motivation, so I don't force it. He can pull pants down/up for going potty, that's all I care about right now.

I don't remember E really dressing himself consistently until he was 4ish.

[brandiewine11]

R can dress himself pretty well. Sometimes his shirt is backwards or he needs help getting his arms in. He knows to get his pjs off and get clean underwear on as soon as he wakes up. He usually picks out his clothes and dresses himself. He's been doing this for about 5 months maybe? He was 3 in June.

When he's tired or cranky he asks for help.

I just gradually started asking him to try first before I helped and he liked being successful.

[ovenrack]

H has very little interest in dressing himself independently. I always here stories of preschoolers insisting "no, I'll do it MYSELF!" and am blown away. H has very few of those tendencies.

But the past few months (H is 3.5) I've been pushing him to do it. He can now do it all himself, things are often backwards. He mostly prefers us to dress him though.

He's still in diapers though, which is generally a barrier to independence, I think.

[sarenu]

E (5) likes me to pick out her clothing and help her out, but she can do it all herself. She has also gotten to the point where she will ask what the weather will be for the day and we let her know if she can wear shorts/pants etc.

C (3) will insist and picking out his clothing (I give him 2-3 shirts to pick from). But he can get pants and shirts on. Socks are still a minor issue. And he does shoes pretty well (better than the 5 year old most days).

Both will insist that they need help and if we are not in a hurry, we usually insist they do it themselves.

[sak]

Jul 11, 2017 7:54:43 GMT -6 tj said:

P turned 3 in may. She is capable of dressing herself mostly. But is in a huge baby phase, so she always wants mommy to dress the baby. She usually puts her undies on backwards, and can't do socks very well. But she can do her bottoms and tops fine.

I wouldn't be worried that he doesn't dress himself. But maybe work on it occasionally. It is hard at first Bc you know you can just do it faster. But if you aren't in a rush, have him do it. The more independent he gets, the more your arms are free for baby snuggles!

^all of this

And definitely the second part about working on it. I say this filled with frustration from spending the past week with a 4 year old who can do nothing for herself. Nothing. Like, my 2 year old is significantly more self sufficient. For the love of God, please have him practice occasionally.

[mapleme]

This morning M came out of her room wearing that same button down, but it was unbuttoned (she can't button yet), plus green and pink flowered shorts, tussled hair and carrying an empty sippy. She looked like she was doing the preschooler walk of shame.

[jnu76]

My 4yo will happily dress himself if I pretend to make his underpants say "oh no! Don't put a stinky bottom in me!"
Sometimes you do what you have to do to get out of the house on time.