Have you recently begun to teach your little ones how to dress themselves up? It can seem like a difficult task teaching them every type of clothing and how to put together an outfit. However, in no time, they will get it, albeit with occasional comic presentations. Child experts, babycentre.com, believe that most children can dress up fully when they turn four years old. And at some point, their bedroom setup may have to support dressing up independently. Here are tips to guide you as you teach your young ones this basic life skill.
- Focus on teaching clothes orientation
Clothes orientation is something several children struggle with when they start dressing themselves up. And it is a challenge to identify the armholes, neck area, front & back, and inside-out. While some children learn in a shorter time, others may take longer to get it right. Additionally, different clothes, cuts, and styles have varied orientations, making it difficult for many children to grasp the concept. However, experienced parents say the trick is to start with basic clothes peculiar to your child’s gender. For example, boys can begin with simple t-shirts, shorts, and trousers.
You may want to teach your girls how simple dresses go over the head. Regarding clothes that need buttoning down, it would take a few tries for young children to get the alignment right. Furthermore, at this stage, it would be best to teach them to identify clothing tags on the wrong side of the material. Once they know that it always goes inside and to the back, the process becomes simple.
- Simplify the steps using simple words
When your child is most attentive, it would be a good time to teach them basic words connected to dressing up. Words like the head hole, armhole, leg holes, and inside-out appropriately describe where to put what. By connecting simple words to the entire process, your child will appreciate the steps in getting dressed correctly. The trick is to use short descriptive words often used to engage a child visually and through hearing. This technique is used in early childhood education and is proven to stick better in a child’s mind than in longer words.
- Connect a known item to the teaching process
Dressing up is a new activity for them, and that is enough to make kids feel overwhelmed. Most children easily engage when parents connect something they love to a new activity. For example, you can buy your children cartoon-themed clothes to teach them how to dress. So, buying relatable items like bull boys shoes, Superman shirts, and Elsa-inspired tutus would be best if you want to avoid tantrums. It’s an excellent way to make your young ones more receptive to dressing themselves up.
- Encourage sitting to dress up
When a child is learning to wear a pair of trousers, they will need some balance to slip each leg through the holes. The same applies to wearing shoes. This is why sitting down to dress up is often encouraged. It makes the child feel more comfortable as they begin the basic steps to becoming independent. They can use a step stool, a low bed, or a favourite chair. They will try it as many times as needed to get it right.
Finally, children love to see their reflections, so why don’t you help them look into the mirror when they finish up? It will be a nice way to end a teaching process until they no longer need your help.
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