How did you introduce knife use and dressing/undressing self?

[BlairsBabe]

Hi all, Was just reading another thread about an article about how many children turn up at school without being able to use cutlery properly and dress/undress themselves for PE etc. DS is only 2.1 so am not concerned but it got me thinking and I realised that he still basically only eats with a spoon (will use a fork, but has to have a spoon as well as favours the spoon) and I've never tried him out with a knife. How on earth do you introduce a knife in particular and what age were you when you introduced to your children and when they were able to use competently.

Similarly, self-dressing... DS helps me to get him dressed, by putting up his hands etc. He can undo a zip and if given lots of encouragement will undo velcro on shoes but that's all. How do I teach him how to do more and at what age should he be able to do things like remove a t-shirt himself, or pull up/down trousers? I guess the latter also relates to potty training which we've not started yet.

thanks

I introduce knives (think butter knife) for tinies to chop banana from about 12 months, cookie dough, anything edible that can be cut easily

wrt getting dressed and undressed, I encourage the children to proffer arms for coats, then move onto holding the hood, then assist as they get the hang of swinging the coat around to get other arm in. takes time, lots of praise for effort, no comment on attainment IYSWIM

shoes, again, doing the straps is great place to start, then gradually move on to ''can you wiggle your foot in all by yourself, shall I start for you''. Wellies/crocs are great for independence building, the child gets the hang of wiggling foot and the satisfaction of being able to get on/off. Try not to undermine when they put on wrong feet, try offering one at a time, saying this is for your left foot

Build in masses of extra time for getting ready to go out (it's easier to DIY I know, a really easy trap to fall into) and try not to grind your teef too much

HTH, sorry for ramble

I can't remember when we gave DS a knife. He had a set of child sized cutlery from about 1 but obviously did not use the knife for a good long time. We've been actively encouraging him to use it (rather than automatically cutting up his food for him) for about a year (he's 4.4). He can manage most things now, but does still need help with some things are are tough to cut. We started off by showing him how to hold the knife and fork properly and encouraging him to cut easy things, like pieces of potato.

He can mostly dress himself, although I do most of it for him in the mornings as time is tight . Pulling trousers up and down is a good one to start with as it's easy and as you say, they need to know for potty training. Just encourage bit by bit. We started by getting DS to do the zip on his coat, then have a go at putting it on himself while we were holding it in the right position for him etc. You may find that your DS goes through a phase of randomly undressing, as my DS did, which was excellent practice!