Can your 3.3yo dress him/herself?

[BotBotticelli]

My little boy is a bugger with getting dressed.

He wants me to do it all for him like a baby! Am sure he can do most of it on his own (pants and trousers certainly - would need some help with socks and top). But he wants me to do it for him and it's becoming a real issue!

Am I expecting too much??

My 3.4 year does. She sometimes gets in a bit of a twist with the arms so will help but otherwise she does well. It's very recent though

My DS2 has just turned 3 and can pretty much dress himself - has trouble sometimes with trousers and has to be shown which way round to put things. He can't yet do zips (except for half ones on jumper/trousers) button or poppers though. He also can't pit socks on and often gets his shoes on the wrong feet. However, although he can get dressed himself, convincing him to do so is another challenge entirely

Yes they could both dress themselves at 3. They needed help with buttons and adjusting stuff that might be wonky/ tucked in though. And socks were hit and miss ( tip- but one size bigger socks so they slide on easier)

My 3.4 year old can do knickers and loose trousers but that's it! Her 5 year old sister didn't reliably dress herself until nearly about 4 and a half and still needs help with tights now. Mind you, I think I assumed they wouldn't be ready until about that age so perhaps I just automatically did it for them.

My 3.2yr old boy can do socks, pants, trousers (but I have to do them up) if I put them the right way on the floor. He can get tops over his head but its hit and miss whether he manages the armholes or not. Can do shoes if they are loosened for him. Can pull up a zip if its started for him. Can do hats, and to some extent gloves (wrong fingers).

DS1 was a bit slow learning to dress himself. I used to do almost all of it but leave him the last bit, then progress further and further back until he was doing most of it. A little bribery went a long way - just like potty training.

I dress my 3.6 year old. Getting him out the door to go anywhere is such an effort. I'm not quite sure what to do about it, but if I waited for him to do it every morning is we'd never go anywhere!

My 3.7 y old dd can dress herself, incl. socks and pants but whether she does or not depends entirely upon her mood and why she needs to get dressed.

My 2 could from age 2 and a bit. They are both keen to.

My childminder today pretty much bollocked me in front of another parent as my DS is a lazy sod who won't even entertain the idea of dressing himself. He says in a whiny voice 'I can't do it'. He's 2.5. I get I should be encouraging him but is it really normally for 2.5 year olds to be dressing themselves or attempting to? He's my first so I don't know what's normal.

Light green I would say 2.5 is very very early to do much at all in the way of dressing unless they're particularly interested in it. I don't think it's a childminders place to have a go at you about it! At that age I would have made it to work by about lunchtime if I'd wAited for mine to dress himself!

Btw he is now 3.7 and capable of doing all but socks but 'willing to' is another thing entirely.

3.10 and I still dress him. It's hard enough to get enough cooperation so he will come close and let me do it (and we usually have to be out by a certain time). We just started working on tops though.

I was very frustrated about 3;3 to 3;6 because DS wouldn't even try but we got there gradually and with a lot of screaming. Socks took till nearly 4 and he just let on at 4 that he can do shoes. He seems to prefer to wear things backwards but I just let him.
He can do buttons but so little has them on he gets no practice at them and they have to be pretty big. He can't start zips off but some in his class at nursery can so we will try them next.
I think part of his issue was a slight sensory aversion - he hates wearing anything tight so when you are putting it on and it feels even tighter it must be uncomfortable.

Ds is 4 next week and struggles with tops even now! The rest he can do himself but it takes so bloody long I generally end up 'helping'

He can but it takes him so incredibly long thanks to his advanced procrastination skills that I usually do it for him!

Mine could, but I know other DCs who still 'need' help at 6 or 7. I think it's an attention thing, acting helpless for a bit of close up time with a parent.

Mine does. He always find extra motivation if it's a race... 'Oh, I bet I can get my shirt on before you, DS' etc. Or pretend to put t-shirt on his feet then ask him to show you how it should go on.

Hmmmm....interesting point MarkRuffaloCrumble....I have a 6mo baby as well and I wonder if Ds1's unwillingness to dress himself or even try is partly an attention thing...

3y4m Ds here and this is starting to become an issue for us, like you I know he can do it but spends every morning whining "I can't mummy". I am due with DC2 in September so definitely want him dressing himself reliably by then.
At the moment I dress him on nursery mornings (3 days a week) for speed and cajole,bribe,shout,gonuclear make him at least try on the other 4 days. The only thing which seems to work other than screaming like a banshee is to tell him before we get dressed what exciting things we are going to do that day, then repeatedly making the point that we can only go out and have fun when we are dressed. We have made some progress but its slow going!!

DD was always ahead of targets & could get dressed apart from tights & socks at this age, partly as she was left to get on with it whilst I dealt with DC2 who was born when DD was 2.6yo.
DC2 is a lazy so and so and, before Xmas, I was getting very frustrated with the fact that I had to do everything (take every item of clothing off & on despite him being 3.6. It didn't help that it had to be me. If DH tried to get involved a(nother) tantrum ensued. We all had 10 days off over Xmas. For the first three days, DS got one chocolate coin for each item of clothing he took off or put on; days four & five it was one coin for clothes off & another for clothes on; days six & seven was one coin for getting changed & we then moved onto a sticker chart. I know it sounds ridiculous but I'd learn with potty training that only big rewards work with DS. No mini smarties for him! Two months later, DS probably gets entirely changed (other than socks) three mornings a week, does most of it another two & I'll do it (whether from habit or due to running late) the other two. He takes his clothes off & gets into PJs every evening.

DD is 3.4 and can do knickers, trousers/leggings and socks, and will put a fleece or jacket on herself. And she can do poppers.

She struggles with getting tops over her head, but if I give her a hand with that then she'll do the rest herself.

I know that my 4 year old can do knickers, trousers, tops, socks and pyjamas by herself, though to hear it from her it's just too hard and she can't do it and she needs heeeeeelp. So I help (though try to encourage her by eg putting the trousers the right way round and helping her feet step into each leg but then letting her pull up). A lot of it depends on whether she can be arsed or is distracted by something else. Behaviour, not skill.

Amazingly, she seems to manage dressing up clothes and swimming costumes perfectly well without any help at all.