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Behaviour/development

Talk to others about child development and behaviour stages here. You can find more information on our development calendar.

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Original poster

At what age did your child dress themselves?

26 replies

5minutestobed · 22/10/2016 11:16

At what age did your child dress themselves everyday, also what age could they put on shoes and coats?
DS is nearly 4 and not interested at all and doesn't seem to "get it" if I show him what to do.

OP posts:

Are your children’s vaccines up to date?

Set a reminder

user1476140278 · 22/10/2016 11:46

Don't ask me...mine were both lazy. Not reliable until about 6! I had to help with leggings and socks as they both struggled.

Smartleatherbag · 22/10/2016 11:48

About 5/6? With any degree of reliability. At 4, it was still a chore, mostly!

kimlo · 22/10/2016 11:54

dd1 was just 2 but needed help with tights.

dd2 about 6 but she would still have me do it if she could.

flumpybear · 22/10/2016 11:59

DS was 4 in March and he can dress himself now ... but not when he turned 4

flumpybear · 22/10/2016 12:00

Oh also it's good to get them dressing themselves before they go to
School so they can sort themselves out after PE

ANewStartOverseas · 22/10/2016 12:04

About 2~3yo.
Clothes left in dra

SpookyMooky · 22/10/2016 12:07

Kee trying, he'll need it for school.

DD was easy peasy, DS quite resistant. We worked on him physically being able to many months before he would do it reliably in the mornings. Break it down into stages. From toilet training they learn to pull pants up and soft joggers are the same process. Generally generously sized anything is much easier than nearly-grown-out-of. Make a game of it - put the t shirt over his head then pretend you can't see him until he pops his head through the neck hole. PJs are good practice for daytime clothes.

In the end with DS I was confident he had the skills, just not the will. We did a sticker chart for him getting himself dressed by a certain time in the morning. It worked very well. But I'd only do it once he and we both knew he had all the skills.

JennyOnAPlate · 22/10/2016 12:11

When they were 2. Plenty of dc seem to start school having never dressed/undressed themselves though. It makes changing for pe interesting!

Witchend · 22/10/2016 12:28

Dd1 around 2.5yo, except socks, she really struggled with those.
Dd2, despite only having one hand had mastered socks by 18 months. And could do most things by 2yo. Zips she struggled with for longer. She was one determined child.
Ds is 9yo and he'd still love me to dress him (only do occasionally if I'm in a hurry to get to something for me). He wouldn't make any effort to dress himself, don't think he could see any point in it, he was quite happy to go out in pyjamas, until he was about 4yo.
However he could dress himself at 3.6yo because he hated dressing up and for Red Nose day he really didn't want to wear red, and he looked at the clothes I had got out (saying nothing because he'd got very upset at the idea of wearing red, so I'd got out normal shorts and a red t-shirt that he liked) and quietly went upstairs and dressed himself in something different. That was the point I started insisting he tried sometimes.

Unicorn1981 · 22/10/2016 12:30

My dd has just started dressing herself, she'll be 4 at the end of February. We showed her a while ago then one morning shed picked out her clothes and put them on.

Artandco · 22/10/2016 12:30

Between 2-3. They would start with easy things like t shirts

confusedandemployed · 22/10/2016 12:32

DD has only just started, aged 3.7yo. She's just far more interested in faffing about doing other stuff, getting dressed is boring.

foxessocks · 22/10/2016 12:35

Dd is 2.5 she can do shoes and sometimes a coat or cardigan. She can undress herself pretty well!

Original poster

5minutestobed · 22/10/2016 14:44

Thanks for the replies! He can take his pants off and pull trousers down bit not off but that's about it. Will keep trying obviously but I'm glad he's not the only one!

OP posts:

user1476140278 · 22/10/2016 15:03

Is he Ok with other physical tasks...climbing stairs for example? Hopping? Scooting? Balancing?

isthistoonosy · 22/10/2016 15:16

He started trying at around one (started wellies) and by his third birthday could do pjs and normal clothes, shoes and boots (inc using shoe horn) and socks. But can't do buttons and zips.
His sister is 20months and so far can only do wellies and doesn't seem interested in trying anything else. Unfortunately she does want to start potty training though so we are having to push things along a bit with the clothes.

thatwouldbeanecumenicalmatter · 22/10/2016 15:20

How about next size up clothes? The extra room might be less of a struggle.

Craftyoldhen · 22/10/2016 15:21

My 2 year old can take his shoes and socks off and throw them out the pram

Unfortunately he has no interest in putting anything on.

My DD was mostly dressing herself at 2 - she had a fierce independent streak at that age and had to do everything "on my own".

Original poster

5minutestobed · 22/10/2016 17:46

Yes he fine with other things. I think he would just rather be playing than putting clothes on!

OP posts:

soundsystem · 23/10/2016 07:25

DD is two and wants to do everything by herself. It takes an age for her to get dressed, and things are quite often on inside out/back to front. Sometimes I go in to check on her in the night and she's wearing completely different PJs to the ones she went to bed in...

GraciesMansion · 23/10/2016 07:54

Dd from 18 months but she just had a hatred of anyone doing anything for her.

Ds reliably by 3, except for socks, which he didn't really get the hang of until he was about 7!

Believeitornot · 23/10/2016 07:56

Both were able by the time they went to school.

But occasionally they still ask for help. Things like socks which can be a bit tight and getting tops off can still be a bit tricky.

There's a difference between them not wanting to get dressed and not being able to.

dylsmimi · 23/10/2016 07:59

Both around 2 1/2 - coincidently when there was the imminent arrival of a new baby! I knew it would be easier for them to do it themselves than me.
Ds2 can do it and even button shirts at 3yrs old but often refuses to but then gets cross when I do it instead

YoJesse · 23/10/2016 10:18

Ds started doing this around 3 ish. He shows no interest in what he wears but is adement that he wants to do certain things by himself like shoes.

Randytortoise · 23/10/2016 10:21

Ds2 is 2.6 and can dress independently but sometimes puts his head in the wrong hole in the shirts. Ds1 has ASD and can do most at 4.

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