Button, Snap, Zipper And Buckle! I Will Try!

Has your child come out of the bedroom wearing a silly combination of clothes?  It isn’t unusual if nothing matches, the zipper isn’t zipped, buttons are not buttoned the right way,, and shoes are on the wrong feet!  But she did it herself and she is beyond proud!  Children have a desire to do things on their own.  They don’t want any helping hand! They are asserting their own independence and we should praise them for their willingness to try.

Getting dressed independently is a skill that develops in early childhood.  Teachable moments will arise as your child tries to get dressed without any help from you.  For example, you may see that her pants are on backwards. This is a perfect time to show her that the tag is a signal that will remind her that the tag goes in the back when she is pulling on her pants.  Talking through each step of getting dressed will help her remember that her shirt goes on before her jumper. When you child is four years old she will need practice with the fine motor skills of buttoning, snapping, zippering and buckling.  These skills will improve this year as multiple opportunities for practice are made available.

Buttoning is a tough skill that doesn’t usually come naturally.  Practice buttoning with your child by.  taking a sweater and laying it down on the table or floor.  Ask your child to match up the buttons beginning at the bottom.  Then begin to button each one.  Don’t forget to praise her as your little one works hard at this! Try buttons of various sizes and textures to get her fingers adjusted.  You can do the same thing with snaps, zippers and buckles.  You can also ask her to dress a stuffed animal or doll.  Your preschooler’s fine motor muscles are growing stronger with each movement.

I fondly recall when my children were this age.  My oldest had an “eclectic” sense of style and she would put together combinations of clothing I thought was crazy, but that she loved!   Many times she came downstairs with some wild outfits and even some outfits that didn’t correlate with our seasonal weather but were “fashionable” in her eyes.  When the outfits did not match the weather I took her outside and asked her if she thought the clothing would be appropriate.  It didn’t take long for her to realize that she would need to wear pants instead of a skirt!   However, my younger daughter was the exact opposite.  Her clothes had to match exactly.  She would struggle with what shirt she would like to wear and which one would look better with her pants.  It always cracked me up as I watched how different they were in their approaches yet they both managed to successfully dress themselves – which is the most important.  And I have to say, still to this day, the above remains true.  That’s what I love about children!  Each one of them is amazingly unique!