Boy/girl Issue or More than That????

Wow! I think Kathy B and I have twins separated at birth! LOL
My son is 7 and I am STILL helping him get dressed before school. He CAN do it, he doesn't want to....
He's an only and pretty used to being catered to. Friends who have more that O. kid have much more independent second, third, etc kids.
I just hope I'm not putting on his prom tux for him....

It's not a boy/girl thing , it's a child thing. My oldest a girl didn't want to do it her self at that age but her little brother didn't want anyone to pick out his clothes for him.

He may not realize he is allowed to dress himself. Start including him.
If he is ready great, if not, no big deal. I do not think it is a boy or girl thing, I think it is an individual thing.

I remember our daughter was an "I do it!" child. It was great if we were not in a hurry, but sometimes, it could take a while for her to get it all together..

My son was very slow at doing things on his own...actually at 7 years old I swear he would still let me spoon feed him if I offered...his own meal at that. I'm not joking.
I found that I needed to take a step back and encourage him to do more on his own (My problem is that his grandparents LOVE to do EVERYTHING for him--and do...grandpa does spoon feed my 7 year old at times! AHHHH!)
We have some find motor skill deficits that started right around age 3, before that he hit all milestones on time. I think you need to start encouraging him to do it on his own gently and a little bit at a time. (Believe me you want to start now!) But,no, your not alone and he's perfectly normal I'm sure!

It's just a child issue.... and all children are different. You are smart to notice what other kids do, but beware of drawing comparisons as they can spur on anxiety. I'm not saying you are doing that, but just beware.

Every day, consider asking your son what he would like to do "all by himself" and give him a list of possible choices. He will learn how to make choices, gain independence, and increase his skills. All good things that will teach him what he is capable of doing. All this with positive feedback from you is a total win win!

good luck.

It's just a kid thing. My first two kids (a girl and a boy) could care less what they wear. They are teens now, and of course they can dress themselves! They still don't really care what's in their wardrobe. My next two kids (both boys) have different peronalities, want to "do it myself" and absolutely want to choose their clothes! It'll happen when it happens. :)

K.,
It is not just a boy girl thing. I have three girls and one boy and one of the girls wanted to do everything on her own, the other wanted me to do everything, all the time. and the last girl wants me to do it sometimes and her to do it sometimes. The boy is starting to want to do the things he knows how to do, so I imagine he will be like the first, but who knows. you could just start small and teach him how to do certain things, once you know he can do it then you can have him do the things he knows how and you will do the other. I say to my kids, "you put your socks on and shoes then I will help you tie them." so you are basically encouraging him, but helping too, "you do this much then I'll do the rest".
Good luck
E.

K.,
Every child is different! Even to the extreme. Just give him some time. He'll eventually show interest. To a point anyway, when it's getting close to him going to Kindergarten you might want to start encouraging it and teaching him how. My child is 4 and he still doesn't do it all himself. Some of it, but not all. So don't feel bad. Maybe just ask him every morning if he would like to try dressing himself. If he says no, just say ok, maybe tomorrow. If he says yes...shout hurray! Let him know that it's a good thing! Kind of like potty training once they do it, raise your voice in praise to him, let him know that he's made a good decision and that he's a good boy. Kids need praise, a lot and for everything. Hope this helps.

Our son will be 4 in a few months, and it's only been the past few that he's had any interest in picking his clothes, dressing himself.

I believe it has a lot to do with where they are developmentally (individually) and their personality. It's only been the past year that our son has been particular about what he wears (of course, it's always the shirts with monster trucks/firetrucks). Our daughter just turned 2 and has been a diva about her clothes for months.

So, I wouldn't peg it on gender - more personality and influence from siblings, etc.

I have 2 sons, one 3 and one 4. The 3 year old can get dressed better than the 4 year old, because he just wants to. They are just completely opposite personalities. I just have to focus more on making the 4 year old do it himself. I try to make sure we have the time so he doesn't hate it because we are in a rush. We have races alot too, whoever gets done faster can pick out a movie to watch or something like that, he is getting alot better with it.

it's not a boy/girl thing. if you work on teaching him, you'll eventually get some freedom to use your hands for something else in the morning! but even kids who love to dress themselves at one age can go through a phase of not wanting to do it at other times because motivations change (ie: doing it themselves, getting do go outside after dressed, socks in their favorite color, liking/disliking snaps and zippers and buttons, preferring to play uninterrupted).

It's a not a boy/girl thing, it's an individual kid thing!

My oldest started putting his socks on when he was barely two. He put sandals on shortly thereafter and really loved the independence. He continues to be "old" for his age and independent.

His little brother is less than a month from his FOURTH birthday and just decided that he should probably figure out how to get dressed by himself. It's literally been 3 days. I worked on it with him for months, but he just wasn't interested. However, it wasn't wasted time, because when he finally decided to do it, he knew the tricks I'd taught him. I admit, I'm ecstatic that he now changes himself out of his pull-up (he's slow on the potty training, too) and into underwear, pants, shirt, socks, and shoes all by himself while I'm not even in the room! (I still set out his clothes for him)

It'll happen. In the meantime, get him cheap $5 fake crocs! Almost any kid can put those on.

K.,
I have noticed that girls and boys do some things differently but more than anything, each child is completely unique. Not only that, but while their core personality remains, they change as they go through different stages of development. Some are very quick to do something, while others wait and observe. I always love it when a child who isn't motivated to do something enters a new phase and suddenly has an internal desire to do it. For example, a child who doesn't care how they look turns 12-13-14 and is suddenly showering every day, caring if their clothes match, etc. It is wonderful! You can always encourage in a friendly way, and watch how your individual child matures. It does take patience, that's for sure! :)
Good luck, and happy mothering!
L.

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My son was the same way, one day I gave him a "tour" of his room as if he had never been there. I showed him where we keep everything, starting in the order of getting dressed (undies, socks, trousers, shirt, sweater) and assembled an outfit on the floor as we went, all laid out. When we were done I said, "you can put this one on tomorrow morning, and then the next day you do it yourself in the morning, OK?" Which he did, more or less. My son was much older when we did this (7) but you can give this a try every once in a while until it takes, and maybe put a pictoral checkllist on his wall. But 3 is young still!

I wouldn't worry about it. He will learn how to dress himself eventually, but teaching him probably doesn't hurt. My older son was like that and he didn't dress himself until he was starting K. My younger was much more interested and always wanted to dress himself, put his socks and shoes on, zip his coat. I think it's not a boy/girl but much more a "why do it myself if I can have Mommy do it". The most important thing is that he is able to pull up his pants and zip up when he has to go potty at preschool. I always made sure that the pants I bought for them had the push buttons because the regular buttons are really hard to unbutton and rebutton.

Nope, not a boy/girl thing...my DS has *always* been more interested in dressing himself, picking out his own clothes, etc. I can still put DD in whatever I want, DS? Not so much. I think it's more a personality and independence thing. I wouldn't let it bother you...he'll decide when he's ready to take charge of his own grooming :)

I don't know if this is typical or not but my son (38 months) has been totally dressing and undressing himself, including shoes, for about 6 months. He acts mad if we even try to help him. I wouldn't really worry about the clothes per se but it does seem that your son isn't showing much initiative. How is he in other areas? Does he assert himself and work on being independent? If not, maybe that's the area to work on. Good luck!

Don't worry at all. I do believe this is a boy thing. I have two of my own and neither one wants to dress themselves.

He's male....my husband will admit that he never WANTS to do what I will do for him. And I've found that my son is the same way. He's so not interested in potty training and my girls were eager beavers to be big girls. I just show him and talk him through it and then cheer him on when he does something on his own. I really make a big deal when he tries to put on his socks or shirt or feed himself. Sometimes I will even refuse to do something for him if I think he's just being particularly lazy. Like feeding himself...he would just let me spoon it in every mouthful if I would. I have had to tell him no and make him feed himself.