Getting Dressed by Herself

She can certainly dress herself, especially if you've seen her do it or know she's doing it herself at daycare. She's just smart and letting you do it for her for as long as possible. :)

My daughter will manipulate me sometimes too when it comes to wiping her butt, or other little things. She'll do it all day, everyday at pre-school, but when she's home...she knows I'll will do it so she takes advantage of me a bit in that way. I do it, depending how busy I am when she asks. I know that someday, she'll stop needing me for just about everything so it's my own wierd way of keeping involved in her life where I can be. Sometimes, her independance makes me sad...even though it's great and I'm proud of her. So, take it with a grain of salt.

Hi H.,

I have 2 year olds that can dress themselves and put on their own slip-on shoes, but don't drop everything in her lap at once. Maybe the next time you get ready to go somewhere and you are doing the finishing touches say to Hailey, "Go put your shoes, on Hailey and we'll be ready to go." That way you are not just standing over her watching. Lots of times if you aren't right at hand they will just go ahead and do things themselves without thinking you have to help. Maybe if you get her to do this a few times she will be more likely to do it herself without being told.

Good Luck!

C.

My daughter will be 2 on Sunday and she has been "dressing herself" for about a month now. I pick two outfits that she gets to choose from. Sometimes I pick mix-and-match outfits so she feels like she's choosing the whole outfit :) I let her do as much as she can and encourage her with "you can do it!" when she gets frustrated. She can pretty much get her shirts on by herself but needs help getting her pants up over her diaper. She desparately wants to button the buttons and snap the snaps but doesn't know how yet so we're working on it :) I also let her pick between her shoes and sandles when able. She puts her shoes on by herself but usually they are on the wrong feet. When that happens I simply say "oops! your shoes are on the wrong feet! Let's fix them!" Every once and a while she won't let me fix them to the right feet so I just choose my battles. Eventually she wants them corrected because she can't walk right.
My daughter tends to be more independant at daycare than at home too. She hasn't had her nuk for naptime at daycare in a little less than a year but we can't seem to get rid of it at home! My daycare provider says that's quite common because kids know that their parents sometimes give in a little faster. Plus, they get individual help and attention from their parents at home vs having to wait for other kids to get help putting on their shoes, etc. at daycare :)

Let her do as much as she can by herself, but stand by when she gets frustrated...talk about teamwork and you and her can work together to get dressed, etc...Also...dont know if you watch Yo, Gaba, Gaba, but they have a song: keep trying, keep trying, dont give up, dont give up...I sing to my 3 yr old when she gets frustrated and it helps her...

H., if she is doing this at school and not at home, and you want her to be more self reliant, it will benefit both of you to start expecting her to do this and other simple tasks for her self. Try to get her started in a fun way. "I heard you've been keeping a secret from me about your shoes. Will you show me?" Talk to her in positive tones: you get to... rather than you have to... At this age, I separated my child's clothes so that play clothes were in one drawer and school clothes were in a different one. If you want her to start dressing herself, try getting an organizer for her closet. You can start out each week placing an outfit in each slot. Let her help pick out the outfits she will wear for the week and select things that pull on easily.
With each new task or skill Hailey learns, put a positive spin on it so she sees the joy of doing it all by herself. We moms sometimes have to let go of some control as they learn to do things for themselves. Good luck!!!

Learning new skills is a life long process. If she is doing things at school and not at home, she is teaching you things that she wants you to learn not the other way around. Don't do anything for her that you know she can do for herself. What she can't do yet, start for her so she can finish it. (Put the sock over her toes and have her pull it up.) She has been learning things from you from birth, she is old enough to start learning to get dressed as well.