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Home › Articles › Kid Connections › Red Shirt and Purple Pants?

Red Shirt and Purple Pants?

Fuss-free Toddler Dressing Strategies

By Melinda Copp

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Freedom and independence are big parts of growing up. And as your little one grows from a dependent baby into a confident toddler who's ready to take on the world, he will want as much control over life as he can possibly get. So naturally, by the time your child is 2 1/2 to 3 years old, he will start to express the desire to dress himself. And this is a big step toward your child's independence.

By 18 months, your little one will be able to help you dress her by raising her arms to put on her shirt and lifting her legs into her pants. And at this age,toddlers probably won't care what they're wearing as long as it's comfortable. But by 2, your child may want more control.

"By 2, they can do more than help; they can do some of getting dressed themselves," says Dr. Charles Shubin, the director of pediatrics at Mercy FamilyCare in Baltimore. "And by 3, most kids are able to do most of it themselves." However, you won't be able to tell your child to go get dressed onhis own, and expect results, until he is about 4 or 5 years old.

For parents, allowing a toddler to dress herself can present an entirely new set of challenges. What if you have a little one that refuses to let you help even when you're in a hurry? How can you end the battle? And what if your child refuses to even try to dress herself? How can you encourageher to start taking over?

If getting dressed is difficult at your house, consider the following strategies for making this daily battle easier.

Encourage Your Child to Take Over
Your child's readiness for learning (and wanting to learn) to dress himself will depend on development, behavior and mood. As a parent, you'll have to gauge these factors as you teach your child. And keep in mind that the ability to undress usually precedes the ability to dress, so you may want to start guiding your child through that process before you move onto putting clothes on although this inevitably leads to naked toddler chasing!

"My 3-year-old, Ivan, is just starting to dress himself, but he isn't interested in doing it in a serious way," says Diane Mehta, a mom from Brooklyn, N.Y. "Sometimes he'll take his shirt or diaper off and race around, pleased with himself. And sometimes I'll encourage him to put his pants on himself, and he tries to put both legs into one pant leg, pretend he's done it right and hop around, laughing hysterically."

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