Teaching your toddler how to get dressed by himself helps him develop his physical skills. This is very challenging, so patience, persistence and practice is required from both you and your toddler. Follow these simple steps on how to teach your toddler to dress himself.

Step 1

Buy clothes for your toddler that will be easy for him to put on himself. This helps boost self-esteem and makes it easier for him to learn to dress himself. These might include – t-shirts with loose or v-necklines, underwear with logo or pictures on the front (to help your little one identify front from back), shorts and pants that are loose with elastic waistbands (so he can easily pull it up and down),  clothes with Velcro fastenings and stretchy, low-top slip-on shoes or shoes with Velcro straps instead of shoelaces.

Step 2

Put your toddler’s clothes in an area that is easy to find to allow him easy access to his clothing. Hang shirts and pants on a low bar in the closet or place shirts in one drawer, pants in another. Place underwear and socks together in the bottom drawer.

In addition, only put clothes in your toddler’s closet that are suitable for the season. Store his winter clothes during summer months and vice versa. This way, your little one will not end up wearing a jacket in the summer.

Step 3

Let your toddler decide what clothes he wants to wear the night before. Take his tastes into consideration and have him choose between two different outfits. He can take his time making a decision and this will make him feel more independent. Another effective tip to teaching your toddler to dress himself is by letting him pick out new clothes when the two of you go shopping. He has his own style by now and buying a shirt that he chose will make him ecstatic to wear it the next day.

Step 4

Demonstrate to your toddler how to put on each article of clothing by dividing each task into small steps and using simple words and instructions. Here is a tip – teach your toddler the last step first. Once he can do the last step, teach him the second last step, the third last step and so on. For instance, when putting on jeans, help him face the pants the right way by letting him look for the tag inside the clothing to determine front from back, hold the waistband and put his legs through the leg holes. Then teach him the last step – pulling up the pants to his waist by himself. Once he can do this, teach him to put his legs through the leg holes. Keep working your way backwards through the steps until your toddler has mastered them all and can put his pants on by himself.

Step 5

Your toddler might feel frustrated to find out he wore his shirt inside out or have his pullover stuck on his head. Remember that practice makes perfect. Practice dressing and undressing by buying him a “Learn To Dress Doll”, or better yet, encourage your toddler to play dress-up.

Step 6

Provide positive reinforcement. Praise your toddler when he dressed himself even if his shirt is on backwards or if his clothes do not match. It is a huge effort for him to dress himself and by giving him praise, he becomes more motivated to continue dressing himself.

Teaching your toddler to dress himself takes time, effort and patience. It is a new skill he has to learn slowly and perfected through repetition. So do not worry too much, just smile, laugh and have fun.