Now that Goblin is day-time potty trained we thought we ought to work on getting him to dress and undress himself. I'm sure a lot have kids have mastered getting dressed before they are three years old. But Goblin hasn't. Some children seem more interested in clothes and choosing what they will wear - Goblin is not. In fact the only interest he ever pays in what he is or isn't wearing is when we try to get him to take off his pyjamas. Then we often get a massive hissy fit. If it was up to him he'd mooch around the house in his pyjamas all day and quite happily go out in them too - as evidenced by several occasions when he has gone to nursery in his pyjama top because he has refused to take it off and I couldn't be bothered to fight about it.
So how do you get a child who isn't interested, to take that next step towards independence and dress themselves?
I read a post over at Harvesting Kale about a dressing basket. I thought that would be a great way to motivate Goblin. I went out and bought a funky basket, I tried to get him involved in choosing his clothes for the following day but he wouldn't engage in the conversation. So I chose them, put them in his basket and directed him to them the next morning. At midday he was still in his pyjamas. This went on for several days until I gave up.
Love the post! My older guy has been dressing himself for years (he's 5 now), but I still dress my 3.5-yo because he's just not interested. I know I should try to make him do it himself, but it just doesn't bug me enough at this point to do something about it.
ReplyDeleteThanks for posting the link on separating/drop-off issues. That's been the latest problem over here!
Seems to be a trait among a lot of toddlers! I agree about not being human at 6 am, my son got up early, too, but he was also poopy, so I got to start my day THAT way, for years. (Down syndrome kids take a really, really, really long time to potty learn, did I mention it took a really long time?) But the good news is I also helped him get dressed. So we've kept that same routine (also because I knew he would enter a Montessori Sensitive Period for Order at age 2 1/2 to 3 and having our routine down BEFORE that age was crucial! Looks like you are on your way!
ReplyDeleteI love the idea of "montessoriing" the clothes by making them accessible. It's a really great idea. Your blog makes me want to try things that I am scared of! I like that!
ReplyDeleteYour dressing baskets are wonderful! And I LOVE the video! Thanks so much for linking up with Montessori Monday. I featured your post at the Living Montessori Now Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/LivingMontessoriNow
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