How to get dressed: helping children learn

Learning to get dressed: why it’s important

Getting dressed is an important skill for your child to learn.

Being able to dress themselves is good for your child’s confidence, independence and self-expression. And once your child can dress themselves, helping them get dressed is one less thing for you to do.

Also, getting dressed helps your child develop many other skills. These include:

fine motor skills – for example, by fastening buttons and zips
gross motor skills – for example, by standing on one leg to pull on a pair of pants
cognitive skills – for example, by remembering which clothes go on first and concentrating on getting the task done
language skills – for example, by naming types of clothes, colours and sizes
awareness of time and space – for example, by dressing for different occasions and weather conditions.

Getting started with getting dressed

Often very young children become aware of clothing by pulling off easy-to-remove things like socks, shoes or hats. Sometimes they try to put them on again. You can build on this early awareness by naming the clothes your child has taken off and the body parts they go on.

You can start to include your older baby or toddler in getting dressed by letting your child choose clothes and naming them as you put them on your child.

When you decide it’s time to work on this skill with your child, it can help to have some easy clothes on hand. These might include:

loose, elastic-waisted pants
clothes with velcro or large buttons and buttonholes
jumpers, t-shirts and underwear with pictures on the front to help your child tell front from back
clothes that are easy and comfortable for your child to move in
velcro or slip-on shoes.

Getting dressed: breaking down the steps

Getting dressed can have a lot of steps. It helps to break it down into smaller steps – for example, putting on underwear first, and then t-shirt, shorts, socks and shoes.

You can also break down each step in getting dressed, depending on your child’s skill and age. For example, you could break down the steps for putting on shorts like this:

Face shorts the right way.
Hold on to the front of the waistband.
Push one leg at a time through the leg holes while also holding the shorts.
Pull the shorts up.

Talking your child through each step helps them know what to do. In the early stages, simple words or phrases are OK – for example, ‘Shirt on’. You can say more as your child’s language develops – for example, ‘Push your arm through the sleeve’.

When your child starts to dress themselves more independently (usually from 3 years and older), you can check whether they understand the steps. Ask, ‘What’s the first thing you need to put on?’ If your child can’t remember, you can help them get started by reminding them.

Getting dressed: teaching the steps backwards

A good way to teach your child how to get dressed is to break down each task into small steps and teach your child the last step first. Once your child can do the last step of the task, teach them the second-last step, then the third-last step and so on.

For example, when putting on shorts, you might help your child face the shorts the right way, hold the waistband and put their legs through the leg holes. Then teach your child the last step – pulling up the shorts to their waist by themselves.

Once your child can do this, teach them to put their legs through the leg holes and pull their shorts up. You can keep working your way backwards through the steps until your child has mastered them all and can put their shorts on by themselves.

A big advantage of this approach is that often the most rewarding thing about a task is getting it finished – and your child gets to this reward sooner when they do the last step first.

If your child is having trouble, it can be tempting to step in to help. But give your child a chance to work it out for themselves, and cheer on your child as they try. Step in only when your child really needs your help. Doing it on their own is great for your child’s confidence.

Tips for helping children learn to get dressed

If you can be positive and supportive, your child is more likely to cooperate. So a lot of praise will go a long way, even if your child has put their pants on backwards! Here are practical tips to help.

Making time

Allow a realistic amount of time for getting dressed.
If you’re often rushed in the morning, try choosing clothes with your child the night before.
When you’re in a hurry, let your child do the easy tasks and help them with the difficult tasks.
Practise getting dressed when you and your child aren’t in a hurry or tired.

Choosing appropriate clothes

Let your younger child choose from a couple of options, like 2 t-shirts. Older or more mature children might be able to choose their own clothing.
Talk about the weather when you and your child are choosing clothes. Ask your child whether it’s hot or cold, rainy or sunny.
Teach your child the difference between dirty and clean clothes. For example, ‘Dirty clothes go in the laundry basket. You can wear them again when they’re back in the drawer’.
Use simple guidelines like wearing clean underwear and socks each day.

Making it easier

Teach undressing first – it’s easier than dressing. Being able to undress by themselves can boost your child’s confidence.
Have your child sit down for dressing tasks. Sitting on the floor might be easier than sitting on a chair or bed for some children.
Store clothing in drawers and cupboards that your child can get to easily. Label clothing drawers with a picture or word to describe the clothing that’s in the drawer.
Wear clothes that have clear front and back clues – for example, a picture on the front and a tag on the back.
Make a visual guide to getting dressed, with pictures of each of the steps. Display the guide in your child’s bedroom or where your child usually gets dressed.

Some children know how to get dressed but need help with learning to cooperate. If you explain why your child needs to get dressed or undressed, it might motivate them to cooperate. For example, you could say, ‘You need to get dressed so that you can play in the sandpit with your friends at preschool’.

Helping children with disability, autism or other additional needs learn to get dressed

Some children with disability, autistic children or children with other additional needs might need support to learn about getting dressed. For example, some children with sensory sensitivities might need support to cope with the texture of different clothes on their skin. Some children with motor difficulties might need support with the physical skills needed for getting dressed. And some children with intellectual disability might need extra support to learn the steps.

If this sounds like your child, an occupational therapist (OT) who works specifically with children might be able to help. OTs can give you strategies to help your child learn to get dressed, or they might be able to suggest equipment that can make the process easier.

There’s no one right way to learn how to get dressed. You might need to help your child find a way that works well for them.

Development of skills for getting dressed

Here’s a rough guide to dressing skills at different ages. Keep in mind that children develop skills at different rates.

At one year children can usually:

hold their arms out for sleeves and put their feet up for shoes
push their arms through sleeves and legs through pants
pull socks and shoes off.

At 2 years children can usually:

take off unfastened coats
take off shoes when the laces are untied
help push down pants
find armholes in t-shirts.

At 2½ years children can usually:

push down pants with elastic waists
try to put on socks
put on front-buttoned shirts, without doing up buttons
unbutton large buttons.

At 3 years children can usually:

put on t-shirts with little help
put on shoes without fastening – they might put them on the wrong feet
put on socks – they might have trouble getting their heels in the right place
pull up and push down pants by themselves
zip and unzip without joining or separating zippers
take off t-shirts without help
button large front buttons.

At 4 years children can usually:

take off t-shirts by themselves
buckle shoes or belts
connect jacket zippers and zip them up
put on socks the right way
put on shoes with little help
know the front and back of clothing.

At 4½ years children can usually:

step into pants and pull them up
thread belts through buckles.

At 5 years children can usually:

dress without your help or supervision
put on t-shirts or jumpers the right way each time.

Tying up shoelaces is a skill that most 5-year-old children are still learning. Our handy illustrated guide to tying shoelaces outlines easy steps for helping your child learn this skill.