Dressing Milestones

If your house is anything like my house in the morning, there are a lot of words exchanged back-and-forth between my kids and I about getting dressed. Phrases like, “Hurry up! Get your coat on! The bell is going to ring any second!” or “Your shoes are on the wrong feet! Flip them!” are currently an everyday occurrence. I’m grateful, though, that we’ve reached this point; it wasn’t long ago that my kids were babies and couldn’t dress themselves at all.  So, even though there are still sometimes coats to be zipped and the confusion of the left versus right foot, we’ve made progress!

General Guidelines

There are actually general guidelines for self-dressing skills, and by age five, many kids can fully dress themselves from head to toe (here are some other development milestones for your child).  Please keep in mind, these are just general guidelines – everyone develops at their own rate! If you have concerns about your children dressing themselves, please reach out to Solace Pediatric Home Healthcare to consult with an occupational therapist.

By 1 year, your child might be able to:

…Cooperate with dressing by putting arms in-and-out of shirt holes, legs in-and-out of pants, etc.

By 18 months, your child might be able to:

…Remove a hat

…Remove loose fitting socks

…Place a looser fitting hat on his/her heard

By 2 years, your child might be able to:

…Take-off shoes when Velcro or laces are undone/untied

…Unzip a zipper

…Zip a zipper, after an adult gets it in the right place and holds it taut

…Unbutton large buttons

…Put shoes on with assistance

…Pull down pants with assistance

…Undress in general, with help for snaps and fasteners

By 3 year, your child might be able to:

…Take off clothing that opens in the front

…Pull up loose-fitting pants or shorts

…Independently pull pants down

…Take shoes completely off

…Unzip and unsnap clothing independently

…Dress self completely with supervision and assistance

By 4 years, your child might be able to:

…Take off pullover clothing completely

…Puts on pullover shirt in correct front/back position

…Put on socks

…Fasten snaps on clothing

…Tighten shoelaces

…Put on weather-appropriate clothing without a prompt

By 5, your child might be able to:

…Take off jacket, and hang it in the right place

…Tuck in a shirt

By 6, your child might be able to:

…Tie their shoes

…Independently zip

…Select clean clothing and change undergarments regularly

…Hang clothing up