Dressing – Boys
Being able to dress requires a number of different skills,
including being able to balance, having good fine motor
co-ordination (needed for doing buttons and zips) and being able to
plan and correctly sequence the order in which the clothes are put
on and orientate them in the right way. Once achieved, this allows
your child increased independence.
If dressing and undressing are difficult then it may result in
your child being slower to get to PE in school or out to play, and
slower getting down for breakfast in the morning.
Ideas to help
• Try getting your child
to dress themselves whilst sitting down, so they are more
stable.
• Help your child to
put their clothes on the right way by pointing out logos on their
clothes and telling
them that they always go
at the front or that labels at the top of the garment are always at
the back.
• Encourage your child to
lay out their clothes in the evening in the order they need to put
them on. Try
to keep this routine the
same, such as pants first, then socks, then T-shirt
etc.
• Buy clothes with few or no
fastenings. Use poppers and Velcro as they are easier to use than
laces,
small buttons and
zips.
• Practise buttoning
with large buttons and holes, perhaps on another family
member’s clothes. Practise
when you have plenty
of time.
• Button shirts from
the bottom up so the buttons and holes can be lined up correctly
and your child can
see what he is
doing.
• Buttons sewn on with
shearing elastic allow the button to be pulled further away from
the fabric. This is
very useful for cuffs
where these are harder to do and undo.
• If fastening buttons is
very difficult, try sewing up the button holes and sewing the
buttons onto the
closed holes so it
looks like they are done up. Sew a small piece of Velcro onto the
back of each button
so the shirt can just be
pressed together. You may like to just use this technique for the
top collar
button, as this can be the
most difficult, since your child may not be able to see what they
are doing.
• Attach a small piece
of string/ribbon or small toy to the eye of a zip to make it easier
to pull.
• Poppers on clothes
are also an alternative fastening.
• Choose tops with V necks
so your child can easily see which way around they go.
• Elasticated trousers
are easier to pull on and off than ones with a fastening at the top
for younger
children.
• If dressing is a real
problem for PE days in school, consider wearing PE kit under the
school uniform.
• If tying a tie is
difficult then use a tie on elastic, or alternatively make up the
tie as it should look, cut the
loop at the back and sew
Velcro to each cut side. This means the tie looks right but is easy
to put on
and take
off.
• Try teaching your child to
tie a tie by standing behind them when you are guiding them rather
than
standing opposite
them - place your hand over theirs. Good websites with pictures of
how to do it
• Choose clothes
that are easy to care for and easy to wear.
• Patterned fabrics
mask stains better than plain ones.
General
• Avoid clothes with
tight neck holes.
• Store your childs
clothes in an organised way i.e. plan drawers and cupboards so that
clothes are
stored in the order that
your child will put them on. You could also label drawers to show
what's inside.
• Storing trousers and
shirts on clothes hangers helps keep clothes
crease-free.
• Store shoes together with
a peg, so you can find them easily.
• Placing clothes in order,
either on a hanger or on the floor, makes it easier to match
colours and see
how well they go together
before putting them on.
