At What Age....

[lonegirl]

Did your Child start dressing themself?

DS can pull up undies and pants, zip his jacket (if I start it). But starting from unclothed he cannot put any clothes on aside from slip on boots and shoes. He can mostly undress himself (if I undo pant buttons, shirt buttons).

I am just curious about average ages of other kids.
Thanks!!

[ollyoxenfree]

I know they could put on their own outdoor clothing - coats, boots etc. - by age 3, because they started Montessori before then. Montessori expects the child to learn independent dressing. When dd started public school in kindergarten, she often dressed the other children in their coats and did up their shoes for them.

They would have been dressing themselves - shirts, pants, etc., at about the same age, although I'm sure I was still helping them out often. Then there's always the trickier "girl" clothing - getting into fussy party dresses with zippers and bows at the back, and tights - OMG, trying to get a little girl into tights! But the day-to-day stuff they could manage at 3 or 4 y.o.

[annethcz]

I think my kids were getting themselves dressed by age 3, although needed help zipping sweaters and jackets until age 4or 5.

[sunnygir1]

Dd is a fairly dexterous 3 and has been dressing herself since around 2.5. Now she often wants help even though she is totally capable. Zippers, snaps, and buttons are hit or miss with her needing assistance more often than not.

[LynnS6]

Child #1: About age 3 with a lot of help from me (getting things oriented). He would spread his pants on the floor and then walk around to orient himself to the pants, rather than the other way around. He didn't learn to zip/button until about age 7. Snaps still are hard for him at age 8, nearly 9. But he has a fine a motor delay, so he's probably not the best comparison child.

Child #2: Began dressing herself at age 20 months, could do it fully by age 3. Learned to button and zip at age 4.

Now for both kids being able to do it by themselves and willing to do it by themselves are two different things. When dd wants to, she can get dressed in a flash. She's not a morning person, however, and so most mornings I help her get dressed (and she's 5 1/2).

[DevaMajka]

Ds1 was probably 4 before he could reliably put his own pants on. He still doesn't do so well with some buttons, at 5.5.
He has a friend that is 1.5 years younger than he is- she was completely dressing herself well before he could. lol. Ds1 just was never motivated to dress himself- he would have been happy wearing the same clothes for days.

[One_Girl]

My dd could dress herself with clothes that could be pulled on when she was two, but she often wanted me to do it for her still because I always made it a fun game so it was a way to connect with me. Sometime after three and a half she became very independent and wanted to dress on her own while I dressed myself. She can button, zip, and tie and has been able to since she was four, but I found out last year in kindergarten that she had convinced her teacher she couldn't tie or zip herself and she did the same thing this year in first grade. She can be very convincing when it means someone else will do something for her.

[Grace and Granola]

DS1 could dress himself in easy pull-ons and pullovers beforeage 3 and shoes also. DS2 is 3 years and 1 month and he can also do easy pull on type clothing. He cannot get his own shoes on unless their his crocs. But he's in a phase where he doesn't want to do anything for himself, so he's not moving forward at all in this area. He can get his bottoms off, but has a hard time getting shirts off unless their pretty loose. For both boys, I orient the clothing on the floor for them and still do it for my 4.5yo, though I don't need to!

[ShyDaisi]

Micah was about 2? Not sure exactly...He is 3 now, and it has been at least 9 months. His shirt is still occasionally backwards once all is said and done. He also can't quite start zippers. The majority of his clothes don't have buttons, so he hasn't mastered those yet.

[kittykat2481]

Ds is 27 months and I know he's been able to do most of it for a while - maybe 5 months or so? He's stubborn though, and insists on doing everything "all my by self". lol He can put on and pull up his underwear and pants. Sometimes his underwear is on backwards, but at this point I think he's doing that on purpose because the big pictures are always in teh back where he can't see them lol. If I sugest he consider turning them around, it's always an emphatic NO. He also puts his shirt on himself. I still help him with snaps and buttons. He zip zippers if I start them, and he's still working on socks and shoes. He also goes to a Montessori school, and one of the first things they did was teach him how to put his jacket on himself by "flipping" it. He puts it on the floor, then sticks his arms in the sleeves and flips it over his head.

[snoopy5386]

DD can do everything except for buttons and snaps. She is just starting to figure out zippers - she can zip one particular jacket. Undressing came before dressing. She generally wears a dress and tights each day or just a dress in the summer, so no buttons or snaps involved.

[Bellabaz]

My dd1 is three and she can pretty much do everything by herself, with the exception of buttoning her jeans/pants. She can do shirt buttons. She can do zippers it just takes her awhile. She has been dressing herself with pull up pants, pullon shirts, etc for probably at least 6 months.

[Alyantavid]

DS1 was just over 2 when he could do everything but shoes and socks. DS2 was around 3.5 before he'd actually do it. He can do everything on his own now.

[Jessy1019]

My daughter could do the basics around 2.5, my son around 3, but he is four now and still, often WON'T do it. He can, but he would rather have help.

[Maela]

Dd can pull on her underwear (although they're often backwards), pull on pants (but not zip/snap/button), put on a shirt (she does get stuck sometimes still), put socks on (they're usually twisted), and put most of her shoes on (velcro sneakers, boots; saltwater sandals she's learning). But she INSISTS on doing it all by herself. It takes her close to a half an hour to get dressed. She's 2.5yo.

[spirit4ever]

ds1 was 4ish

ds2 was 3.5, at 5 still has some difficulty with buttons/zippers

dd2 is 20 months and can do her undies, pants and sometimes her jacket!

[StrawberryFields]

Dd since she turned 2, except she cant start zippers by herself or button metal jeans buttons.

Ds since he was about 3, though he just learned to zipper a coat and button his buttons now at age 4.

Both can undress on their own.