Let's get dressed

About the same time that a child is ready to start the adventure of toilet training, he’s also interested in dressing and undressing himself. Not only is this an important skill for the child to master for everyday life, but also one that helps the child to be successful at potty training. A child that cannot get his pants up or down or doesn’t know how to unhook his overalls is more likely to have an accident or possibly be reluctant to try at all.

Set aside some time during the day to practice getting dressed – then undressed – head to toe. Can your child undo his overalls? Zip his zipper? Pull his Pull-Ups® Underpants up and down? All of these are important skills! Here’s a list to be sure and cover when practicing:

• Put on his socks and take them off.
• Put on his shoes and then take them off (he’s too young to learn to tie now).
• Put on his Pull-Ups® and then know how to pull it back down.
• Put on his pants (work on zippers but he may be too young to do buttons).
• Put on and then remove his shirt.
• Hook and unhook overalls.
• Put on and then remove his belt (this might be a hard one to master, so consider not putting a belt on your child until he’s older).

Want to test your child in a fun way? Walk into the room with your shirt on backwards, belt undone, shoes untied and zipper not all the way up. See if he notices. Tell him to help you fix everything.