Putting on/Taking off shoes and jackets

[crafty]

Oh yeah getting the parents on board is a major factor. I just noticed that for me, the kids tented to do better if I ignored the resistance from them but I've only been oened for less than a year. I have not met my match yet probably LOL

[gcj]

nah...independence is SO important and sometimes they need a little push in the right direction. I have 2 2year olds as well. One can do it all no problem, and the other just sits there. I actually take his hands and place them where they need to be to pull off the heel. He got is fairly quickly...once he finally realized that he has to try if he doesn't want to sit at the door all day.
There's a way to do it. As long as your not taunting, which I know you're not, then it's all good IMO.

[Inspired by Reggio]

We call this behavior 'learned helplessness' .... they have learned that if they sit there long enough looking helpless someone else will do it for them ... we are such a society of rushed behavior that most families do not give children the time to learn and master simple things like dressing.

Children are perfectly CAPABLE of starting to do this in infancy ... a 1 year old should be able to pull their shoes and socks off and by 18 months be figuring out how to put them back on if given the time to practice this verse being told 'no don't touch your shoes'!

I actually have things like this in the dress up centre to help them 'practice' during times when we are not rushing.

I do not think you are being unrealistic at all in having this expectation ~ also agree with the others that you need to have clients on board to get quicker success otherwise if they are used to holding out long enough that their grown up will do it for them ~ they are not motivated to TRY in order to master it.

My crew are typically all 'self dressing' by 18 months with me just helping with the zippers, pulls and tricky parts if they have shoes / boots that are hold I will hold them for them while they put their feet in and so forth.

I currently have a 15 month old who can follow directions to go to his cubby and get his shoes and hat and come to the front step ~ he sits down and opens his velcro himself and hands them to me to hold the tongue back and keep the shoe in place while he wiggles his foot in himself and he than closes the velcro up .... children are VERY capable if we set them up for success by giving them the time and tools to practice and little man is VERY proud of himself to be given the time to do this ~ he gets pissy if his parents try to do it for him cause they are rushing him and do not want to give him the time to help do it.

[kidlove]

Hold your horses playfelt...lots of well needed learned behavior from all activities. crafts: manual dexterity, scissors, writing, following direction, etc. ...circle time: sitting still, hands to self, practice much needed skills such as alphabet recognition, days of the week, months of the year. vocal skills with signing rhyming and such. physical movement, learning through play, jumping, ball throwing, follow the leader, learning to sit still, follow direction, self control, mastering dexterity...the list goes on and on.....all needed for proper growth a development.

[kidlove]

completely agree with Reggio: "learned helplessness" that is all it is. Unless a child has a "disability" or "delay" of some sort, there is no reason why by the age of 2 they can not begin to if not fully master, getting dressed from socks to jacket. They are very smart and not given enough credit and due to our "rushed" society, not given enough time! So many times I have had a child "try" to do it themselves and the parent "busts" in on their effort and says "we're in a hurry!"

[cfred]

I've had kids like that too. Honestly, and people might think I'm mean, but I'd only encourage them for a couple minutes. If they don't want to even try, they can sit there. They'll do it eventually if they're not getting attention for NOT doing it. If the shoe area is near where you play, just go on your way. As soon as you see one of them take off shoes or at least make a clear effort, bring out the brass bands, throw a parade and make it a really big deal! Then you've moved to giving attention to positive behaviours instead of negative. That's what worked with a few kids I've had over the years.

[Momof4]

I'm encouraging the parents of my two under 2 children to start asking them to try to put on their own hats and shoes and take them off because it's time for them to start learning about getting dressed. By age 3 I'm hoping they are getting pretty good at it and I teach them the 'flipover' coat trick.