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Put on child's coat.
Put on the gloves.
Put on the hat, while child takes the gloves off.
Put on the gloves.
Instruct child to leave gloves on.
Put on your own coat, while child takes the hat off.
Put on the hat.
Instruct child to leave hat on.
Put on your own mittens and scarf, while staypuff marshmallow man child has fallen on the floor and can't get up.
Get child up off the floor, and start to head out the door.
As you are walking out the door, you realize your child doesn't have shoes on.
Put down all of your things and put child's shoes on.
Head back out the door.
Child says, "Mommy, I'm poopy!"
Mommy has a meltdown.
The End.
Really, this is at times such a trying experience~ and can add SO much time to the morning!
So. I have a tip. I got it from my fabulous mom, which is kind of ironic because she raised her children in the US Virgin Islands and San Diego, CA, where I'm pretty sure she had no need for the tip.
The tip changed my life. (Relatively speaking...)
Teach your 2-year old to get his coat on by himself. You still have to zip it for him, unless he's a fine-motor skill developmental wonder...
First, put the coat out on the floor with the arms out and the front open a little.
Have your child stand on the hood side (this seems counter-intuitive, but trust me...)
Teach child to put his/her hands in the arm holes and flip the coat over the head.
Voila, the coat is on!
This might not seem like an important revelation, but think of all the things you can do while your child is getting on his own coat! And, it teaches self-discipline.
2-year olds LOVE to do things by themselves. Win-win, I say!
Hope it helps you!
Oh, and if you haven't already been able to tell, I'm ALL for kids doing things themselves as early as they can, which is why I was positively GLEEFUL to discover the coat thing.
This sometimes backfires on me, though:
6 comments:
Isaac rocks!! Great idea, Gramby!
I love the shoes! In Oregon we don't have it quite as bad but it is the same idea. It takes forever when there is rain, ice or snow outside. It seems like when the are all dressed someone has to go to the bathroom. The coat thing is awesome. That is what we do too. Works well. : )
Jenny, I just had a great "laugh-out-loud, I have to read this to my husband" moment reading your blog. Can I share your "getting out of the house" write-up in my MOPS newsletter sometime this winter??
Heidi (Maier) Songer
So funny and so true! Unlike her brother, Eleanor learned coat trick rather quickly. Her version is to put the hood on her head backwards and then start spinning it around put the one arm in, spin the rest of the way on her head and then the other arm. This is good for more flimsy jacket like coats.
Oh my goodness, that shoe thing at the end is priceless :)
Great tip! I'm all for starting them young too!
(and your comment as your daughter today had me so confused, thank you for the clarification...I get it now. LOL)
oh, i SO love the shoes at the end. in my head: kids look coordinated and adorable when we leave the house
in reality: pretty much isaac and the mismatched shoes is our reality over here!!!
love it!
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