Dressing myself: shoes and socks

Babies love to take their socks off, they can usually manage this by themselves by the time they are 15 months old. Putting on socks is a skill that children can often find challenging, particularly for those children who experience difficulties in using both of their hands together to complete a task.

Children learn to take their shoes off first and can usually pull on wellies, slippers and slip on shoes
by the time they are 2 years old.

Socks

• Practise using loose fitting socks that are too big, they could even practice putting on your
  socks
• Avoid socks which have overly tight elastic at the ankles
• Socks with different coloured toes and/or heels can make it easier for your child to get their
  socks the right way round
• Encourage your child to sit when placing their socks on their feet, as they will be less likely to
  lose their balance
• It is often helpful for you to sit next to or behind your child when they are completing this
  task, as it will give you a more realistic view of what elements they are finding difficult. They
  may benefit from hand-over-hand support from this position
• You may find it helpful initially to place the sock over your child’s toes and allow them to pull
  the sock up
• Encourage your child to place their thumbs inside the sock to assist in pulling socks onto
  their feet
• Teach your child to gather up the sock from the top to the heel using two hands, before
  placing the sock on their toes
• Some children don’t like the feeling of wearing socks and can be particularly bothered by
  seams; you could try turning your child’s socks inside out, or buy seamless socks

Shoes

• Practise with slip on shoes, slippers and wellies first. If your child has to change shoes in
  nursery, try to avoid laces or buckles
• It is often helpful for you to sit next to, or behind your child when they are completing this
  task as it will give you a more realistic view of what elements they are finding difficult
• Put the shoes in front of your child the right way round and try the sticker trick (cut a sticker
  in half and stick one half in each shoe) to help them work out which shoe goes on which foot
• Encourage your child to sit when placing their shoes on their feet, as they will be less likely
  to lose their balance
• Get your child to look at their feet to check the shoes are on the right feet. Initially, you may
  need to position the correct shoes by the correct feet. If your child has difficulty putting each
  shoe on the correct foot you can:
  • Fix something bright onto one shoe and teach your child “bright is right”
  • Buy shoes with a logo on the outer side
  • Place shoes in front of your child in their correct position, so that the left shoe is matching the left foot
  • Help your child recognise their left and right shoe by drawing arrows inside the shoes pointing together
• Once they have mastered slip on shoes, move on to simple fastenings such as velcro or zips