Dressing and undressing yourself is a fundamental skill both in everyday life and when starting school and contributes significantly to children's self-confidence. This is because children are left to their own devices at the latest when changing clothes in sports lessons. The more often preschool children dress and undress themselves in a relaxed environment, the quicker they will succeed. This also includes opening and closing buttons and zips themselves. These fine motor movements require children to have good coordination, which improves significantly as they get older. It is important to recognize that some children have fine motor difficulties at the age of 5 or 6 and are unable to open and close buttons and zips. It is therefore advisable to adapt the choice of clothing to the child's individual abilities, such as trousers with elasticated cuffs, and to regularly encourage fine motor skills through activities such as kneading or building.

Step by step towards independence
Children learn the ability to dress themselves step by step. For younger children, it makes sense to set aside a little time in the morning or evening to practice dressing. Choose simple items of clothing such as trousers without buttons or stretchy shirts. Hand the clothes to the child in the correct order and be happy about the small successes when getting dressed. Children are particularly happy about any praise from their parents. In the next phase, involve the child in choosing clothes. As soon as they become more independent, let them choose their own clothes. To avoid stress early in the morning, it makes sense for the child to lay out their clothes on a chair the evening before. Each step towards independence represents significant progress for the child, and both encouragement and support make the learning process much easier.

‍‍Overview in the wardrobe
The wardrobe is the first place where children start to make decisions about their clothes and learn about organization. A well-organized wardrobe simplifies these decisions, reduces morning stress and helps children develop important life skills. By keeping clothes organized and easily accessible, you help your child to take an active role in getting dressed, developing a sense of responsibility and self-esteem from an early age. Cluttered wardrobes overwhelm children. Here too, less is more. Therefore, only place seasonally appropriate clothing in the lower shelves. All other items should be placed higher up or tidied away. It is also easier for children to find their way around if you store trousers and jumpers separately in piles or rolled up. Socks, tights and underwear can be stored in drawers or storage boxes. Pictures on the outside of the drawers indicating the contents help younger children in particular to orientate themselves. Regularly sort out clothes that no longer fit. This will create more space and organization in the wardrobe. Involve your preschooler in tidying up their clothes. This will teach them to keep their wardrobe tidy. Just like reading and writing, keeping things tidy is a learning process that takes time and parental support. By supporting their children with patience, understanding and practical help, parents can promote self-confidence and independence when dressing and undressing and when choosing clothes.