Winter Dressing Routines:
A Learning Activity for Infants and Toddlers

by Jennifer Murphy-Hupé

Winter dressing routines can be a frustrating, exhausting and time-consuming task! However, instead of viewing this activity as a chore, parents and caregivers should consider it an important opportunity for children to learn through positive social interactions. For example, communicating with infants and toddlers during dressing and undressing routines helps them learn verbal and non-verbal cues and promotes social development, self-esteem and self-discipline. Encouraging young children to dress and undress themselves also fosters independence and the development of new skills. The following scenario provides an example of how caregivers can make winter dressing routines a learning activity for infants and toddlers.

Benjamin is an 18-month-old child who speaks very little. He and several other young children are going outside to play in the snow. One of the caregivers is bringing in the snowsuits and boots for each child and placing them in separate piles.

Benjamin is playing with bright coloured rings on the carpet near the door. Chris, one of the caregivers at the centre, walks over to Benjamin, bends down to his eye level, smiles and says, "Benjamin, we are going outside to play in the snow. Please come and we'll put on your snowsuit." Benjamin drops the bright coloured rings and crawls over beside Chris, who is now sitting near his winter clothes. Benjamin sits on the carpet beside Chris and she says, "Benjamin, it is time to get dressed."

While Chris is checking Benjamin's clothing to ensure that everything in the pile belongs to him, she says, "Benjamin, is this your hat?" and he reaches for it with his right hand and says "Mine, mine hat." Chris waits until Benjamin has his hat firmly in his grasp. Then, she picks up other clothing while repeating similar phrases, "Benjamin, is this your scarf? Is this your snowsuit? Here is one of Benjamin's mittens! Where is the other mitten?" Benjamin looks from his hat, which he is holding in his hand, to the pile of clothes in front of him. Chris lifts his snowsuit and exclaims, "Benjamin, here's your other mitt. Now, we are ready to get dressed."

Chris now begins preparing Benjamin to get dressed by unlacing his shoes and explaining, "We have to take Benjamin's shoes off first, before we go outside." Meanwhile, Benjamin has dropped his hat and is reaching down to his shoes, making verbal noises that sound like, "my shoes, my shoes." Chris turns to Benjamin, smiles and comments, "Yes, these are Benjamin's shoes. One shoe, two shoes. Now your shoes are off." Chris puts the shoes beside Benjamin's pile of clothes.

Next Chris says, "Benjamin let's put on your snowsuit." She lays the unzipped snowsuit on the carpet. Then, she asks Benjamin to sit in the middle of his snowsuit and helps him accomplish this task. "Let's put your leg in the snowsuit," says Chris. Benjamin is encouraged to find the leg of his snowsuit. He raises his right foot and Chris helps guide his foot into the leg of the snowsuit while saying, "Benjamin, you're doing a great job. Now it's time to put your other leg in." Chris also guides Benjamin's other foot. "Benjamin, you have both feet in your snowsuit. Let's find your feet? I'll need your help. You need to help me pull." Chris begins to pull on the right leg of the snowsuit. Benjamin repeats the word "pull" three times as he grasps the leg of his snowsuit. "One foot is out. Let's do the other foot," says Chris. The actions are repeated and Chris smiles and exclaims, "Here's your other foot. You did it!"

"Now, it's time to put your arms in the snowsuit. Stand up," says Chris as she assists Benjamin. "Where is your arm? Let's put your arm in the sleeve of your snowsuit!" Chris is now kneeling beside him. Benjamin has begun focusing on some other activity in the room, so Chris waits for his attention to return and repeats the same phrase. Benjamin now stretches out his right arm. Together, they put his arm through the sleeve of the snowsuit and Chris, looking straight at Benjamin, says, "Great job. Now your other arm goes in the other sleeve of your snowsuit. Oh, where's your hand? There, both your arms are in your snowsuit. Now we're ready to zip up your snowsuit. Watch your chin, lift it up a bit so we don't catch your skin in the zipper." Benjamin watches Chris start the zipper and when he hears the word "lift" he raises his head toward Chris' face.

Another child approaches Chris and says, "Look, look." But, Chris keeps her attention focused on Benjamin and states, "I can't look right now, Courtnay. I'm dressing Benjamin. I'll be with you when I'm finished."

"Benjamin, let's get your boots on your feet," says Chris as she reaches for his boots. Chris lifts Benjamin's foot to put the boot on and comments, "There's one boot on your foot, now the other." Chris lifts his other foot and places the boot on it. During this time, Benjamin is holding on to Chris's shoulder for support.

"Now all we need is your hat, mitts and scarf," says Chris. As she reaches for his hat, she comments, "We'll have to tie your hat on to keep your ears warm. Now, where are your mitts? ... Now we are all ready to go outside. Good job. You did it."

This scenario illustrates a responsive chain reaction as the caregiver responds to the child, the child responds to the caregiver and the caregiver once again responds to the child. Winter routines such as these should be a time of learning and comfort for the child and caregiver. Sensitivity is crucial in developing trusting, respectful and reciprocal relationships and partnerships between caregivers and young children. The challenge is to put children's needs first!

Janet Gonzalez-Mena and Dianne Widmeyer Eyer in Infants, Toddlers and Caregivers (1989; pp. 3-21) outline ten principles of caregiving that summarize their philosophy of interaction for infants and toddlers. The ten principles are as follows:

Involve infants and toddlers in things that concern them. Benjamin and his caregiver, Chris, did things together. Chris' primary goal was to keep Benjamin involved in the interaction and focused on what was happening to his body. In this way, Chris provided an educational experience for Benjamin.

Invest in quality time. Chris' thoughts were focused on the task of getting Benjamin dressed. Chris valued the experience with Benjamin and taught its importance to Courtnay when she tried to interrupt. Caregivers should always speak with the child, not at the child, and wait for the child to respond.

Learn each child's unique ways of communicating and teach them your's. Chris spoke to Benjamin about what was happening and her words matched her actions. When Benjamin chose his right foot, Chris followed his lead and assisted him with this foot. Chris observed and corresponded her actions to Benjamin's actions.

Invest in time and energy to build a total person. Children require time to explore their environments and express themselves. In the scenario, Chris labelled everything that belonged to Benjamin in the clothing pile, gave him the opportunity to help and waited until he had firmly grasped his hat before proceeding with the next task. Chris also described what she was doing, what Benjamin was doing and what was happening in the environment. Children need to experience stimuli that use all their senses in order to develop as whole persons.

Respect infants and toddlers as worthy people. There is no better way to gain respect for yourself than by modelling it for children. In the scenario, Chris walked over to Benjamin, bent down to his eye level, smiled and invited him to join her so that he could get dressed and go outside to play. Chris explained to Benjamin what would happen before she did anything.

Be honest with your feelings. It is important for caregivers to express their feelings honestly, thereby serving as role models for children. Immediately explain what effect the child's actions have had on your feelings without blaming, judging, accusing or belittling him/her. Caregivers should verbally state their feelings and connect them to the situation. In the first scene, Chris expressed feelings of joy and accomplishment to Benjamin using both verbal and non-verbal cues.

Model the behaviour you want to teach. If you label and model appropriate language, children will imitate you accordingly. Routines are important to help children learn about their environments and regulate their behaviour. Caregivers should encourage the "three-Rs" of interaction (respectful, reciprocal and responsive) when dressing and undressing children. Young children need to be praised for their accomplishments and encouraged to feel increasingly competent.

Recognize problems as learning opportunities and let infants and toddlers try to solve their own. As facilitators, caregivers should provide children with the freedom to solve their own problems. Caregivers can help guide children by playing label and word association games as well as by simplifying their language. Infants and toddlers respond well to very simple directions, as when Benjamin repeated the word "pull" three times while grasping the leg of his snowsuit. Infants and toddlers learn by active involvement with caregivers and by manipulating objects in their environment.

Build security by teaching trust. Caregivers build trusting partnerships through reciprocal and responsive interactions with children. For example, when Chris explained everything to Benjamin that was going to occur during the dressing routine, she was treating him like a person rather than an object. This also helped Benjamin see Chris as a dependable adult. Learning to predict what will happen is an important part of building trust.

Be concerned about the quality of development in each stage. Children should be given opportunities to use self-initiated repetition to practice newly acquired skills. It is important for caregivers to provide support and encouragement as children learn through trial and error. Praising children for their accomplishments fosters independence and helps them feel competent and in control of themselves. It is important to call children by their names and label all their clothing and possessions. Remember, patience is needed as young children struggle to put on hats, zip up coats and maintain their balance while putting on boots.

Jennifer Murphy-Hupé is an information officer with the CCCF and an early childhood educator.

Reynolds, Eleanor (1990). Guiding Young Children: A Child-Centered Approach. California: Mayfield Publishing Company.

This article first appeared in Interaction Winter, 1995, published by the Canadian Child Care Federation.

Posted by: the Canadian Child Care Federation, September 1996.

---