No, let me!

Boost your child's confidence and independence by teaching her to feed, dress and take care of herself.

Learning Stages

By Tina O'Shea

Managing Editor at LeapFrog

Tina O’Shea is LeapFrog’s Managing Editor and the voice of @LeapFrog on Twitter, but to her kids, she’s the Freeze Dance DJ.

Life skills are tasks that children learn to take care of themselves. Examples of life skills are eating, dressing and grooming. These skills let children become more independent and confident.

Practice life skills throughout the day:

  • At mealtime, encourage your baby to feed herself with a spoon or with her fingers. Let her drink from a cup.
  • Encourage independent tooth brushing. Offer your baby a second brush to hold while you clean her teeth.
  • Put a stool near the sink to make hand washing easier.
  • Let her help with dressing and undressing. Let your baby pull up her own pants or take off her own socks and shoes.
  • Let her help with clean-up tasks, too. Talk about putting toys back on a storage shelf, and let her help you do it.

Don’t expect your baby to master these skills any time soon. She may put her pants on backwards. She will probably spill more than she eats. She wants to do things for herself but will get frustrated easily. Learning these skills takes practice. Offer your support and be patient. Your child is learning skills that will last a lifetime.