Watch Out Beyoncé ...
... this boy can go through more wardrobe changes than you.
“He is putting Beyoncé to shame,” my husband said as he walked into the kitchen, “He is onto his sixth outfit of the day, and it is not even nine o’clock!”
A few minutes later, Rhys waltzed in, shirtless and fashioning a pair of robot-printed pajama pants.
It has become a regular routine, switching rough, thick jeans for relaxing loungewear, often changed during the day to give my boy a bit of variety.
I pulled open the third drawer down in the chest and looked into the pile of unfolded clothes which had all been rammed back into its location. Rhys had pulled out every item to find what he had wanted, and then put all the clothes back - just in his own way!
I didn’t mind, but I did think about how I could help him in the future and communicate where the different items are to go. Possibly a picture of the item on the front of the drawer - top drawer is school items, next is t-shirts, then trousers, and lastly pajamas. It would help Rhys find his clothes neatly, and also keep my sanity at bay.
But, I was still happy.
It took a year to teach Rhys, at the age of four, how to dress. It was a process of hand-over-hand, sequences, pictures, and rewards - it was tough, and so hard when all other children his age were happily undertaking the life skill without effort. Now he was doing it all on his own.
Read more here about how I taught Rhys to get dressed.
Often we worry about our children, the ones who are late to communicate, the ones who struggle to follow society’s norms. We worry that they will never learn the simple skills. But they do. It takes a lot more teaching and a lot more patience and tools, but they get there with our support.
Rhys’ drawers may be a mess, a pile of mixed up clothes where nothing can be found, but every time he salters downstairs in a new pair of socks or tracksuit bottoms, I smile. A warm feeling expands in my chest and rises to my throat, while he casually goes about his day with no idea of what he has accomplished.
All our children will get there.
Just give them a bit more time.
Weekly Poll
Video of The Week
Toys don't need to be toys, they need to be items your children love or things you can use to create engagement. Here are some of Rhys' favourites, but if you see anything in the background and want to know about it, just comment below, and I will try to help.
Popular Posts from the Week
Facebook: Always remember the siblings, don’t make them into glass children, read what that means here.
Instagram: Rhys tidied up his stuff, what a great achievement. Check out the post here.
Facebook: Look out for those other parents in your world, and give them a nod. See post here.
Coming Up Next Week …
It’s back to school tomorrow and back to the normal routine. It is great to have everyone out of the house and back to learning, it can get tough trying to juggle work and childcare, so yay to normality.
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