In my therapy practice, I often work with kids who struggle with dressing skills and with completing clothing fasteners independently.
Sometimes, kids have difficulty because of fine motor coordination and dexterity issues. Other times, hand strength is the problem. But in the case of my 5-year-old at home – it’s all about frustration tolerance.
He can be a little bit stubborn and more than a little impatient (not sure where he gets that :). This fall, when I brought the longer socks back down from the attic (he had gotten used to wearing shorter athletic socks over the summer), he realized that he couldn’t get them on by himself. And He. freaked. out.
After helping him the first few times, the OT light bulb in my head went on and I came up with a super easy, low/no cost idea to help him. A DIY sock helper!
WHAT YOU’LL NEED:
-A sharp craft knife
-A permanent marker
-An empty laundry detergent bottle, or other sturdy plastic container
-String or an extra long shoelace
WHAT TO DO:
1 – Draw an oval shape on your plastic container that is slightly wider at the top.
2 – Use your craft knife to cut the oval out of the container.
3 – Poke 2 holes near the top of the oval with your c
raft knife.
4 – Thread the ends of your string through the holes and tie tight knots.
5 – Pull the sock up over the end of the plastic oval.
6 – Have the child put his toes into the end of the sock, using the oval like a shoe horn.
7 – Have him use the strings to pull the sock onto his foot as he pushes his foot forward.
Here’s a video to show how it works:
8 – He may need to adjust the heel of the sock and/or pull it up the rest of the way.
9 – Celebrate success! :)
