What are Children’s Self-Care Skills?

Self-care skills are the skills that children are expected to do in a certain period of time, in accordance with their developmental characteristics, that are done daily and can be met by themselves.

So, what are the self-care skills of children according to their developmental stages, what should be done to develop these skills? We told you!

What are self-care skills in children?

Self-care skills are the daily routine tasks that each child is expected to do according to their age, such as washing hands, feeding, dressing and undressing. As their age progresses, as their gross and fine motor skills develop and the right guidance is given, the child gradually begins to meet their self-care needs on their own.

The development of self-care skills is very important for children’s self-confidence, independence and competence. Therefore, it must be supported.

What are self-care skills?

As the child gets older and develops some basic skills, he or she will want to be independent and be able to do some work on his own. These skills will not develop all of a sudden. Of course, these skills will differ from age to age. Let’s see how children’s self-care skills progress by age?

preschool self-care skills

We can include children aged 3-4 years in this process. Children in this age group;

• They can wash their hands and faces.
• They can brush their teeth.
• They can wipe your nose.
• They can eat their food using a fork and spoon.
• They can drink water from the glass.
• They can collect items.
• They can put on and take off their clothes (clothes without buttons, laces and zippers).
• They may wake up at night and go to the toilet.
• They can distinguish the front and back of the clothes.

Self-care skills of children aged 5-7

• They can tie their shoes.
• They can dress and undress themselves.
• They can use a knife cautiously, they can rub something on the bread with the knife.
• They can put food on your plates.
• They can comb their hair.
• They can untie and button large buttons.
• They can help set the table.
• They can open and close their zippers.
• They can hang items on a hanger where their height grows.

What can families do to support their children’s self-care development?

• You must be a model for your child first. Because especially preschool children develop their self-care skills by imitating them. At this point, it is important that you set an example for him, and that you behave in the right way by being aware of the fact that you are being examined at all times.
• Don’t expect your child to do the best or the best. Your child will learn everything by trial and error. So don’t expect him to perform well all at once. Don’t scold her if she doesn’t manage to do a simple button-up the first time.
• Don’t hold back your help. Your child needs help and guidance to succeed. You should give him small and understandable information about self-care issues and guide him correctly.
• You can make moments enjoyable. For example, holding a tooth-brushing race, reminding moments such as bedtime and mealtime with picture reminders, and a toy collection race can be ways to develop self-care skills in a pleasant way.