Big Button Practice
What you need
- their small coat, or a cardigan, with large sewn-on buttons
- a low chair to sit on
How to do it
- Sit together with the coat laid flat or on your toddler.
- Show them how to push the bottom button through its hole first.
- Guide their fingers to pinch the button and pull it through, then let them try the next one alone.
- Work up the coat together, cheering each button that pops through.
Why it matters
Pinching a button and pushing it through a hole builds the precise finger control toddlers need for dressing themselves and, later, writing.
What they're learning
- pincer grip
- pinching a button between finger and thumb strengthens the same grip used for holding a pencil.
- self-dressing
- doing up their own coat builds the independence needed for nursery mornings.
- persistence
- working a stiff button until it pops through teaches patience with fiddly tasks.
What to look for
Watch for them starting with the bottom button, a sign they are working through the coat in order rather than at random.
A tip
Start with the bottom button, as it is usually the easiest to see and reach. Pick a coat with big buttons sewn on firmly and roomy buttonholes, and keep loose buttons away.
Make it easier or harder
Easier: start with the button already halfway through so they just pull it the rest of the way
Harder: have them do up every button on the coat without help, top to bottom
