Taking Off Socks
The very first dressing skill works backward: we take off before we put on.
Taking Off Socks is a Montessori activity for a child aged 12 to 18 months. Area: Practical Life. Time: 5 min.
What the activity builds
Remove a simple piece of clothing on their own, and discover that a foot can slide free of a covering.
The materials
- Socks a little loose, easy to slide off
- A spot to sit on the floor, back supported
- A basket to drop what gets taken off
How to do it, step by step
- Sit on the floor facing them, legs stretched out.
- Slowly take off your own sock, pulling from the heel first.
- Pull theirs down to the middle of the foot, then stop and wait.
- Let them finish the motion, even if it takes ten tries.
- Point to the basket and let them toss the sock in.
The parent's role
Show once, then step back. The heel is the real challenge: set it up, then pull your hands away. Plenty of parents finish the motion out of habit, and the child loses exactly the part they could have pulled off themselves.
Safety
Never leave your child alone with socks or clothing around the neck. Check that no thread is coming loose: a thread wrapped around a toe can tighten without anyone noticing. Put the basket out of reach after the activity.
You remain the sole judge of what is right for your child. These activities are offered for educational and recreational purposes: they do not replace medical advice or the guidance of an early childhood professional.
Ways to adapt the activity
- Easier: the sock already pulled down to the toes.
- Harder: a hat, then an open jacket.
- Extension: they take off their own socks coming home, every day, in the same spot.
Up next
More activities for a 12 to 18 months child.
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