Hat Trick: If you are not doing so already,
be sure to wear a hat yourself. Your child will
soon see that ‘we put on our hats before we leave
our house’. A simple way to motivate your child
to wear her own!
“Fit to be tied.”
Some children will be bothered by the edges of a
Velcro closure rubbing against their chin. Others may be preoccupied with the possibility of
a snap closure accidentally snapping their skin.
Says Dr. Uyen Nguyen, a Los Angeles-based occupational therapist working with children with
sensory processing challenges, “Some children
cannot stand pressure. Others find clothes irritable and scratchy. We all have individual differences. When we accept, learn and connect, we
can find a solution.”
Hat Trick: If your child feels everything
from the seams in her socks to the tags on her
clothes, consider opting for a hat with soft straps
that tie under the chin, or just to the side. That
way, the hat can be worn snug, loose to allow
room for braids and pony-tails. Or if the hat sits
easily on the child’s head, straps can simply be
left hanging down.
“Yes-no-maybe-so?”
It’s much more challenging to encourage a habit
when we are wishy-washy about it ourselves.
Our children look to us for guidance. Help them
out by keeping your routine consistent.
Hat Trick: Hang a special hook at eye
level near the front door where her hat can ‘live’.
Upon re-entering the house, it can be her job
to help the hat go back to its home. Hang a fun
photo of your child wearing her hat, right above
the hook. Her hat will become the last thing
she puts on as she leaves the house, and the first
thing she takes off as she comes in the house.
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