Pants Time
Child puts on their own pants from scratch — waistband management, two-leg entry, and pull-up. Parent observes how the child initiates, sequences, and completes the task with decreasing support across three attempts. Three phases: free attempt, coached attempt, and independent repeat.
Opens a guided voice session in TogetherTime.
What you'll need
Child is in underwear (or a nappy if still in transition). Pants on the floor or handed to child. Elastic waistband is easiest — use that for the first attempt. Parent stands nearby but doesn't assist physically.
How it works
- 1~60s
Hand your child the pants and say: 'Can you put your pants on all by yourself?' Then wait and watch. Don't say anything unless they completely stops and looks stuck for 10+ seconds. Where does your child start? Does they sit down, or try to stand? What happens? Tell me.
Watch for: Child initiates and attempts to put on pants independently
- 2~90s
Take the pants off (or have a second pair ready) and try again — this time you're allowed to coach with words. Use a step-by-step guide: 'Find the front. Sit down. Put foot one in. Push it through. Now foot two. Push it through. Stand up. Pull up!' Let your child do each step before moving to the next. Tell me which steps they needed coaching for.
Watch for: Child completes each step when verbally cued
- 3~60s
One more try — silent mode. Take pants off and say: 'You've got this. Do it all by yourself!' No coaching this time. Does your child do better than the first attempt? That's the mastery signal — learning from the coached attempt. Tell me what happens.
Watch for: Child improves on independent repeat after coached attempt