How Do You Teach Your Child to Snap Their Pants?

Show her... show her again... show her again.

There's no "trick", it's just practice. We have a Melissa & Doug "fasteners" board that someone gave us years ago and it's great! It has a zipper, buttons, snaps and a toggle (I think),so it's practicing without the stress of also getting dressed.

My son will be 5 in late May and just mastered the snap a few months ago and is pretty good (now) with large buttons and zippers. Really, it was just practice and allowing enough time for him to do it himself that made it work.

This is one of those battles I just don't bother with. My daughter will be 5 soon. She has trouble snapping some pants. It is harder for her since she cannot see them as easily. Her belly gets in the way since she kind of pushes her tummy out a bit when looking down. Buttoned pants are now easier to her and, honestly, some of those snaps are just hard to do. Others have made great suggestions. Just keep trying.

It takes practice, and time.
Have her practice when she's not rushed, like while you're folding laundry, hand her the pants and say here, can you snap these before I fold them? And make sure she has some elastic waist pants and/or leggings so it's not always an issue. Her clothing choices should be age appropriate and reflect her ability. You will need to keep helping her until she "gets" it. I know you're cranky from being pregnant but she still needs your help and patience with certain things, so take a deep breath and keep that in mind.
You could also get her one of those "dressy dolls" with buttons, snaps, zippers and laces to practice on.

My 6 yr old still can't snap most pants--takes a lot of fine motor control and strength, and he just isn't there yet.

Therefore, I've invested in what we call, "easy-on" pants, meaning, they are either elastic waistbands, or they have the larger hook & eye closures.

Patricia is right: you need to offer her a lower risk, emotionally, to practice on. Doll clothes are a great idea, and start with the easier snaps first. The ones on jeans for little one can be hard.

I agree with the elastic waist pants, too. When she's excited to get clothes with snaps, let her know she needs to show you she can learn to do the snaps. Otherwise... battle you don't want. (says the mom who tries to buy slip-on moccasin style shoes whenever possible because LO! the complaints that velcro straps cause my near-6 year old son. Who still mostly wears elastic waist pants!)

My son is 6 and I just got him snap pants because their fingers are not always strong enough or coordinated enough to do it. They just aren't. This may be the case for your daughter. Her fingers aren't strong enough to push the metal together, and she's not coordinated enough to line up the snaps. Heck, some snaps are hard for adults to deal with.

Personally, I don't think it's worth the fight. Now maybe finding a toy, or making a doll shirt with snaps on it might help. But the heavy duty snaps that are on pants are not like the little snaps on shirts.

Don't make it a battle. My son couldn't do it, and then suddenly he could. It's not worth the tears, especially if it's beyond both of your control to "Make" it happen.

My youngest son couldn't do it until he was 6. We gave him his jeans to hold while he was watching a movie and let him practice over and over and over and . . .

I agree with the others and would go with elastic pants for now.

Ditto the elastic waistband. Eventually she'll see her other friends wearing snaps and want some of those pants too. That has been my experience with my son.

Hand Over Hand that is how I taught my son and daughter to do it.

Practice, practice, practice! There are dolls and fabric books that have zippers, buttons, snaps, laces, etc., on them to give preschoolers experience and practice at learning these skills, perhaps you could find her one? Have her practice a few times a day.

Also, what I do with my guy's (4 next month) pants is adjust the button tabs on the inside waist so they won't fall off and he can comfortably pull them up and down on his own without unsnapping or unzipping, or go with elastic waist sweatpants.

It doesn't sound like she's willfully not learning to do it, her fine motor skills just may not be there yet :)

How long does it take for YOU to snap her pants without a fight. She is only 4.5 years old and may not be able to do this on her own. Encourage her with kindness and teach , teach her and teach her again with love and Encouragement.

One idea is to have her learn on a pair she is not wearing, make it fun to learn. Hormones can take over I know. But check how your acting with her, do not make her unhappy. You want her to be happy your pregnant. Good luck!

She may not have the fine motor skills to do this on her own. Be careful not to make her feel like she is "not able".. Instead, she may not be "ready" , quite yet

Google "Fine Motor" therapies.. there is a lot you can do with her. She will think it is playing, but actually you will be helping to build up her hand muscles and more control of her hands and fingers.

I got him pants with elastic waists. It wasn't worth the battle.

Both of my sons just figured it out on their own. They are both very much the "I do it myself" type, so they refused to let me help them and mastered it on their own sometime before they turned 3.

She has to want to do this. She has to have the desire to do it without your help. I don't think you can force this on her anymore than I could force my boys to let me do it for them. You're right, it just ends up being a huge power struggle.

I totally understand you wanting her to do more things for herself. I think you have to let this one go. Right now I'm willing to bet it's not that she can't do it but the fact that you are trying so hard to get her to do it that she won't do it. Maybe back off for a week or so and see if she tries it on her own.

My daughter sort of figured it out on her own too, but I think it was only recently (she's 5). So honestly, I would say drop the battle and just do it for her. She'll figure it out eventually. In fact, my daughter figured out how to shimmy her hips and pull her pants down without unbuttoning or unsnapping! She is pretty slim, so that helps, but she makes it work!

I know that with Baby #2 coming you want #1 to be more independent and she will be in some ways and not others. Hang in there, things will work out! At least she can put her clothes on by herself right?! She may not be able to snap, zip or button, but at least most of the parts will be covered without your help! :)

Say, "Put the hat on the head, and squeeze". It can kind of look like a hat with a 4 year old's imagination. ... Good luck, though. I'm still dealing with this with my 5 year old when he's got some particularly tricky snaps.

Practice makes perfect!

Since you're pregnant and don't have time for this right now, just do it for her or use elastic waist pants. There is absolutely no reason to make a battle out of this. Eventually, she will figure it out.