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How to zip a jacket

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    Zip it up
    Once your child can put on a jacket, she'll be eager to learn how to zip it up, but it takes time to master this complicated skill.

    "Zipping up takes fine motor skills and motor planning, which means thinking through the steps you need to take in the order you need to take them," says Nan Bleemer, a New York City preschool teacher and mother of two who advised BabyCenter on this slide show. "And then you have to put the steps into practice. That's hard for kids."

    Until the age of 5 or 6, your child will likely need help zippering.

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    Step 1. Learn the parts of a zipper
    While you probably won't use all of these terms when teaching your child to zip – you're more likely to say "Now you pull this part down to the bottom" and so on – they'll help you understand what's happening in the photos so you can explain the process.

    1. The teeth: the pieces that run along the edge of each half of the zipper

    2. The pin: the long, thin rectangular piece at the bottom of one set of teeth

    3. The box: the square at the bottom of the other set of teeth

    4. The slider: the mechanism that moves up and down and should sit right above the box when it's at the bottom

    5. The pull-tab: the piece attached to the slider that acts as a handle

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    Step 2. Put on the jacket
    Smooth the front so that it and the zipper lie flat against your child's body.

    Any bumps in the zipper will make the job harder.

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    Step 3. Line up the slider
    Push the slider all the way down so it's resting on top of the box.
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    Step 4. Separate the jacket sides
    Using both hands, have your child grab hold of the bottom of each zipper side.
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    Step 5. Connect the slider and pin
    Have your child pick up the side of the jacket with the pin in it and slide the pin into the box on the side of the jacket with the slider.

    Make sure the pin goes all the way through the slider and into the box.

    This is the tricky part. If the two pieces are not completely connected, your child won't be able to pull up the zipper.

    It helps if your child can keep the jacket front smooth and flat.

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    Step 6a. Zip it
    Ask your child to grab the pull-tab and slide it up while holding tight to the bottom of the jacket where the pin and box are connected.

    She should continue sliding the zipper...

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    Step 6b. Zip it
    ...until the zipper reaches the top of the jacket or just reaches the point where your kid wants to wear it.
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    Step 7. Keep practicing
    If your child is having trouble, lay the jacket on the floor so that the zipper is facing her and practice the pin-into-box-then-zip-up maneuver until that step is easy to manage. Then have her give it a go once more while wearing the jacket.

    Looking for another skills builder? Try teaching your child how to cut with a knife.


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