Self-help clothing: Educational clothing that helps children learn independent dressing

Abstract

The self-dressing skill is an essential part of early childhood education, and independence lies at the center of it. Children do not intuitively learn how to get dressed independently, and caretakers often struggle with children’s insufficient dressing skills. Yet, there is little practical curriculum and educative methods specifically designed for teaching the procedures of fundamental dressing skills. Under these circumstances, a collection of “self-help clothing” that consists of an entire sequence of instructions intertwined into the fabric could potentially have a significant impact on improving the self-dressing skills of children.

In this study, I produce five outfits of educative and/or interactive clothing to enhance children’s self-dressing skills through playful, interactive, and educative designs. The clothing is designed for children between 2 and 5 years old as this is the age when children are likely to struggle with dressing. The collection incorporates an audio reward system, game features, and colorful details with various tangible materials while applying specific embroidery techniques.

To understand the effectiveness of the produced collection qualitatively as well as iteratively, I adopt the lean startup method and conduct user testing with 21 children and a survey with five kindergarten teachers and five parents. Through an interpretation of the findings from the reviewed literature and design work, the study illustrates how self-help clothing collections interact with users in real-life practices both physically and emotionally. It also provides a clear picture of how independent dressing influences children’s reflections on their further development. The thesis could benefit future studies on educative and interactive clothing that can lead to new perspectives and meaningful connections between children’s development and fashion.