What are self care skills?
Self care refers to the everyday tasks we need to do to look after ourselves. These tasks include feeding ourselves, going to the toilet, hair brushing, dressing ourselves, showering, teeth brushing and more. Most of us would understand why these tasks are important – they improve our physical and mental health, make socialising easier and generally allow us to go about our days with more comfort and ease. For children, these skills are important to learn so that they can develop their independence and self-efficacy. When children struggle with these tasks, it can damage their self confidence, hinder their development, and make daily routines difficult for themselves and their family.
Practicing self care skills allows children to develop the necessary independence, executive functioning and motor skills needed when transitioning to kindy, school and other stages of life. Developing independence in the areas of self care allows children to learn other skills with confidence and keep up with their peers.
If your child is struggling with their self care skills, an occupational therapist can help. Through conducting an initial assessment, the OT will identify the barriers that are stopping the child from completing these tasks independently. These barriers can generally be divided into three categories:
- Sensory processing issues – a child may struggle to tolerate the tactile feeling of bathing, teeth/hair brushing, certain clothing etc.
- Motor issues – a child may have issues with fine/gross motor skills which may cause them to struggle with opening the toothpaste cap, tying shoelaces, carrying a school bag, sitting on the toilet, etc.
- Executive functioning issues – a child may struggle with the cognitive processing skills needed to complete self care tasks, such as initiating the task, sequencing the steps of the task, paying attention to the task at hand, etc.
An OT may support a child in improving these skills in a number of ways:
- Modifications. An OT can help to make self care tasks easier for a child through the implementation of various modification tools. Examples include a hair brush that is more gentle on the hair, a shoe horn to make putting on shoes easier, etc. These modifications can help a child complete self are tasks independently.
- Working on improving sensory issues. An OT might implement what is called ‘sensory integration therapy’ which can help children to develop their tolerance of sensory stimuli. This can help improve the child’s ability to handle the feelings of teeth brushing, clothing etc.
- Using visual prompts. An OT might introduce a visual schedule or visual instructions for a task. This can be used as a prompt for the child to initiate and sequence these tasks independently.
- Creating a routine. This can provide the child with structure and clear time prompts to initiate self care tasks. A familiar task can be used to initiate another task, for example “I get out of bed and then afterwards I brush my teeth”.
- Increasing strength and stability. An OT can work with the child improve their strength and stability if these are hindering the completion of self care tasks such as balancing on one leg whilst putting on pants, carrying a school bag etc.
- Improving fine motor skills. An OT can help the child improve skills needed for fastening buttons, tying shoes, holding a toothbrush etc.
- Improving executive functioning. Carrying out self care tasks requires a degree of focus, getting all the steps of a task correct, planning ahead, etc. which are skills that can be developed with an OT.
- Practicing skills in the child’s home. An OT may visit a child’s home environment where they can practice these tasks in a familiar setting.
- Educating parents/caregivers. This is an important part the of the treatment process. A child may only see their OT once every week or two, therefore it is crucial that their caregiver is able to implement the OT’s strategies and practice at home. Consistent practice is what tends to yield improvements for the child.
References
Kid Sense Child Development, 2023, “Self Care Skills” https://childdevelopment.com.au/areas-of-concern/self-care/self-care-skills/
Chicago Occupational Therapy, 2023, “Top 10 Ways Occupational Therapy Can Help Children with Self Care” https://chicagooccupationaltherapy.com/articles/top-10-ways-occupational-therapy-can-help-children-with-self-care/
Chicago Occupational Therapy, 2023, “Self Care and Daily Living” https://chicagooccupationaltherapy.com/ot-services/self-care-daily-living/
Child Mind Institute, 2022, “Treating Sensory Processing Issues”, https://childmind.org/article/treating-sensory-processing-issues/
Youth Living Skills, 2018, “Occupational Therapy and Self care” https://youthlivingskills.com.au/occupational-therapy-and-self-care/