At what age

[Naomi]

Should children be able to dress themselves?
Tie up shoe laces?
Use a knife and a fork properly?
Get their own drinks (from the tap or the fridge)?

[Sparkles]

i think this varies dramamaticlly from child to child......and of course its what the parent teaches or expects from them or doesnt expect from them.

[old woman]

No hard & fast time line imo. As with walking & talking,some will do it earlier than others.

I would think that by the time they start school ( age 5 ) they should be reasonably competent in all of the above.
Allowences must be made however. When my my sons were in infants& lower juniors, it was the fashion for boys to wear Doc Marten boots Very strong, hardwearing boots But they sure were b......s to lace up, even for a reasonable competant adult, never mind a 5/6 yr old!!

[Heather]

Learning to tie shoe laces is one of the hardest things to teach, let alone learn. Sam was nearly 8 before he worked out his own system.
Everything else would depend on what and how they have been taught or if they have been given the opportunity to learn.

[Sparkles]

i realised the day before my DD started school that she had never put a straw in a popper juice before in her life......

[Mad Old Cow]

No hard & fast time line imo. As with walking & talking,some will do it earlier than others.

I would think that by the time they start school ( age 5 ) they should be reasonably competent in all of the above.
Allowences must be made however. When my my sons were in infants& lower juniors, it was the fashion for boys to wear Doc Marten boots Very strong, hardwearing boots But they sure were b......s to lace up, even for a reasonable competant adult, never mind a 5/6 yr old!!

I go along with OW

[Naomi]

Learning to tie shoe laces is one of the hardest things to teach, let alone learn. Sam was nearly 8 before he worked out his own system.
Everything else would depend on what and how they have been taught or if they have been given the opportunity to learn.

That's a relief to hear. Hugo can't tie laces (though to be fair, I haven't tried to teach him as his shoes have all been velcro fastened so far). I wondered particularly about the laces as the school uniform rules for Sophia's school state that after reception (pre-kinder, 4 year olds) the girls have to wear lace up shoes so obviously I'm going to start teaching her now so that in a year it's not a stress for either of us. But because Hugo can't/doesn't tie laces, I feel like I need to teach him first because he's older (I don't anticipate he'll have actual difficulties with it beyond his "I don't like trying new things" issue).

Neither of them like to use a knife. They prefer me to cut their meat and just use a fork.

And I think the drink issue is mostly laziness

[old woman]

Because a fair propotion of our children still have school meals, using a knife & fork is quite a big issue here. A lot of primary schools cater for children from the age of 3/4 through to 11, so two sittings a day for lunch. Children who are unable to use a knife & fork properly will, in some schools, be rushed & *told* "you MUST be able to do this at your age"

When my sons were in infants, some children did not know what a fork was, let alone a knife, htey had only ever eaten with a spoon, their Mums had cut all meals up to save time. One Mum even said to me, I cut it up & put it in a bowl, not on a plate, that way he doesn't mess the tablecloth up & I can get my dinner in peace.

Edit. children are happy not using knives all well & good,as I said, it's an issue here because dinner hour is actually only about 45 mins long, so staff have to hurry children along.

[LoveMyFamily]

Should children be able to dress themselves?
Tie up shoe laces?
Use a knife and a fork properly?
Get their own drinks (from the tap or the fridge)?

They are all different, but Miss 8 could dress herself and correctly use a knife and fork by 3, could pour a drink of water from the tap or jug by 4, but at 8 is unable to tie her laces.

[Sparkles]

i was one of the mothers who didnt want a mess.....
((((sigh)))) would never have bought DD an ice cream when she was little i am afraid.....

i liked doing everything....