I'm so excited to have (nearly) finished this little #isolationcreation. This is a self care station for August. It's basically an area in our bathroom where the things he needs for self-care are all at his level so he doesn't need to be picked up or supported to reach stuff. This doesn't mean that I won't help him with these tasks - he's definitely too young to sequence all the steps of brushing his teeth/ washing his hands/ brushing his hair and he certainly can't do them adequately enough, but it's a great set up to start to learn these basic self-care skills.

Creating a self-care station can have many benefits for a toddler. It begins to teach them the importance of these daily tasks and fosters their independence. It can be the difference between them being 'forced' to brush their teeth and it being something they actually want to do. There's a lot of steps involved in things like hand washing, so it's important not to underestimate your toddler and do it all for them when they could start to learn the sequence - readying them for daycare or school. 

HOW TO:
We had this 'Jimmy stand' from @mockanz already in our house. In fact we had EVERYTHING except the drinks dispenser which I got for $8 from @thewarehousenz. Jon cut a hole in the Jimmy stand to fit a metal bowl and added some wood dowelling to sort of jam the dispenser into place so it can't be dragged off by August's strong little hands. I've nabbed a mirror from the spare room to lean on there until I can get a smaller one to attach to the wall. He has his toothbrush, toothpaste, towels, hair brush, soap and skin creams. 

LANGUAGE OPPORTUNITIES:
Having this set up really makes you slow down and think about what you're doing - you can't just race through the steps when your child is participating! I talk August through every step of self care, e.g. "Let's get your toothbrush and your toothpaste, it's time to brush your teeth. I'll open the cap and I'll squeeze some onto the brush - hold it tight. Time to brush! Can I help you now? I'll help get all of your teeth clean! Press the tap - it's time to rinse!"