Put on sandals

#sandals#shoes#getting dressed#going out#feet

The right foot, toes all the way forward and then the strap through the buckle – for small fingers, sandals are a fiddly job that easily drags on. The steps below break it into calm parts your child can manage alone.

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Putting on sandals

A boy puts on his sandals.

About this visual support

Sandals look simple, yet they hold several fine-motor moments: finding the right foot, getting the toes all the way forward and guiding the strap through the buckle without it twisting. When it is time to head out, the legs already want to run, and that last buckle easily turns into a small struggle.

When each part gets its own picture, the job feels less overwhelming. Your child can focus on one moment at a time, first the foot and then the strap, and the feeling of managing it alone means the sandals are on before the door opens and the pace outside takes over.

A hands-on trick: put a small dot in the left sandal so it is instantly clear which is which, just as the picture tells right from left. Let your child practise in peace at the weekend, when no one is waiting at the door, so the knack sits better on a hurried weekday morning. In Routined you can place the sandal steps in the summer routine and add a short timer, so waiting for that final buckle becomes a little easier to bear.