Wednesday, January 21, 2009

WFMW: Myself Belts - Teaching Toddler Independence and a GIVEAWAY!

When Bean potty trained and started wearing normal underoos, her pants went from fitting normally to perpetually falling off of her non-existant hips.  Elastic waisted pants were easier and didn't droop.  But the jeans and khaki pants?  She'd either run around with one hand constantly yanking her drawers up, or the pants would fall down around her knees by the time she'd slow down enough for me to hike them back up.

It was driving me INSANE.

So I bought a few regular belts and those did the job quite nicely.

Except the poor kid could not for the life of her figure out how to undo the belt and get herself to the bathroom when necessary.  When she'd try, half the time, she'd end up having an accident because it'd take so long.  It actually set us back as she started to be extremely reluctant to go to the bathroom on her own.

So a solution needed to be found.

Enter Myself Belts.  Created by enterprising moms who not only saw the same problem I saw, but put their efforts into finding a solution.

Myself Belts are made with a snap on one end that fastens onto a belt loop and a piece of velcro on the outer side of the snap.


 The other end has a corresponding piece of velcro so that when the belt is threaded through the loops, the loose end can be fasted onto the stationary piece with one hand.


 (Much clearer instructions here). 

This belt is absolutely awesome.  Bean loves being able to do it one handed and by herself.  I love not having to correct her plumbers crack every time she wears a pair of jeans.

The belts come in leather, patterned webbing, and metallic patterns.  From fancy to casual, there's a belt for every occasion for every kid.
We're on our second belt here, having grown out of the first one.  I can easily say that we'll continue to purchase these for our kids as long as they need them.  I would suggest ordering a size bigger than what you'd think you'd need as it's easy to cinch the belt tightly, but not so easy to cinch it at all when it gets too small.

Myself Belts also make larger sized belts for special needs adults and teens with dexterity problems.  I love that.

For one of you lucky readers, the generous creators of Myself Belts have agreed to give away a belt!  Comment on this post by February 4th with your favorite item or way to help you kid gain a little independence and I'll randomly chose a winner on the eve of February 4th.  The winner will get a girls belt or a boys belt in the size of their choosing!  Best wishes!



Things that teach my kiddos independence work for me!  For more WFMW tips, visit Rocks in My Dryer

19 comments:

  1. Oooh! Oooh! I want one!!

    And can we borrow that one that doesn't fit Bean anymore?

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  2. Oh those are too darn cute! I'd love to win the pink cord one for my little girl who will start potty training in a few months.

    And for a tip for developing independence...I have one rule. Rarely do for a child what he can do for himself. :)

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  3. Awesome idea!

    Zachariah and Morgan love to be involved in the cooking process. We let them stir and pour ingredients into food we are making. This not only teaches them how to do it and hopefully stick with them for the future when they have to cook for themselves, but also helps them to know what is going into their food and that they had a hand in making it. This also sometimes has helped to get them to eat it as well. Hope I didn't take an idea from my wife.

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  4. I love that idea!
    Thanks for the idea and the giveaway!
    My 4 year old just doesn't wear a belt because it's so frustrating.

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  5. That is a really neat idea! Entrepreneurial moms are the BEST.

    I try to teach my little one (under 2 years) independence by not running into his room the moment he wakes up, I don't make a big deal out of little things, and I give him time to play with his toys and books by himself so he learns to use his imagination.

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  6. No, Kaleb, you didn't take mine, but it WAS a good one!

    I would have to say that one of the things that promotes independence in the kids is actually helping with the chores. Whether it be putting their clothes away, putting their dishes away, Zachariah likes to help wash the dishes as well, or even getting out cups, spoons or plates for the cereal they picked out on their own or their sandwich to fit on.

    Kids love feeling like they are in charge and what better way than to just let them do things on their own? It may take longer, but imagine their little happy faces when they complete it!

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  7. Those are SO cute and solve such a big problem. I love them! I have always just put my boys in drawstring pants or something like that. I have to work hard to find decent pants that are not all sweatpants!! These are perfect. I bookmarked the site. Of course, I would really love to win. I like any of them but I guess I would pick the camouflage one first.

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  8. V needs those! still wears diapers but is thin enough that her pants are always showing off that crackle!

    let's see ... independence. we're trying to potty train, but since she's not that interested (but certainly old enough) i put the diapers where she could get to them so she can change her heavywets herself.

    though that may be more for me than for her. ;)

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  9. Great product! I like the Airplane belt the best, so cute!

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  10. Those are pretty cool. My little guy is a little on the slim side and usually ends up wearing pants that are short so they fit his waist. I might have to try belts like these.

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  11. WOW I have been looking for a solution for my son's perpetual plumber's backside!!! Thanks for the opportunity to win!

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  12. OH I forgot my tip, I have a little wooden stool that stays in the kitchen and in the bathroom for when my son "needs" something. At 5 he can now make his own pb&j (with supervision) and doesn't need to move chairs to reach the counter. I know this seems like a no-brainer, but it has opened up a whole world for my guy!

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  13. The belts are super cute. Reese is tall for her age so to get pants long enough fo her everything is too loose.

    Everyone in my family loves to cook so Reese always helps. She has 4 aprons already. Her favorite thing to do is crack eggs. She does a very good job cracking the egg on the egde of the bowl and then getting her little fingers in to finish opening it up. All the egg stays in the bowl and most importantly she doesn't touch anything till she washed her hands.

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  14. I love the black leather! My 4 yr old's 3T pants are always falling down. We have learned to wear belts but they are so hard to get off and the preschool teachers hate them (I'm sure).
    For my tip: My children from about age 2½ learn how to unload the dishwasher. We start with a stool and silverware they use sorting skills as they put forks knives and spoons into the organizer. Then we graduate to other dishes to be stacked on the counter into piles of like items which mommy puts away. Eventually they are able to put everything away themselves which facilitates setting the table too. They already know where everythign goes!

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  15. I love the idea! If I won, I would love a solid navy one. B/C I think it would match more stuff than some of the cuter ones.

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  16. This is perfect timing! My 3 1/2 year old is wearing 24 month pants and they are STILL falling down. It is so hard to pick just one of the cute belts. I'd probably first go with the navy belt since she has so many pairs of jeans.

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  17. What a great idea! Leah isn't ready for potty training, but these might even help now. When we travel and use disposable diapers instead of cloth, her pants are constantly falling down. but the size smaller are too short.
    The brown canvas belt might be just the thing!

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  18. I couldn't wait for the drawing. I went online and bought TWO today. There is free shipping on 2 or more!

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