All By Myself: Getting Dressed

A child's drive for independence takes many forms, but one of the signposts is the striving to get dressed all by one's self, an admittedly tricky process for a tyke. Which way does a garment go on? Where do the arms go? And then there's that problem of getting the right shoe on the right foot (or the left on the left)! Buddy the animated ladybug provides advice for children ages 2-5 on how to dress themselves, as we watch tykes as young as two putting on shorts, pants, shirts (most are pullovers, but some have buttons), socks and shoes. To the producer's credit, most of the dressing is shown in real time, no matter how excruciatingly slow, which is very helpful as preschoolers are able to watch their peers taking their time (and sometimes correcting mistakes) as they learn. Unfortunately, the “bloopers” portion of the program is hideous: children's mistakes are played for laughs (which is completely contrary to the encouraging tone of the main portion of the tape), and the cutesy mugging and showing-off clips are tedious (or, in the case of the "come-hither” winks from a little girl, grossly inappropriate). Still, the information section of the tape is useful and this is recommended, overall. Aud: K, P. (R. Reagan)