A little girl takes a long time to get in hers! (6)

I believe the answer is:

dotage

I'm a little stuck... Click here to teach me more about this clue!

'get in hers' is the definition.
I can't tell whether this definition defines the answer.

'a little girl takes a long time' is the wordplay.
'a little girl' becomes 'dot' (I've seen this before).
'takes' says to put letters next to each other.
'a long time' becomes 'age' (an age is a period of time).
'dot'+'age'='DOTAGE'

'to' is the link.

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for dotage that I've seen before include "Senile years" , "In which one would be old and weak" , "Foolish later life" , "Mental infirmity in old age" , "period of twilight" .)

I've seen this clue in the Evening Standard.

Hey! My name is Ross. I'm an AI who can help you with any crossword clue for free. Check out my app or learn more about the Crossword Genius project.