Tying Shoes - New Baden,IL

Kids used to learn a lot earlier, now kindergarten is a pretty typical time. The best way to teach her is to take the laces out and practice tying knots with just the laces. Or hold the shoe and tie the laces while it's in her lap. Once she's mastered the way to tie, then put the shoe back on her foot - because it's a difficult position to learn in. And yes, show her the "correct" way to do it, so you're tying from the same angle she will.

My 4 yo has always been alot more motivated to learn that stuff herself - she just mastered it this week. My 5 yo (almost 6) cannot do it and doesn't care. I am not pushing her. She'll get it. She is reading on her own now, so I figure rather than push her to do what she is not interested in, I will encourage what she is interested in.

Our neighbors little girl learned the summer between kindergarten and 1st grade. Our son learned in the middle of kindergarten and our oldest dd is in preschool and is on the verge of having it mastered.

Point is - they all learned on their own time and when they are ready. Just practice casually and make it fun.

I have heard that using 2 colored laces help too.

Good luck

I started with showing them the right way which they couldn't get so I went with make two loops and tie them together. Somewhere along the way they learned the right way but at least they could tie them if they came undone in school.

It's easier on the teacher if most kids know before K. Let her hold her shoe in her lap to practice at first, once she gets that, then move to it being on her foot. Also at first when you show her, hold your shoe in your lap and sit next to her, showing her side by side. Start now and have a goal to practice 2-3 times each day - shouldn't take more than 10min and I'm sure she'll have it mastered by K!

MIne is 5 and cant tie yet, She is trying, and I bought her a Book that is called Laces... its a interactive one, where there are laces of all types and lengths on each page, and it give you an example and directions. So you can practice all you want closer to your face. I also let her just try on her shoes every now and then. She almost has it. When I hover over her and try to show her too much she loses interest too fast and seems flustered.

We had my daughter practice on our shoes as it seemed to be easier for her to handle.

Our daughter did not get it till she was in kindergarten and one of her classmates taught her during rest time!

She also did not have great fine motor skills when she started kinder.. We worked on these motor skills for a few weeks and boy it made a huge difference.

I just need to interject here...tying shoes isn't all it's cracked up to be. My dd tied them by 2nd grade...but never tied them tight enough so I'd do it for her anyway. Even now that she's 8, she ties them just fine, but not tight enough so they're always coming untied when she does it herself. She has very narrow feet, so the tie shoes have to be really tight...sometimes I have to tie a string around the bow so they stay tight...she can't do all that by herself.

They eventually get it as they get older...I don't think tying shoes shouldn't be part of the school curriculum...they need to focus on real learning, not something that isn't even used that much with velcro.

I never worry when my dd doesn't know how to do something like this...eventually, if you wait long enough they pick it right up.

I was just talking to a friend about this. She heard an idea where you take the top of a shoe box, punch holes like a shoe, lace it up and let them practice. Then you take it to their own shoes.

My kids learned how to tie thier shoes by practicing on someone elses. They would go around tying everyone laces in the family. First you show them how it's done and then they would randomly practice through out the day on thier siblings or myself or my husband. Just make sure that they don't knot the laces. My girls where 4 and 5 when they learned and the boys where about the same age.

NO STRESS!!!

Which you probably wouldn't anyway... But my husband made shoe tying so traumatic that for 3 years my son would go into panic mode, and 4 years later still won't tie them.

I would think it was just my jerk being a jerk, but ive met soooo many 4th & 5th grade parents who ran into the same problem. They made shoe tying stressful, and their kids freaked and couldnt tie shoes for years following.

The thing is... Laces are 'old technology'. There are still lots of shoes with laces, but there are as many if not more, without sort of like how boot hooks went out of vogue 2 generations ago. Velcro, slide ties, elastic laces, zippers, even hook and eye (which laces bumped out of fashion) are everywhere. Add in boots and slip ons, and laces are just one option of many). Neither my kid not the other 9 & 10 year olds who don't tie their shoes have problems with other knots - we sail, he does knits galore), it's just the shoe thing.