Kindergardners and Tying Shoes

my friend is a kindergarten teacher and she really doesn't have time to do shoes. The no child left behind act put and enormous amount of increased work on the teachers.
Also if one kid gets their shoes tied then the others will say oh Miss so and so will tie them, then all the kids will want her to tie them, then she is in a jam when she tells her boss the principle she was tying 6 kids shoes ....and the lessons got backed up .... Sorry try elastic shoe laces and your son will have lots of practice and do fine in a few months. Good Luck

Look on the internet for those curly laces that don't come undone. I think I remember hearing once that putting wax on the strings helps them stay tied. You might just try buying a different pair of laces. My husband once had a pair of laces that were always coming undone, so he replaced them. Double knots really should stay put on a good pair of laces. You could also try wrapping heavy duty tape around the tied laces as a last resort.

Great, I've just found one more thing to be obsessed with teaching my four yr old before kindergarten next fall LOL. I get the idea behind the teacher NOT doing it, but isn't it a safety issue if their shoes aren't able to stay on their feet (trip and fall hazard). Good luck C.. I'm getting started on this tomorrow.

That is also what my son's teacher is saying and I do respect it. I get they are teaching them independence and trust me... our kids are doing more for them then they will for us in many cases! I have been very surprised on occasion by what my son can do that I did know he was able, as I always just did it~

Right now, we haven't really sat down with this so I just double knot the laces. I have my son watch and we repeat SpongeBob's Shoe-tying song as he likes that one and recalls it easily enough. You will have to do what works for you.

(My son was also born late Aug, but he was early... So I still am not sure if this has any impact on him with anything.)

This is a pretty normal response from the teacher. I've been told, there are two reasons for it. 1 - If the teacher starts tying shoes, she will end up spending a significant amount of her day on this task (they don't come undone only once per child per day). I can attest to this, because I have been a girl scout leader for girls as young as kindergarten. It also becomes an attention game....if you do it for one, it is perceived as individual attention, and soon even children who can tie their shoes want you to do it for them. 2 - If the teacher is not tying shoes, it gives the children incentive to learn from each other (some do know how to tie) and teaches them to work together. A great step toward independence.

Try spending just 5-10 minutes per day sitting with your son to practice tying. (Not too long, so that either of you gets frustrated) You'll be amazed at how quickly he becomes the one who is helping other tie their shoes.

there are curly laces that you can get that don't have to be tied but keeps the shoes on. Kids and seniors use them.