Shoelaces - Easy Learning Tricks

ha ha! all i remember about teaching mine was 'B. ears' and 'dolphin dives down.'
mine learned pretty quickly when they decided it was important to them. with both of 'em i tried to teach them before they wanted to. big dud.
khairete
S.

It's fine if you want to teach him, but I wouldn't push it or be concerned. Lots of 1st and 2nd graders wear velcro.

When we were growing up we really didn't have much of a choice. Velcro means there's no hurry, and it's completely age appropriate to learn this skill a little later.

I just taught my kids to do it the same way I learned and have been doing it all my life. I can't really explain it, but I had no problem sitting with them and just having them mimic me. The lacing cards they had at preschool were great practice for this, and we had a few of those at home too.
Just sit with him, tie your own shoes, and have him watch and follow along. It just takes practice, like any other skill.

My 6 year old figured it out in the last few weeks. I tried some "tricks" that I saw online, but they didn't help. In the end, it was just me showing him over and over, while standing behind him so that I was doing it from his vantage point, and then me building the time into the schedule to let him try, and try again, and try again without feeling rushed to get out the door.

ETA: To echo Gidget's point, my other child wore velcro shoes until about age 8. I'm not concerned at all about tying shoes. However, I explained to my child that if he wants to wear pants with a drawstring (and he does), then he needs to learn to do this, because it's not his teacher's job to retie his pants every time he uses the potty. That is our impetus to learn and as others said - he's doing it now because it's important to him (he wants to wear those pants), not because I think he should learn.

My youngest mastered it this past summer so just slightly older than yours. The key is that they are interested. I tried the year before, nope - wasn't interested so it seemed much harder than it should have. So I let it go.

B. ears. They make two B. loops(ears). None of my other kids did it this way, but I have to say, it was pretty easy and quick.

She wears Velcro sneakers at school as do most of her friends still because it does take a while to master it quickly - so her outdoor/home sneakers are tied.

Good luck :)

I think "B. ears" is the easiest for little kids to remember:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kuxgs-qjmzA

But I agree not to push it. My kindergarten teacher friends tell me it often takes longer than you'd think. Kids who can't do this are working on other skills so it's not like they are "late" or "delayed" in any way.

Does he manage to get the shoes on the correct feet? If not, I've seen people cut a large sticker in half and put each half in the inside of the shoe near the arch, so that, when the shoes are lined up correctly next to each other, the two sticker halves makes a complete picture.

Old fashioned style here with solid repetition. I didn't do the B. ears, I just did the first cross over, then right side loop & then around and through from the left. It's just important they see your hands and that you are showing them facing the correct way, with the correct perception angle for them. Just have him watch like that a bit and then he'll eventually just try and it will click. No pressure, just is! I'm sure there's something to be said for the inflection in your voice too, I know I made up my own little story for each that I've taught, the loopty loops or what have you, but it was more the reassurance its a matter of fact that they will do it & it's just a matter of time!

How is your kids' fine motor skills right now? If they are pretty good then they should be able to do it. My son's weren't/aren't great, he just turned 7, and is in 1st grade. He has been tying on his own since the end of K. It took him all year to figure it out. We didn't push him but he finally made it work.

If you have a Nordstrom near you, they offer a free shoe tying class one Saturday a month. You have to reserve a spot but they give you a fun goody bag and try and teach the kids. A lot of people I know really loved it...I wasn't a huge fan because there were WAY too many kids there on the day my son went and it was chaos, but he loved the goody bag! :)

Our son stayed in velcro - but he knew how to tie his shoes before he was out of 2nd grade.
Really - velcro is great and I see no reason not to stick (pardon the pun) with what works.
I learned how to do mine the day before I started kindergarten - and I was the only one in my class who had that down - I helped tie the other kids shoes too.
It's not as crucial a skill as it use to be.

I have to agree with others that says they will do it when they are interested and willing. Forcing them just gets them totally frustrated. For my older kid, tying other things was easier than tying their own shoes. I honestly have to credited seeing their peers tie their own shoes with getting all of them to fully be ready. This was true for all. My almost 5 yr old has Velcro shoes now but this is something we will be venturing into in the near future I am sure.

I don't know if it is a on YouTube, but there is an episode where one of the older brothers teaches, Dewey, the youngest how to tie his shoes. That's the way our son learned.

The wooden lacing sneaker from Melissa & Doug was the thing that finally made it click for my kids. I have no idea why they couldn't manage it on their own shoes, but somehow this toy just worked. It only took 1-2 days and BOOM they could tie all the shoes.

https://www.amazon.com/Melissa-Doug-Deluxe-Lacing-Sneaker...

My daughter is in 3rd grade and gets extremely frustrated so she wears slip on shoes. I did see this video and it was very helpful. She tried and almost has it down, I am hoping to be in sneakers with laces soon. I hope it works for you, good luck. http://www.womansday.com/life/advice/a56252/this-is-the-e...
Just clear your browser section and copy and paste and it will bring you right to the page.

I tried everything when my oldest was young. The little boy, who was a year older, taught her how to tie her shoes in no time at all. So if you have anyone friend when kids who are a little older see if you can enlist their help.