Okay, so my three-and-a-half year old is a little young, but I am curious. What age do kids start learning to tie their shoes? She's the oldest, so I have no experience in this arena. Don't worry, I won't be forcing her to tie her shoes yet. ("Tie your shoes or you'll have no ice cream for the rest of your life!" LOL) I just want to know when I should start thinking about teaching her. Thanks, Mamas!
Thanks, mamas! I'll start thinking about it when she's at least 5 and has some serious fine motor skills. =)
I guess between five and six is the average although now its later due to velcro! It really helps to have two diff colored laces, save an old shoe, put two colored laces in it and be ready when she is ready
Oh what memories shoe tying brings back. How wonderful and funny the whole experience was for me.
I tied my son's shoes through pre-school then discovered velcro. He gets to 1st and 2nd grade and he is back in shoes with laces and is now desperate to learn to tie them. He is left handed - I am right handed. Everything I showed him was backwards. We were like the two Stooges.
Then one day he announced to me he really didn't need to learn anymore because.....
all the little girls at school were tying his shoes for him.
Happy to say that now, at 14, he is tying his own shoes - although he really does it weird - bunny ear thing and all. LOL
I remember learning to tie my own before I started Kindergarten. I couldn't do it the 'normal' way though... I had to tie the first knot, then make 2 loops and tie those together. The 'normal' way came later.
Thanks to velcro, my 7 yo son REFUSES to try. Sigh. I even bought him O. of those wooden lacing shoes.
Around 5 years old or even older. I am sure there are a few out there that
do it earlier. However, most are at least 5.
In my son's 1st grade classroom, there are a couple of girls that are tying shoes. Maybe with velcro, the push is off now. LOL
I use this way to tie a shoe. It's much less prone to coming undone:
http://www.fieggen.com/shoelace/ianknot.htm
The website is really fun!
My daughter who turned 6 last June just learned around the first of December. She is highly intelligent, very articulate and personable but she just couldn't get it until that point. We never bought velcro shoes for her by the way but either I or her Dad tied them everyday.
Dont' stress over it. It is a skill that they will learn quickly once they are truly ready.
My son is 6 and still doesn't know how to do it. We've tried teaching him, he just doesn't get it...lol!
Our daughter was taught by a classmate in kindergarten, our 6 yr old 1st grade son still can't... :-) Thank goodness for velcro... My 15 yr old brother still doesn't tie his shoes... But he would be happy being barefoot year round...
They get it when they are ready and no amount of "teaching" them works... Like potty training, its all about when they WANT to... lol
Mine was 4 and could tie hers. She is very intelligent and bright and it took her awhile. They do have a book for kids that we used some. Hard back book that that shoes laces on it and you can practice on the book. They can read it and it shows them how step by step. We even practiced on a doll that has button, snaps, ties etc. We have always refused to buy velcro tennis shoes because I wanted her to learn to tie them. She is in Kindergarten now and is one of the many few that can do it buy herself. Just when she reallys knows how double know them for school, because mine complains her shoe comes untied alot so far. Hoep this helps.
My son learned the summer before he went to Kindergarten.
My husband made shoe tying SO traumatic when my son was 4ish/5ish (and then reinforced a few times a year ever since) that my 8yo son actually starts to hyperventilate and go wild around the eyes whenever the subject of tying shoes comes up. Seriously. Panic attacks.
Of course:
- His hiking boots have zip ties
- His snowboard boots have "pulls"
- His sneakers are velcro
- His skate shoes tie, but slide on and off
- His sandals are what he prefers to wear
The ONLY shoes he owns that need to be tied and untied are his soccer cleats. And if we bought the more expensive ones, they'd be clipping, not tying.
My mum says laces that have to be tied are old technology, like the boot hooks she used to have to lace her boots with as a kid. More and more, I'm inclined to believe her.
Many kids here didn't learn until 2nd grade which REALLY upset the teacher. They have a rule against tying shoes for K kids even. Here, 5 is expected, but many don't have the fine motor skills so velcro on tennis shoes is a blessing.
