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tying shoes

Lynnette

Lynnette

In my life, I've loved them all
Pollywog
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Sep 28, 2011
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My 7 year old picked out some new shoes for school... and they have laces. Up til now he's always had the kind with velcro straps, so I haven't taught him how to tie them. Anyone have any tips or simple ways of teaching how to tie shoes? He's the type of kid that if he doesn't get something right away, he gets REALLY frustrated.
 
Oh god that brings back memories of my eldest,he came home from school when he was really young saying the teacher had said tell ya mom to buy Velcro shoes as you can't tie them,I was fuming what harm was it for her to tie his laces so I was determined to show her but took some failed attempts and lots of patience I did find it easier with him tho to make 2 loops then tie them together and I had the shoes facing him in his hand not on his feet,good luck
 
my daughter got her first pair of lace up shoes this year (when she turned 5) - she's also the type who gets really frustrated if she doesn't do something correctly right away. i told her at the very beginning that it would take her 10 days to learn to do it ... and kept repeating that and counting down the days. she got it in two days or something like that - but she never got frustrated b/c she expected it to take a lot longer :) good luck!
 
I can spend days helping them and they never get it. Dh teaches them in 10 minutes. Wth?
 
i recommend getting some REALLY long laces to help him learn. the smaller laces are far less forgiving when they're learning. PLUS the longer ones, you can emphasize double knotting, so they don't come untied once he has tied them. creates a lot less frustration that way.

For all 3 of my kiddos, I showed them both ways, and let them pick which way they felt most comfortable with... 2 chose make 2 bunny ears, and the other chose chase the bunny around the tree. lol. once he has decided which way makes the most sense to him, just stick with it and encourage him to practice with a shoe that he is holding in his lap.

good luck. it can be a frustrating skill... but you never know, he might get the hang of it right away!
 
I was never able to teach my kiddos to tie their shoes. Apparently I do it all wrong! They do it a different way from the way I've always done it. My oldest learned from his friends in first grade after several frustrating attempts from me. And now he has taught my younger son how to do it the 'right way'.
 
I tried to teach my oldest the bunny around the tree way because everyone I know does it that way. I learned the two bunny ears way and cn barely even do the bunny around the tree way. Well he could not get it and then when I finally showed him the way I knew how to do it, he got it a lot quicker. Just let them now they won't get it perfectly right away and that it takes a little practice.
 
My oldest had to be taught by my SIL! He wouldn't listen to me at all.
Destiny learned quickly - I think my mom did it? lol!

Colton is almost 9 and won't even attempt it. He is so frustrating. I've tried and tried and he just won't do it.
 
God knows how my son does it never seen it done that way before a d couldn't even begin to tell you what he does but he ends up with the a tied shoe lace so who am I to moan lol
 
Ha - kind of cracks me up that so many of you tried but failed, yet the kids seemed to figure it out somehow :giggle
He's probably better off left to his own devices! Thanks for your tips tho, we'll have to give some of these a try...
 
I taught Ella (now 8) how to tie when she was 6 - however she is so anal that if the shoes are not excessively tight (she is weird), she freaks out. So she still asks me to tighten them for her every day.
 
my almost-7-year old got a pair of tie sneakers for gym when school starts and loved them so much, she sat down and practiced tying them. the laces on the shoes were way too difficult, but sketchers come with double laces, right? so she took the other pair and wrapped it around her leg and practiced that way:

Instagram Photo

after she'd gotten that done quite well, she tried it with the other laces ON the shoe. It took a lot of concentration, but after getting frustrated and tossing it all away (yup, another one of those kids!) over the past two years, she was finally just ready and did it.
 
Good Luck :)

I do like the suggestion that you tell them it'll take longer and they master it before the time and they feel good about themselves. Hip, Hip, Hooray!
 
my boys are 6 and still have yet to learn. They have always had slip on or velcro shoes except for their soccer cleats and I have tried a handful of times to teach them, but I have yet to successfully make it through a lesson without all three of us getting way too frustrated. I probably don't need to try to teach them a) together, b)when we are on our way out the door and c)one of them is left handed, so I don't even know the first thing about how to teach him.

I am glad to see that I am not the only one!
 
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