Whether your child is just learning to tie their shoes or has been working on it for a while, these tips are sure to help your kiddo show off their favorite kicks with ease.
1. Choose the right laces
I always recommend using two differently colored laces during the learning phase. This allows kids to better distinguish what is happening, and makes it easier to differentiate laces when describing each step.
Using a slightly longer lace than is needed can also be helpful during this phase. Kids often aren’t able to use enough tension when pulling the loops tight and will accidentally pull the end of the lace all the way through, undoing the loop. A longer lace gives them more time to apply the tension and complete the loop.
2. Double up on knots
After crossing the laces to make an x, pull the top lace through the middle two times. This has two benefits. The first is that it eliminates the possibility of the knot coming undone if the child accidentally puts the bottom lace through the hole because they will always end up going around at least one time. The second is that it creates more tension on the laces, so the child doesn’t have to hold them tight while completing all the rest of the steps.
3. Play to your kiddo’s strengths
Each shoe tying method has pros and cons, so it’s important to think about your own child’s strengths when decided which one to go with. In the bunny ear method, the first and second steps are essentially the same, making it easy to remember. However, kids with coordination difficulties may find it difficulty to hold the two loops closed while tying them in a knot. The one loop method requires less coordination, and allows adults to hold the loop while the child works on putting the other lace around the loop and pushing it through the hole, but finding the hole is often tricky. There are also several alternative shoe tying methods you may have seen on social media. This one takes a little longer than the two most common methods, but never requires the child to continue holding the laces, which can be helpful for kids with attention or coordination difficulties.
