Want to learn how to teach kids to tie shoes? Check out some of our favorite pediatric OT-approved methods!
One of the most common child development questions we hear from parents and teachers is how to help kids learn how to tie their shoes!
For some kids, this skill doesn’t come naturally and it’s easy to see why…just think of all the skills involved in tying your shoelaces! Fine motor skills, visual motor skills, attention span and patience, memory, and, of course, the motivation to want to be independent with this skill in the first place. Unfortunately, learning to tie shoelaces can become frustrating for kids very quickly.
To keep those little spirits up and motivated, here are some of our favorite shoe-tying methods and tips. And, don’t miss these free printable shoe lacing cards!
This one is awesome for kids who are struggling with grasping and stabilizing the laces:
Verbal Instructions:
-Grab your laces and make an X.
-Place the top lace under and through the hole.
-Pull tight to make a knot.
-Now you will repeat.
-Grab your laces and make an X.
-Place the top lace under and through the hole.
-Now pull just far enough to make/leave a little circle.
-Drop the laces.
-Take one lace and put the end through the circle.
-Pull it through until there is just a little loop left on top.
-Now take the other lace.
-Put the end through the circle and pull until there is just a little loop left on top.
-Now pinch both loops and pull it tight.
-Good job!!
This one is great for helping kids remember all of the steps involved in the process using a little story:
Verbal Instructions:
-Make an X.
-Pull the top lace through and pull it tight.
-Make one loop (holding it tight at the bottom) – this loop is a “tree”.
-The other lace is going to be a “bunny”.
-The “bunny” runs around the “tree” and goes into his “hole”.
-And then you pull the loops tight!
*I find that a lot of kids want to put the end of the lace through the hole rather than pushing the middle of the lace through to form the other loop. So I tell them that their bunny has to go in “head first” not “tail first”.
Here’s another cool, SUPER quick way for kids to tie their shoes:
Other tips, strategies, and ideas for shoe-tying:
-Try No-Tie shoelaces
-Color one lace a different color to make verbal instructions clearer (ie. “make a loop with the red lace”)
-Use a shoe tying book for repetitive practice such as Red Lace, Yellow Lace
-Velcro shoes for independence in the meantime while kids learn to tie shoelaces
Looking for specialized shoe options?
Help kids who wear orthotics gain independence with putting on their shoes. Learn how to choose the best shoes for orthotics.
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