How to tie shoelaces
 

How the heck do you teach a child to do it? DS1 is 5 1/2 yo. Tried this
morning, again. He couldn't/wouldn't even copy holding the laces 5cm from the
thumb knot (the knot you make to start), let alone *make* the thumb knot.
Fortunately his school shoes have velcro -- a deliberate choice by me!

At what age do kids typically learn to tie their shoelaces? And how do you
teach it?

--
Chookie -- Sydney, Australia
(Replace "foulspambegone" with "optushome" to reply)

"Parenthood is like the modern stone washing process for denim jeans. You may
start out crisp, neat and tough, but you end up pale, limp and wrinkled."
Kerry Cue

How to tie shoelaces
 

"Chookie" wrote in

At what age do kids typically learn to tie their shoelaces? And how do
you
teach it?

Hunter was 6yo and Luke was 4yo. I teach the make one loop and then rap the
other lace around it but there are many many ways to tie a shoe. I googled
it once. I thought Hunter would never learn but he finally did ;-) Luke
was quite young IMO but he has pretty good fine motor skills and is
extremely determined about things like that.


--
Nikki, mama to
Hunter 4/99
Luke 4/01
Brock 4/06
Ben 4/06

How to tie shoelaces
 

"Chookie" wrote in message
...
At what age do kids typically learn to tie their shoelaces? And how do
you
teach it?

I learned it before kindergarten, watching either Romper Room or Hobo Kelly
on TV. This means I learned the "two rabbit ear" method, whereas my husband
learned the "rabbit through the hole" method. Which, of course, we each
tried to teach the kids, confusing them greatly, until they learned it in
kindergarten with yet another story: Something about snakes in the grass,
then the bunny hops up, another bunny chases around it into the hole". I
think they tie shoes like my husband.

I do know, from coaching and watching years of soccer, that it isn't
apparent to most kids what you mean by double knotting your shoes. :-)

How to tie shoelaces
 

"Chookie" wrote in message
...
How the heck do you teach a child to do it? DS1 is 5 1/2 yo. Tried this
morning, again. He couldn't/wouldn't even copy holding the laces 5cm from
the
thumb knot (the knot you make to start), let alone *make* the thumb knot.
Fortunately his school shoes have velcro -- a deliberate choice by me!

At what age do kids typically learn to tie their shoelaces? And how do
you
teach it?

DS is 5yo and he's got the first step down, crossing one lace under the
other. Now, I've just got to show him to make two bunny ears and cross them
again. The two bunny ears method was what I remember learning first as a
child, then I graduated to the more common method later on. Anyway, to
answer your question, our school requires the children know how by first
grade, because the teachers don't want to tie 30 children's shoelaces
several times a day.

How to tie shoelaces
 

"Chookie" wrote in message
...
How the heck do you teach a child to do it? DS1 is 5 1/2 yo. Tried this
morning, again. He couldn't/wouldn't even copy holding the laces 5cm from
the
thumb knot (the knot you make to start), let alone *make* the thumb knot.
Fortunately his school shoes have velcro -- a deliberate choice by me!

At what age do kids typically learn to tie their shoelaces? And how do
you
teach it?

I remember wondering the same thing, and finding one of the most difficult
parts of parenthood ;) I thought she would never get it. I think she was 6
ish when she finally did, and I know some of her friends were even later.
She used to try to always get us to do it for her, but we insisted that at
least most of the time, she at least had a go. They'll get the idea
eventually, just one step at a time.

Jen

How to tie shoelaces
 

"Chookie" wrote in message
...
How the heck do you teach a child to do it? DS1 is 5 1/2 yo. Tried this
morning, again. He couldn't/wouldn't even copy holding the laces 5cm from
the
thumb knot (the knot you make to start), let alone *make* the thumb knot.
Fortunately his school shoes have velcro -- a deliberate choice by me!

At what age do kids typically learn to tie their shoelaces? And how do
you
teach it?


Ds was at least five or six when he got it down. We finally separated it
from shoes and used a small diameter rope tied to the back of the dining
room chair. He was able to more easily see what he was doing, the rope was
larger and easier to handle [don't use nylon rope as it is slippery and
doesn't hold knots as nicely] and he could stand or sit as he chose.
Several days of prescribed practicing were used after he got it so he could
develop more confidence. The bunny ear method others describe is the most
common i've heard of. There are, however, on line sources with many other
methods, some of which result in quicker tied knots.

-Aula

How to tie shoelaces
 

"toypup" wrote in message
et...
DS is 5yo and he's got the first step down, crossing one lace under
the other. Now, I've just got to show him to make two bunny ears
and cross them again. The two bunny ears method was what I remember
learning first as a child, then I graduated to the more common
method later on. Anyway, to answer your question, our school
requires the children know how by first grade, because the teachers
don't want to tie 30 children's shoelaces several times a day.

I must say that the more you talk about your school, the more I
dislike it. I'm glad it's a good fit for you, but gosh, it seems like
they are just chock full of pressure about almost everything. Do they
require kids to wear tie shoes too? One of the most popular styles of
sneakers at the moment are no-tie. They are permanently laced with
somewhat elastic laces, and you just slip them on. Then of course
there are the Velcro styles that have been around for years. I also
found that if I tie the shoes in the morning with a double knot, they
will generally stay tied until I untie them.

My kids are 8 and 11. They can both tie their shoes, but the 8 year
old still has problems getting a tie that's really tight enough. I
can't honestly remember when they each learned though.

Bizby

How to tie shoelaces
 

On Sat, 26 Aug 2006 13:17:05 +1000, Chookie
wrote:

How the heck do you teach a child to do it? DS1 is 5 1/2 yo. Tried this
morning, again. He couldn't/wouldn't even copy holding the laces 5cm from the
thumb knot (the knot you make to start), let alone *make* the thumb knot.
Fortunately his school shoes have velcro -- a deliberate choice by me!

At what age do kids typically learn to tie their shoelaces? And how do you
teach it?

E (6 you) hasn't learned yet. I just recently bought her shoes with a
"Z strap" that has velcro on one end.

Nan

How to tie shoelaces
 

"bizby40" wrote in message
...

"toypup" wrote in message
et...
DS is 5yo and he's got the first step down, crossing one lace under the
other. Now, I've just got to show him to make two bunny ears and cross
them again. The two bunny ears method was what I remember learning first
as a child, then I graduated to the more common method later on. Anyway,
to answer your question, our school requires the children know how by
first grade, because the teachers don't want to tie 30 children's
shoelaces several times a day.

I must say that the more you talk about your school, the more I dislike
it. I'm glad it's a good fit for you, but gosh, it seems like they are
just chock full of pressure about almost everything. Do they require kids
to wear tie shoes too?

No, they don't require them to wear tie shoes. The dress code is very
strict, though. It's really not a good school for everyone, as you can see.
The level they are teaching at is just right for DS, but too advanced for
some kids. I don't think that should be, but oh well. At least it suits
DS. They are very strict about a lot of things, but DS likes structure, so
it works for him.

One of my coworkers put her children in that school because they did not
like structure and she wanted the kids to be more structured. It was a
complete clash for them. When she finally transferred them out, she said
they were so happy because there were fewer rules.

How to tie shoelaces
 

Chookie wrote:
How the heck do you teach a child to do it? DS1 is 5 1/2 yo. Tried this
morning, again. He couldn't/wouldn't even copy holding the laces 5cm from the
thumb knot (the knot you make to start), let alone *make* the thumb knot.
Fortunately his school shoes have velcro -- a deliberate choice by me!

At what age do kids typically learn to tie their shoelaces?

IME, 6-7.

And how do you
teach it?

I used to work at the kid's drop off at a YMCA. This is one thing I
taught to the kids because I had 1-1.5 unstructured hours with each of
them every day, so I looked for positive ways to use that time.

I used the "Here's the tree, the rabbit runs around the tree and into
the hole" method.

-l.