"Mum, I'd rather wear the ones with the strap!" – tying the shoelaces on lace-up shoes is a real challenge for children, who therefore often try to avoid it. What to do if they just can't seem to get the hang of it? As being able to tie their shoelaces by themselves marks an important stage in your child's development, we have compiled the best instructions and tips for parents here, so your child will learn how to tie shoelaces in no time at all, and even enjoy learning this new skill!
Why children should learn to tie their shoelaces
Many children do not learn to tie their shoelaces until they are older. On the one hand, this is because there is such a wide offer of children's shoes with practical hook and loop straps that make learning how to tie a bow redundant. On the other, the learning of practical skills is generally less important these days.
However, being able to tie their shoelaces has many positive effects on a child:
It promotes the development of fine motor skills and hand-eye coordination.
Children who can tie their shoes themselves develop independence and self-confidence.
Properly tied shoelaces ensure that shoes fit snugly and reduce the danger of stumbling over your own laces.
When should children learn to tie their shoelaces?
As a parent, you are maybe asking yourself at what age your child should be able to tie their shoelaces by themselves.
Like for so many child development aspect, there is no generally applicable "right" point in time. Many children are already able to tie their shoelaces at pre-school age. Others need longer and do not master this skill until they are a little older.
Generally speaking, parents and early years teachers can teach children how to tie their shoelaces when they are around five to six years old. By that age, most of them have already developed the necessary motor skills. However, every child learns new skills at their own speed. So be patient, and support your child during their individual learning process.
How can I teach my child to tie their shoelaces?
Babies and toddlers watch with fascination as their parents or older children in kindergarten tie their shoelaces. However, when they try to do it themselves for the first time, they soon experience frustration: they simply can't seem to tie a proper knot! Although learning to tie a bow is no easy task and takes a little time, it can even be fun, provided it is done with the right approach.
Parents should keep the following in mind when they are teaching their child how to tie shoelaces:
Make learning to tie shoelaces a joint project!
Take the time to explain to your child how to tie shoelaces and practice with them. Try to turn the whole process into a game! Of course, this also means that small successes must be celebrated. Another idea is to ask siblings, grandparents and friends to also join in the "game".
Be patient.
Learning to tie shoelaces should not become a difficult test the child may become scared of failing. It is therefore important to exercise patience when your offspring cannot tie the bow properly even after plenty of practice.
Encourage your child to practice.
Plenty of practice is key to learning any new skill. This also applies to being able to tie your shoelaces, of course!
Praise your child!
During the learning process, your child will experience many setbacks – it is therefore even more important to recognise its progress. Praise motivates children and ensures that they don't lose heart.
Use child-friendly tools.
Explain how to tie shoelaces with the aid of instructions in the form of pictures and rhymes (e.g. "the tree" and "bunny ears", see below), then craft a practice board it can use to practice lacing unsupervised at any time together with your child.
Instructions and templates for learning to tie shoelaces
A child's learning process can be supported by (visual or auditory) images. Instructions in the form of pictures and rhymes will help your child to remember the motion sequence for tying a bow.
Method 1: The tree
This is one of the standard methods for teaching children how to tie their shoelaces. The two shoelaces become a "tree" and a "rabbit" – the child has to chase the "rabbit" around the "tree" in order to tie a knot in a way that feels like playing a game.
There is a rhyme that goes with the tree method intended to help children to remember the steps:
"Over, under, around and through. Meet Mr Bunny Rabbit, pull and through."
Step 1: Preparation
Place your child's shoes or the practice board in front of you and ensure that the laces are as straight as can be. This makes the job easier for small hands.
Encourage your child to pick up the laces, one in each hand. Now explain: "First of all, we make a tree trunk." Cross both shoelaces over each other, then thread one lace under the other. This creates a simple knot.
Step 2: Make a tree
Now, your child takes the right shoelace and forms a loop with it.
“Over …”
Step 3: Mr Bunny Rabbit
Now the left lace is threaded around the front of the "tree trunk".
"... under, around and through. Meet Mr Bunny Rabbit ..."
Step 4: Pull
Now the left lace (Mr Bunny Rabbit) is "chased" through the loop created like this. Careful, though: not "head first" (i.e. with the end of the shoelace), but using the middle.
"… pull ...”
Step 5: ...and through!
Finally, both loops are carefully pulled tight until the knot is secure. Your child has now successfully tied their shoelaces!
"...and through."
Alternatively, this technique can also be explained using the image of a mouse. In that case, say the following rhyme:
"Mouse builds a house, goes once around and comes out again at the front."
Method 2: Bunny ears
A second technique is the equally popular and child-friendly "bunny ears" method. There is also a rhyme to go with this method:
Why is it called that? That's obvious:
Step 1: Preparation
Start with a simple knot.
Step 2: Make bunny ears
Your child should hold one shoelace in each hand. They're the "bunny ears".
"Bunny ears, bunny ears, playing by a tree."
Step 3: Cross bunny ears
Now your child crosses the bunny ears by guiding the left one over the right one to make an X.
“Criss-crossed the tree, trying to catch me.”
Step 4: Through the loop
Now your child takes the right (bottom) bunny ear and threads it across the left one and through the loop it has created.
“Bunny ears, bunny ears, jumped into the hole, …”
Step 5: Tighten the bow
All that's left now is to carefully pull at the two ends of the bow to tighten the knot – and you have a finished bow!
“…popped out the other side beautiful and bold."
How do left-handed children learn to tie their shoelaces?
Left-handed children essentially learn to tie their shoelaces in the same way as right-handed children. The steps and the method are the same. The most important thing is that the child understand the steps and feels comfortable executing them with the dominant hand (in this case the left hand).
When you are teaching a left-handed child to tie their shoelaces, you can sit opposite the child so it can see the movements mirrored. This can make it easier for them to follow the sequence.
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Crafting a practice board
A so-called practice board is a good idea to make it possible for your child to practice tying their shoelaces at any time. You can simply craft one yourself from a piece of cardboard or an egg carton.
What you need:
Cardboard or egg carton
Shoelaces
Scissors
Schere
Pens, stickers etc. for decorating, if required
How to make it:
Craft the practice board together with your child and let them decorate it as they like!
1. The board
A piece of cardboard (e.g. from a superfit shoe box or an egg carton) is a suitable choice for the board. If you are using a piece of cardboard as the board, draw a shoe shape on it, preferably in your child's shoe size, and cut it out with scissors.
You can easily download a template to cut out here:
2. Decorate
Let your child creatively decorate the board! It could draw the outline of a shoe on it with felt tip pens, for example, add blocks of colour or glue on craft materials.
3. Punch holes
The board needs six holes through which the shoelaces will be threaded later on. Make holes in the cardboard by piercing it with the scissor tip.
4. Insert shoelaces
Now thread the laces through the holes - just like on a shoe.
The practice board is now finished and ready to use for learning how to tie your shoelaces!
