How to Teach a Six Year Old How to Tie Their Shoes
Introduce the child to the shoe tying concept., Help them get excited about learning to tie., Start slowly and build the steps slowly., Start with your child simply crossing their shoelaces., Have your child identify the lace that is on top., Have...
Step-by-Step Guide
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Step 1: Introduce the child to the shoe tying concept.
You don’t need to work on tying yet, just introduce the fact that they will be learning to tie.
Spend a minute every time they put their shoes on to introduce them to tying shoes.
If you have been tying their shoes, you will want to get them notice what is going on. -
Step 2: Help them get excited about learning to tie.
Have them pick out colorful shoelaces.
This helps build the association that these are the laces that they can tie. , It is important to realize that this task can be overwhelming for your child and they will get frustrated if you do too much too fast. , Call it the crisscross and make it fun.
Have them cross the laces with some gusto and cheer when they do it.
With the laces now crossed, one lace is laying on top of the other one. , Call it the topsy.
Next will be the turvy. , Use the words, "Topsy-turvy" or "Over under." You can mix up the terminology and settle on the one your child latches on to.
Dual colors are very helpful at this stage for identifying which lace is which. , You might have a chant, "Topsy-turvy, pull it tight, do it right." If they have done it right their shoe should look like the picture above. 'Stop and congratulate your child. , This step will likely take the most time.
You will realize that you have to be very specific about how to make a loop.
Focus on creating the right sized loop that is close to the criss-cross.
Don’t move past this step until your child consistently makes a good loop.
If you are using regular laces this step may take much longer to master. , Once your child has a good loop they will then wrap the other lace around the loop.
The direction of the wrap does not matter.
What matters is that they see that there are two different laces.
Dual colored shoelaces make this step easier to visualize and execute. , Help them by holding the loop while they go in search of the lace through the hole. ,, Once they know that there is a place to grab, it is just a matter of practice to get this step down consistently. , Small hands will have trouble holding all of the laces so expect that there will be several missed attempts.
Most children will be so excited at this point that they will pull their laces all the way through. #*Don’t worry, celebrate that they almost had it.
Repetition is the key to figuring out what works and how to get their shoelaces tied tight and evenly. , Yay! You just learned to tie! This is a huge milestone in your child’s development and one of their first steps towards independence. -
Step 3: Start slowly and build the steps slowly.
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Step 4: Start with your child simply crossing their shoelaces.
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Step 5: Have your child identify the lace that is on top.
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Step 6: Have them feed the top lace under the turvy lace.
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Step 7: Grab both shoelaces and pull both tight.
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Step 8: Make a loop.
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Step 9: Have them do the wrap around.
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Step 10: Show your child where the “hole” is.
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Step 11: or tuck the lace through the hole.
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Step 12: Practice to develop consistency.
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Step 13: Pull the loops.
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Step 14: Celebrate it!
Detailed Guide
You don’t need to work on tying yet, just introduce the fact that they will be learning to tie.
Spend a minute every time they put their shoes on to introduce them to tying shoes.
If you have been tying their shoes, you will want to get them notice what is going on.
Have them pick out colorful shoelaces.
This helps build the association that these are the laces that they can tie. , It is important to realize that this task can be overwhelming for your child and they will get frustrated if you do too much too fast. , Call it the crisscross and make it fun.
Have them cross the laces with some gusto and cheer when they do it.
With the laces now crossed, one lace is laying on top of the other one. , Call it the topsy.
Next will be the turvy. , Use the words, "Topsy-turvy" or "Over under." You can mix up the terminology and settle on the one your child latches on to.
Dual colors are very helpful at this stage for identifying which lace is which. , You might have a chant, "Topsy-turvy, pull it tight, do it right." If they have done it right their shoe should look like the picture above. 'Stop and congratulate your child. , This step will likely take the most time.
You will realize that you have to be very specific about how to make a loop.
Focus on creating the right sized loop that is close to the criss-cross.
Don’t move past this step until your child consistently makes a good loop.
If you are using regular laces this step may take much longer to master. , Once your child has a good loop they will then wrap the other lace around the loop.
The direction of the wrap does not matter.
What matters is that they see that there are two different laces.
Dual colored shoelaces make this step easier to visualize and execute. , Help them by holding the loop while they go in search of the lace through the hole. ,, Once they know that there is a place to grab, it is just a matter of practice to get this step down consistently. , Small hands will have trouble holding all of the laces so expect that there will be several missed attempts.
Most children will be so excited at this point that they will pull their laces all the way through. #*Don’t worry, celebrate that they almost had it.
Repetition is the key to figuring out what works and how to get their shoelaces tied tight and evenly. , Yay! You just learned to tie! This is a huge milestone in your child’s development and one of their first steps towards independence.
About the Author
Brittany Walker
Enthusiastic about teaching hobbies techniques through clear, step-by-step guides.
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