How to teach children to tie shoe laces without tears

Learning to tie shoe laces can be stressful for parents and children, so practice during a quiet time of the day when you aren't in a rush to get to school or the shops, and when the child isn't tired or already agitated.

There is more than one way to tie shoe laces. Some people prefer to make two loops, while other people prefer to make one loop and wrap the other lace around the singular loop. To be honest, I prefer the one loop method, but I find my children prefer the good old ''bunny ear" technique.

Help your child to find a shoe lacing technique that works best for them.

3 tips to teaching children how to tie their shoe laces:

1 - Demonstrate each small step of the lacing technique slowly, then encourage the child to copy each step. By breaking each action into small steps we are creating a feeling of success rather than a feeling of overwhelm.

2 - Repeat each small step of the lacing technique, until the child has mastered that step. If the child makes a mistake, repeat the step again. If we rush through each step we can cause frustration.

3 - At the very first step, take the lace over and under the other lace TWICE. The extra loop at the start keeps the laces tigher around the ankle while making bunny ears - See this step in more detail by pressing play on the shoe lace tutorial video above.

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