At what age should a child be able to tie their own shoes?

[lulugirl]

Where do you find shoes for a preschooler that tie? My son is 4, has always had velcro or slip on shoes, so he has not learned how to tie them.

I wouldn't be good for teaching him anyway, I am 37 and seriously don't know how to tie the "right" way. I still use the bunny ears method.

That's so funny, I tie using "bunny ears" also!

 

[lbgraves]

DS is almost 7 now & he just can't get it. He will sit in Church & try to tie his shoes over & over & gets so frustrated. After a point I distract him & he will forget about it for a little while. He tried again last week & came close to it by being able to fold the laces over but he doesn't get that the ends can't be beyond the knot or they will pull thru & not tie right. He will get it soon enough. He has been reading since 4 year PS & adding & subtracting since then as well. Now he does double digit addition and knows how to "carry" numbers so I doubt that not being able to tie his shoes is going to affect him too much. I haven't tried to show DD 5 yet. I will probably wait until after her big brother has mastered it.

 

[Laurajean1014]

I think a child should start at 5 but they may take a long while to get it. My son is very smart, but it took him a while. Nowadays, everything is velcro or slip-ons. So, I don't think we can go with what it was when we were younger.

I was waiting with my son just before they let the kids into school. Out of about 20 boys only 4 had tie type shoes.

 

[froglady]

If you saw my curriculum and state requirements, there's so much that it leaves little time for a lot of other things in Kdg. Believe me, where I can, I like to "combine" lessons in order to give us more "fun" time. For example, today we read "Mary Wore A Red Dress". I was able to combine 4 lessons in one -- health w/emotions, reading w/the story, social studies w/colors in our lives and science w/the blending of primary colors to create secondary colors and the color spectrum.

There are a lot of things that Kdg. students are expected to know before entering Kdg.! Some things they should come to Kdg. knowing inc. their full name (first, last and middle), address (house #, street name, city and state), phone number, date of birth and parents names, printing and spelling of first name, alphabet recognition (random, not rote), number recognition through 10 (random, not rote), etc., etc. I could go on and on w/what they "should know" before entering Kdg. While it's "expected" ... times have changed since parents went to Kdg. and parents expect Kdg. to be exactly what they went through -- socialization, cutting, pasting, coloring and playing. Many parents are surprised when I tell them that I'll have their child reading by the end of the year.

Now, don't get me wrong ... I do not have a single Kdg. student who knows all of the above. I have some who come pretty close ... and I'm thankful for that! But, the more pressure the state puts on us for high standards of education, the more that gets "left out". I always tell parents that PK is like Kdg. when we were young, Kdg. is like when we were in 1st grade, 1st grade is comparable to what we did in 2nd grade, etc. It seems as if all the grades are about 1 to 1 1/2 yrs. ahead of what we were doing in those grades when we were young.

I'm sooo glad my children didn't attend your school; they didn't know half off those things before K. Neither of them learned to read until 1st grade, they both had difficulty tying shoes, didn't have "stats" memorized until 2nd or 3rd grade, and didn't know how to write their names prior to K!

BTW, DD was NHS, cum Laude, inthe top 10% of her HS class; will probably in the top 10% of her college class when she graduates this spring.

DS is following in her footsteps, as his grades and standardized test scores are similar.

I'm so sorry that the state is putting so much pressure on you, which then puts pressure on the children and their parents.

 

[tinksgirl]

My 3 all started around 5 yrs old,actually my youngest DD was about 4. Her daycare provider cut small cardboard squares had the kids (with her help)trace out the shape of the bottom of a shoe,decorate it as a shoe and put laces through it so the kids could practice. DD 15 had lacing cards shaped the same way,Ds 19 had the bear to button tie ect it was harder because laces were smaller on a toy.

 

[lbgraves]

I'm sooo glad my children didn't attend your school; they didn't know half off those things before K. Neither of them learned to read until 1st grade, they both had difficulty tying shoes, didn't have "stats" memorized until 2nd or 3rd grade, and didn't know how to write their names prior to K!

BTW, DD was NHS, cum Laude, inthe top 10% of her HS class; will probably in the top 10% of her college class when she graduates this spring.

DS is following in her footsteps, as his grades and standardized test scores are similar.

I'm so sorry that the state is putting so much pressure on you, which then puts pressure on the children and their parents.

That's just the way it is everywhere now. Not sure how old your DS is but it has been this way for at least the last 5 years that I am aware of here in NC.

 

[Alice28]

Um....my son learned this past summer. He is 7 1/2. He just always wears slip ons! I will say his preschool/daycare teacher taught him when he was 4, but then I never reinforced it (BAD MOMMA!) and bought him velcro shoes. I bought a book at Stride Rite that was great- it has a yellow lace and a red lace and goes step by step of how to tie shoes. My son was able to do it in about 10 minutes after reading the book. A good investment as I think it will help my younger two!

 

[Snoopymom]

Daxx,

I'm one of those mom's who is old enough to remember optional half day K, so I'm going through K shock with my ds.

Last night we spent about 15 minutes learning to make a lower case e correctly... the "sensible pencil" way. I start my e at the bottom, so that was pretty funny!

I spend about an hour each night helping him get ready for school...find a show and tell item that begins with the letter of the week and think of 3 clues for it, finish up whatever he didn't get done during class, work on writing the letter of the week, do whatever is on his homework calendar for the day, sign his behavior calendar, find dixie cups or whatever his teacher needs, pick out an outfit and iron it if necessary, get his snack together, etc. I enjoy it because I've waited and looked forward to having him and doing this kind of stuff for a long time, but I can't imagine that every parent has the time.

All I can say is I could never be a K teacher, thank you for everything you do!

Anyway, he has a Critical Thinking class today, can you tell me what that is?

Thanks a bunch!

(DS is 5 yrs 3 mo, just learned to tie his shoes, has to wear Vans like Daddy so no velcro, and I'm pretty sure his teacher told him he had to learn, because he was extremely determined.)

 

[robinb]

Would you believe that I found an entire website dedicated to tying your shoe?

http://www.fieggen.com/shoelace/index.htm

Amazing.

 

[JVL1018]

Where do you find shoes for a preschooler that tie? My son is 4, has always had velcro or slip on shoes, so he has not learned how to tie them.

I wouldn't be good for teaching him anyway, I am 37 and seriously don't know how to tie the "right" way. I still use the bunny ears method.

I have gotten my son non velcro sneakers for the last couple of years from Stride Rite(outlet-only $20-$25 a pair).
I refuse to buy the velcro after 2 years old or so, so I have been buying the tie shoes for a while for him(he just turned 4) and have always been able to find them with no problems.
Nikes also have kids shoes that are non-velcro.

 

[Jenn Lynn]

I have always bought my DD tie shoes. I don't like the look of velcro or slip ons. We have found ours at department stores. I usually get her Nikes or Sketchers. We also double knot so they don't come undone.

DH and I have started teaching her how to tie her shoes because she asked us how to do it. She is 4.

 

[malibuconlee]

DS's kindergarten teacher taught the class.

That's how I learned. Of course I tie them "backwards". THe teacher was sitting across the table with a little shoe and string card thing and I mimicked what she was doing, I guess I should say mirrored. Mine never stay tied.

 

[kadaten]

I have gotten my son non velcro sneakers for the last couple of years from Stride Rite(outlet-only $20-$25 a pair).
I refuse to buy the velcro after 2 years old or so, so I have been buying the tie shoes for a while for him(he just turned 4) and have always been able to find them with no problems.
Nikes also have kids shoes that are non-velcro.

Me, too! Never did like Velcro. ('course I'm a mean mommy and don't do character shoes, either! )

I was always able to find tie shoes at Target and WalMart when my kids had normal-sized feet. Then DS feet went double wide and DD feet went double narrow, so we were limited to StrideRite. They ALWAYS have tie shoes. (And if you have an outlet nearby, the prices aren't bad. No outlet? Hit the regular store during buy one, get one 1/2 off sale....always end of summer and a couple weeks before Easter! )