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

[snoopy]

When our generation were kids we were taught to tie our shoes in kindergarten. Now they learn to read and write in kindergarten, no time for teaching how to tie shoes.

Both of my boys learned to tie their shoes at about 6/7. My youngest is just turning 7 in December and he just this summer really mastered the task.

 

[liamandcaili]

My DS 6 learned to tie his shoes the weekend before first grade. He got new shoes with laces and we told him that in first grade he would be expected to tie his shoes. He was able to do it immediately. Maybe I should have shown him sooner...it would have saved me a lot of shoe-tying!

 

[froglady]

Ds was in 3rd grade...he had velcro shoes up until that time. BUT, he has hand deformities, so his fine motorskills have been behind other children.

I do remember one teacher remarking that tying shoes was a 3 yo skill! I can accept K or 1st grade for the average child.

Now, at age 12, DS is learning how to tie a tie!

 

[Daxx]

Don't tie them. Tell them to "ask a friend". aw:

Great idea (and I've done it before) ... but not one student knows how to tie shoes in my class this year!!!! Out of 12, you think I'd have at least one!!!

 

[Daxx]

When our generation were kids we were taught to tie our shoes in kindergarten. Now they learn to read and write in kindergarten, no time for teaching how to tie shoes.

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.

 

[Texan Mouseketeer]

My DS5 is learning how right now. I am teaching him along with Grandpa and Daddy and his K teacher. It is one stressful event, I tell you! He gets so worked up since he can't do it but has to know how for school. It's been quite an ordeal trying to get him to relax and just practice. We worked on it over the summer, but he was having a lot of trouble so we backed off. I sure will be glad when he gets this!

 

[EthansMom]

My DS turned 4 in August and we've just started teaching him to tie his shoes. He has wide feet, so I have a hard time finding his shoes with velcro. Hopefully, he'll have shoe-tying down for grade school next year. He already knows his right hand and left hand -- it took me forever before I could distinguish my right from my left!

 

[Pin Wizard]

DS's kindergarten teacher taught the class.

 

[kadaten]

Don't tie them. Tell them to "ask a friend". aw:

That's what my DD's old preschool did It was a multi-age classroom and the older ones helped the younger ones.

That said, DD learned at 3 1/2. She wanted to be able to help, too, so she asked her teacher to show her how to do it. I hadn't even thought about teaching her how to tie when she came home from school one day and showed me saying "Look what I can do, Mommy! I can help the little kids tie their shoes now!" The little kids? I thought SHE was one! She's always been very focused....can learn anything!

Now DS....he's another story....3 years old and gets the shoes on the wrong feet more often than the right feet! We'll be waiting a bit on the tying thing!

 

[Wishing on a star]

I have heard so much here about how kids are simply 'expected' to be able to tie their shoes.....

There are many children who simply do not yet have the abilities to tie their shoes!!! (My DS can finally tie his shoes.. after a few months of OT)

It really angers me that teachers think that their 'expectations' are a childs 'reality'.
I don't give a hoot how many shoes an early education teacher ties!!!

Nobody here has mentioned that this might go along with other skills, like fine motor coordination, viseo-spatial, etc.... It cannot be assumed that all children can/should be tying their own shoes, or any other developmental skill, unless they have obviously matured and developed the underlying abilities.

If my child were belittled or chastised in K for not tying their shoes, I would be one mama-lioness!

 

[Keli]

Sometimes kids don't develop physically as fast as they need to in order to do the things required of them at the correct ages. My brother reads with one eye closed. The experts say that this is because he learned to read before he could physically focus both eyes steadily on one spot and it was easier for him to close one eye and focus on the words.

My dd was 6, nearly 7, when she finally learned to tie her shoes. Her K teacher wanted her to know before she started K and we tried so hard to teach her. She just couldn't do it. It upset her to no end but finally she got it in the middle of first grade.

 

[aprincessmom]

Depends on the child...DD started when she was almost 4 but try finding tie-shoes for a 4 year old! Nearly impossible...all velcro.

 

[coliebird]

I was 7 when I learned how. I remember getting in trouble in 2nd grade for asking my friend to tie my shoe b/c I didn't know how.

My daughter is 3 now so I think I have some time.

 

[missypie]

I'm left handed and my kids are all right handed. Sometimes someone else needs to teach them.

My parents were right handed and my sister and I were lefties. When I think of it, I think my uncle-not my parents-taught us.

 

[mickeyboat]

DD's learned at 4 and 5 - before K. But they are pretty slow at it, and prefer to wear slip on shoes most of the time.

Denae

 

[dianeschlicht]

Right handed or left handed, hmmmm, I guess I can do it either way. I learned before I started school, and they requested that students here know before kindergarten as well. I have a really cute picture of our DS when he was 4 sitting in the middle of a sidewalk tieing his shoe. We had been working on it all that summer so he would know how by kindergarten, and he was very intent on it! DD had CP, but she too learned before kindergarten was over. I know she didn't do it at the start of kindergarten, but we used to double tie her shoes so they wouldn't come undone.

 

[Texan Mouseketeer]

we used to double tie her shoes so they wouldn't come undone.

That's what we do so the teachers don't have to tie his shoes over and over again. Or we wear velcro.

 

[LisaNJ25]

My daughter just learned this past year . She was around 5 1/2. I always sent her to school with lace shoes and just put in a double knot. I dont like the velcro ones once they hit school age. She always seemed to get the velcros dirty and after awhile they would not stay closed.

 

[Aidensmom]

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.

 

[NMAmy]

DD learned when she was about 4--she brought it up so I taught her how one weekend. She had to practice on my shoes since hers were velcro.

I, on the other hand, had a heck of a time learning. I was the only one in my kindergarten class who didn't know how but I found a way around it. I had a boyfriend, Kirk, who I used to charm into tying my shoes for me and my dad used to do it for me at home. My mom still loves to tell this story--usually whenever I've charmed DH into doing something for me. She says some things never change. I'll be the one in the nursing home talking some elderly gentleman into tying my shoes, I'm sure!