How old should a child be to be able to tie shoes?

Question

My daughter is 6 yrs old and struggles with tying her own shoes.

She can start it,but cant finish it.

I have tried and tried to show her but its just a fight.

I need someone who has been through this and knows some tricks to help me.

thank you

Answer 1

Mine were 5 but some kids are 8 before they get it. At 6 she is still young, just keep teaching her with patience (as hard as that can be at times lol)

Answer 2

The popularity of velcro shoes has made it more difficult for kids to learn this skill at an early age.  

Instead of trying to teach her to tie her shoes, why not start by teaching her to make a pretty bow on a present.   She can sit at a table while she does it, so it will be more comfortable.  Once she gets the hang of it, she can try the shoes, and it will be easier for her.

Answer 3

She probably hasn't developed her fine motor skills completely yet which is fairly normal. Help her do more activities that require her to use her fine motor "muscles", such as cutting and pasting, peeling stickers off of paper, and coloring and drawing. Its something you can do together and it will help strengthen all of the muscles required to complete tasks such as tying her shoes. And most importantly give her plenty of time to practice. If you become impatient of frustrated she wont want to try.

Answer 4

my son literally tied his first complete set of shoes on his 7th birthday. its tough these days too, because so few shoes actually have laces.   I just did it the old fashioned way and kept showing him before school and let him practice - then one morning he just 'got it'.  She'll get the hang of it eventually, just give it time  :)

ps many of his classmates still cant tie their shoes either in first grade

Answer 5

i don't kno how to help but my sister has truble with her shoelaces and shes 8 but i learned when i went kindergarten (age 4) so i guess its just different for every one.

Answer 6

She just needs more practice. Have her start the process with plenty of time before you need to leave the house. If she feels rushed, she may get frustrated. Have her practice when she is not wearing the shoes and she can work at her own pace.

Answer 7

Bunny loops - tie the knot. Make one loop with one shoe string and another loop with the other shoe string and cross them and loop through.

That's how I learned - I was 7. I had so much trouble with the regular way. I learned how to tie regular later on but the bunny loop method worked until I could figure it out.

Answer 8

Forget lace shoes for a while, buy her some with Velcro fastenings and take the pressure off.

What is it about US shoes and laces? My 11 year old has shoes with Velcro. Heck, _I_ have shoes with Velcro! It's so much easier!

Answer 9

My daughter could at the end of kindergarten, but they had a chart at school and I remember that not many of the kids could at that point.

What helps is to get her one of those practice books.  Actually, what really helps is to get her shoes that tie - something she really likes and will want to wear even though they are a little bit of a pain because they have laces, like Hannah Montana shoes or whatever she likes.  It's a process.  

I wouldn't worry if she doesn't have it yet.  It's normal and kids don't need to know as early as we did because everyone wears velcro these days.  In another year it will seem easy.