www.icantoo.com.au Tying shoelaces is a tricky skill! Even with the popularity of Velcro fastening shoes, it is important for children to be able to tie their own laces. As a rule of thumb, most children are able to tie their own laces (with varying degrees of success) around the age of six. Here are some ideas to help make the process a bit easier. ·Practise tying bows in other activities such as wrapping presents, dolls hair- ribbons, activity toys and threading games. ·Your child can sit in a chair and loop a ribbon around the top of his leg. He can then practise tying a bow while being able to see clearly what he is doing. ·Ribbon that has a wire through the edge is good for practising on as the loops hold their shape and make it easy for little hands to see what is happening. ·Your child can hold the shoe in her lap and then practise tying laces. ·Sometimes it helps to use two different coloured laces in the shoes. The parent can help the child by using instructions such as; 1.Cross the red lace over the blue lace 2.Push the blue lace under the bridge and pull the ends tight 3.Make two bunny ears 4.Cross the bunny ears and hold where they join with one hand 5.Take the (red/blue) bunny ear and poke it through the tunnel 6.Pull the bunny ears tight NB: There are other ways to teach shoelaces, this is just an example. ·If shoelace tying is too difficult at this stage, consider having a break for a while and using Velcro straps instead. ·Alternatively, shoelace holders and elastic shoelaces are available from shoe shops. The elastic laces can be tied up properly but stretch so that the shoe can be put on or removed without having to retie them. ·Sometimes, children need to develop their fine motor skills (hand skills) further before attempting shoelaces. Activities which involve manipulating objects within the hand are helpful. For example; 1.Hiding beads in the palm of the hand (no help from the other hand) 2.Rolling small play dough balls with the fingertips of one hand. 3.Holding several coins in the palm of one hand. When asked, the child gives a particular coin to a partner without the help of the other hand. Contact an occupational therapist for further ideas on shoelaces. Bibliography: Some of the content of this fact sheet was from the following source; Cocks, Neralie (1996) Watch me, I can do it: Helping children overcome clumsy and uncoordinated motor skills. Simon and Schuster, Australia |
