OT Corner:  Shoe Tying
By Lisa Amy Wagenfeld, Ph.D, OTR/L
Originally printed in June 2004

Hope this month finds all of you well and into the spring mode.  I am always so 
thrilled to shed the winter jacket, hats, scarf, and anything else associated with
winter!  Well, somehow I have managed to create the perfect opportunity to segue
from clothing into the topic of this month's column... shoe tying!

Is (was) shoe tying a hot button issue in your household?  Unto itself, shoe tying
is a difficult task because it is complicated.  Being able to tie shoes involves
skills that include a strong dose of fine motor ability to manipulate those little
fingers in, around, and betwixt and between the laces; lots of motor planning to
carry out this new, novel, and uncharted activity; a cognitive or thinking piece
to sequence the skill, the vision or looking piece; and PATIENCE!  That said, I 
thought I would share some ideas for achieving success with shoe tying I have compiled
from various colleagues, readings, and my experiences.

Before you introduce shoe tying to your children, think about whether they are ready
to learn how to do it.  What does it mean to be ready?  First of all, in order to
find shoe-tying fun, children need to be at least somewhat self-motivated to learn
how.  Motivation and interest are one component, so too are all the above components.
A majority of 4-year olds just will not have the skills to learn to tie shoes, but
sometime between the ages of 5 and 6, many are ready to learn.  From my experience,
learning to tie shoes is, at least at first, a one-on-one activity, as you will 
need both hands to help one child at a time, so if time can be allotted to do this,
that would be great.

Some in general tips.

* Make each practice session the number of times as they are old, such that a 6-year
old practices six times and then, calls it a "wrap!"

* When first beginning to work on shoe tying, many children find it easier to practice
with shoes on the tabletop, rather than on their feet.

* Round, nylon laces are hard to tie (and to keep tied), so consider using flat,
cotton laces.

* Use two different colored laces when practicing shoe tying.  Knot them together
and then lace them through the eyelets.
* No matter what YOUR hand dominance is, start the whole shoe tying process with
your CHILD'S dominant hand!

* Keep in mind, the fewer words you use the better.  With shoe tying, hands-on help
is usually more effective that verbal instruction (alone).

* Further, try to avoid using words such as "left" and "right"
hands as many little ones are only just learning which hand is which.  The added
words may just add to the confusion and frustration.

* Think about doing what is called "backward chaining."  This means that
YOU do everything but the last step (i.e. pulling the laces tight), which your child
does.  Then, do everything but the last two steps, and so on.  This technique works
for many skills!

* Once shoes are tied, and to avoid having the laces come undone, tie a knot at 
the end of each lace, close to the tip, to serve as an anchor and keep the tip from
sliding too far.

Now for some fun ways to practice tying.

* Lace up a shoebox and practice tying on it.  Think about having each child decorate
and personalize his/her box.  You can also turn a fairly rigid paper plate into 
a tying board.

* Try using lots of different tying materials, such as macramé cord, chenille sticks,
curling ribbon, satin ribbon, and scarves.  For fun, try tying thin licorice laces.

A couple of how to's: 

* Many people advocate the two-loop, bunny ears method.  Closet secrets revealed
- my husband, the lawyer, still ties his shoes this way!!

* Next is one method of shoe tying instruction that a colleague, Norma Eigles from
the AOTA School System List serve, shared.  I thought it was a nice little story.

Have your children do steps 1, 4 and 7 and at least in the beginning, YOU do the
other steps while your children watch.  After steps 1, 4, and 7 are mastered, introduce
the other steps.  Instructions for children are italicized

1. Make an "X"
2. Go under the stem (1 lace crosses under to make a knot).
3. Optional:  Go under the bridge again!  The advantage of making two knots is that
it will tighten the first knot of the laces so they do not pull apart and your children
will not need to hold the knot down as they do the looping.
4. And pull (the knot tightly)
5. Make a leaf (make a loop from one lace)
6. Make the caterpillar crawl over the leaf and into his cocoon (wrap other lace
around thumb and push it into the hole)
7. Out comes a butterfly (Grab the loops and pull them tightly)

And finally:

* There is a fun Website that presents an alternative method to shoe tying.  It 
is www.freedomknot.com and is worth checking out.

What are your tried, true, and successful shoe tying tips?  Please share them with
all of us.  Next month, fine motor fun for summer!