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Rockin Mama™

Motherhood, Giveaways and Product Reviews

Teaching Kids To Tie Their Shoes Can Be Fun…

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This giveaway is now closed.  Thanks for stopping by.  The winner is Gina.  Congrats.

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It’s funny how something as simple as tying one’s shoes is actually a skill that has to be mastered.  Like any fine motor skill, practice makes perfect!  Teaching your child to tie his/her shoes also requires patience.  Any skill that doesn’t readily interest a child can be made into a fun game with a little creativity.

boysweb_xlqrWendy Welling is the innovative mom behind Tie Buddies.  After struggling to find a way to interest her daughter in learning how to tie her own shoes, she came up with the idea that would be Tie Buddies, “cute, kid-friendly devices that act as easy pull-tabs for small hands.”  Wendy found that the key to her daughter’s success was creating “cool characters and interactive stories to help her learn and retain the process as well as eliminate the frustrating bunny ears or loops that confuse children during the process.”

So how does it work?

STEP 1: (FOR PARENTS)

Begin with the widest part of the Tie Buddy at the top, holes facing up. Thread the lace up through the closest tunnel, then out the top and down through the second, outer tunnel. Do not leave a loop above the Tie Buddy. Make sure there is roughly 3.5” of lace between the Tie Buddy and the last shoe eyelet. The 3.5″ should be measured with your childs’ foot in the shoe with the laces untied. Measure from the eyelet to the base of the Tie Buddy. You may need to adjust according to your childs’ shoes and lace length so try the tying process yourself first to be sure the Tie BuddiesTM are placed correctly. Repeat the process on the second lace.



STEP 2

Holding the TIPS of the laces, make an “X” and wrap one end through the hole and pull tight.



STEP 3

Grasp just below your Tie Buddies



STEP 4

Pass the left Tie Buddy (character) behind the other’s back

STEP 5

…and back around in front

STEP 6

Now finish by pushing that Tie Buddy (character) back
through the hole

STEP 7

Now grab both the Tie Buddies
(characters) and pull up and away until your bow is tight

STEP 8

You’ve done it!
You can tie your shoes!

STEP 9

Once they’ve gotten the hang of it, remove one Tie Buddy so they can practice holding a lace on their own. Soon enough,you’ll remove the other and your child will be a shoe-tying whiz!

There are two versions of Tie Buddies (one for boys and one for girls). While it seems like a lot of steps, it’s actually easy and children can learn in as little as one week.  I highly recommend using the story ideas on the site because they make the process fun and help children retain and recall the tying process.  Children can learn to tie their shoes as young as three, but it’s a skill that isn’t often learned until they go to school.  Tie Buddies helps children learn at a younger age, in a shorter amount of time.  Any time a child masters a skill, they feel accomplished and independent.  Tie Buddies helps eliminate the frustration that is often associated with this process and makes it a positive experience for both the parent and the child.  You can purchase Tie Buddies directly from the site (retails for $7.95).

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Win It! One of you will win a set of Tie Buddies.  Just head on over to the site and tell me which one you would pick AND how you’re currently trying to teach your child to tie his/her shoes.  Comments will close on April 20, 2009 at 10 PM PST.  One comment per person, please (unless you do the extra credit). US residents only. Duplicates and comments not including the above information will be disqualified. Comments are moderated. If you don’t see your comment in a reasonable amount of time, send me an email. Bloggers and non-bloggers may enter. If you don’t want to leave your email address, please be sure to check back for my announcement on the winner. Please note that winners must respond within 48 hours of being announced/contacted or another winner will be drawn.

Want an extra entry? Do any or all of the following and receive an extra entry for each one.

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Blog about this giveaway. It doesn’t have to be a separate post. Just include a blurb about it when you blog about other giveaways.

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Click on one of the very cute buttons below and digg, stumble, fav, etc. Just let me know what you did in the comments!

Profuse thanks to Tie Buddies and the Family Review Network for this review opportunity.

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Caryn Bailey
Latest posts by Caryn Bailey (see all)
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67 Responses to Teaching Kids To Tie Their Shoes Can Be Fun…

  5. The Fairy and Wand would be great for my daughter. We have a teach it bear that has ties on her shoes. We just started the other day with this bear.

    Reply

  7. We would love to have the Fairy and Magic Wand ones. We are not currently trying to tie shoes, still stuck in the velcro mode! this would be a geat way to start.

    Reply

  10. I’m currently failing at trying to teach my six year old to tie his shoes. The bunny running into the hole thing is just not happening for him. I’d love the green and red race car set – he’d love it. Thanks for the giveaway.

    Reply

  11. I would choose the red and green racecars for my little brother who is 8 and CANNOT tie his shoes yet!
    UGGH!
    Hope i win so he can learn, if not at least there only $8 and I can order him some!
    We practice EVERYDAY, on his own shoes of course….but obviously that methos is not working!

    Reply

  19. I like the Cars. I don’t have children, so I can’t answer the second question, these would be for my friend’s son.

    Reply

  22. I would love the race cars. My son is a little young to do it by himself but he is facinated with laces and makes the motions. His dexterity is still a little weak.

    Reply

  23. I would love the car set. I am currently doing the rabbit ears technique and it is slow going. This would be a godsend right now to win this. thanks.

    Reply

  27. My nephew would like the Red and Green Racecars. I leave the shoe tying lessons to his mom. Thanks for the giveaway.

    Reply

  28. I would like the red and green race cars, my son is 4 and we have just started trying to teach him. We have a song that we sing while attempting to have him tie his laces. I think the tie buddies would really help.

    Reply

  31. Great idea! We would choose the Red and Green Race Cars for our son. We have tried teaching him, but he is frustrated right now and says he can’t do it! Maybe this would help?

    Reply

  32. I like the Fairy and Magic Wand tie buddies. We haven’t started working with my daughter yet-her shoes have velcro or zippers right now. 🙂

    Reply

  33. I like the Fairy and Magic Wand tie buddies. We haven’t started to teach my daughter how to tie her shoes yet-she still has velcro or zippers on her shoes 🙂

    Reply

  35. red and green race cars, I’ve just about given up trying to teach the boy how to tie his shoes.

    Reply

  38. We’d love the Race car set! Currently, I’ve chosen to avoid the frustration of teaching my son to tie his shoes… I know, nice mom. =) He’s ready though, so I’m going to have to start soon enough. This would be a great help!

    Reply

  47. i would pick the race cars set; i have yet to teach my sons how to tie their laces. thank goodness for velcro!

    Reply

  48. I love the race car set for my son. I’m trying to teach him with the old “Rabbit goes through the hole” method but it’s not working very well!

    Reply

  50. I’d get the Race Cars for my son. He is currently NOT trying to tie his laces out of pure frustration. My daughter who is one year older than him, just learned and he can’t stand the fact that she can do something that he can’t. I’d love to restore some confidence in him with Tie Buddies. thanks!

    Reply

  58. I would choose the fairy and magic wand set. My son learned to tie his shoes when we checked out a fun book about it at the library. Seeing it on a colorful page step by step helped him out so much. Now on to my four yr. old daughter.

    Reply

  60. My son would love the race cars. We have not started to teach him yet but he turned 5 last week so it is time…this would be a great help!

    Reply

  62. This would be absolutely wonderful for my oldest son who is starting to learn about tying his shoes. Thanks for a great giveaway 🙂

    Reply

  64. We’re working on this skill right now by practice, practice, practice. My dd would love the fairy and magic wand!

    Reply

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