Tips: How to teach kids to tie shoes

Though most kids' shoes now feature Velcro closures, learning to tie ones own shoes is still considered to be milestone that children should master by 5 or 6 years of age. But, teaching a child to tie his own shoes can be frustrating; kids can lose interest quickly if they feel the task is too difficult, or they may seem to "get it" one day only to completely forget the next.

Have no fear, I've got a few tricks up my sleeves that can make teaching a kid to tie his own shoes a bit easier. All kids learn differently, so try a few of these methods and see what works best for your child.

Bunny ears tips:

Probably the most common method for teaching kids to tie their own shoes is the "Bunny Ears" method.

• Tell the child that he needs to make his shoe laces into "bunny ears."
• First, he needs to secure a knot for the bunny's head. Take the laces and cross them over to make an "X". Then, pull one ear through the bottom of the "X" and pull tight.
• Say, "Now we need to give bunny some ears." Loop the laces into "bunny ears".
• Tell the child that now we need to "make the bunny ears tight so they don't fall off". Then make another "X" using the "bunny ears", slide one "ear" under the "X" and pull tightly.