"The issue with regard to Shoe Tying"

[KellyWilk]

I am a Pediatric Occupational therapist and our whole "motto" if you will is about function and functional skills.  If preschool and Kindergarten children do now how to do these types of skills, how are they going to do with handwriting?

[hobish]

That is an interesting question. I hadn't thought about it from a developmental stage POV.

[bobsyouruncle]

Ok, I'm sorry but I don't get what the poll is asking?

[T'Mar of Vulcan]

To me, shoe tying is something that the parent should start teaching the child from the age of three. I could tie my own shoes at that age - not in a bow, but at least I could make knots.

It's amazing to me how many parents today think that not only should schools teach kids, you know, educational skills like reading, making deductions, using graphs, etc., but they should also parent the kids for them.

And when a kid can't do something? Just blame the teacher. 

[Shoo]

It would have never occurred to me that my daughter should learn to tie her shoes from anyone other than me or her dad.  I'd never expect her teacher to do it.  Teachers have enough to worry about.

[Lorelei_Evil]

It's a motor skill, and part of getting dressed, which they should already know by the time they get to school.  The teacher has enough to do.

[Luci45]

Ok, I'm sorry but I don't get what the poll is asking?

That.

Shoe tying is something that most parents teach their children to do out of self defense, or exhaustion from doing it for the kids many times a day. The teacher should step in only for the very few that do not have the skill yet.

It doesn't always have to do with hand-eye coordination. Sometimes it is lack of teaching.

I do not have an opinion about its going along with other tasks.

[FlyingBaconMouse]

As a lefty who couldn't tie her shoes with a bow until a relatively advanced age (6 or 7*), I can give you my own experience with handwriting: started printing at 3, sorted out my backward-K issue at 4, could write my own name in cursive by 5, had to correct a backward-Palmer-Cursive-F issue when we learned cursive in third grade. Is there supposed to be some link between the two activities?

* This may have been a learning-style thing, now that I think about it: I wasn't making progress when shown, but given a set of verbal instructions to follow and repeat to myself, I learned in about an hour.

[DottyG]

Ok, I'm sorry but I don't get what the poll is asking?

I agree.  The poll doesn't make sense. 

[Larrabee]

Yeah, sorry but neither "Shoe Tying" nor "Functional Skills at School" makes sense as answers to a 'why' question.  I have no idea what to put!



Edited for poor grammar!

[bobsyouruncle]

Well, 200 people have viewed the topic but only 1 has voted so far, so at least its not just the three of us that are confused!

[Shiraz_Much?]

It would have never occurred to me that my daughter should learn to tie her shoes from anyone other than me or her dad.  I'd never expect her teacher to do it.  Teachers have enough to worry about.

This

[Larrabee]

It would have never occurred to me that my daughter should learn to tie her shoes from anyone other than me or her dad.  I'd never expect her teacher to do it.  Teachers have enough to worry about.

This

There was a very long thread about the subject in the last week or so:

http://www.etiquettehell.com/smf/index.php?topic=92732.0

[Slartibartfast]

Do young kids' shoes even come with laces anymore?  All of Babybartfast's shoes so far have been buckles, velcro, or just elastic.  I bet kids today don't learn to tie their shoes as early because they probably are wearing non-tie closures most of the time.

[FlyingBaconMouse]

Do young kids' shoes even come with laces anymore?  All of Babybartfast's shoes so far have been buckles, velcro, or just elastic.  I bet kids today don't learn to tie their shoes as early because they probably are wearing non-tie closures most of the time.

I wondered about this myself! After the first shoe-tying thread, I went home and checked my closet. I only own one pair of shoes that needs tying, mainly because I live in boots (cold weather) or sandals (warm weather). I spend a lot more time tying belts on blouses, dresses and the like. Now that we're in the Velcro age, I wonder how old a little boy, or a tomboyish little girl,  would be before actually needing to tie a bow somewhere on their clothes?