Teaching A Young Child to Tie

When little children have trouble learning to tie the "right" way it can help to show them an easier (although not quite correct ) way to tie.

Most children can understand how to tie a single knot. Teaching them to tie a single knot first is the first step in teaching them the easier way to tie. Once they've learned to make the knot teach them to make two loops (rather than one). Once they have the two loops tell them to tie those two loops into a single knot as well.

The biggest challenge with teaching children to tie is often that they don't see exactly where to pull through the unlooped shoelace. Some children may not understand what it is they are supposed to be doing in the final step of tying the correct way.

Showing them the not-quite-correct-but-easier way to tie will let them know how to tie their shoes (or other bows) until they're a little older and better able to understand the correct way to tie. The two-loops-in-a-single-knot method often stays tied better, and one day your child will probably ask you, "Can you teach me to tie the grown-up way?"