Teaching a Left-Handed Child to Tie His or Her Shoes

As a right-handed parent of a left-handed, child you may find it difficult teaching them how to tie their shoes. Many right-handed parents and teachers may try to sit next to the child, and tell the left-handed child to do what they do when teaching them. While this might work with a right-handed child, this will only confuse a left-handed child, and leave you and them frustrated. Next time you try teaching the left-handed child to tie their shoes follow the steps below. Remember, you need to wait until the child has enough dexterity, and knows left from right before teaching them to tie their shoes.

1. You may also want to take a plain white pair of shoes laces and dye one side one color, and the other side another color to help them keep the two halves of the shoelace distinguished from one another.

2. Have the left-handed child take the right lace in the right hand and the left lace in the left hand. Tell the left-hander to take the lace in the right hand and drop it to the left side of the shoe. Then have the child take the lace in the left hand and drop it to the right side of the shoe. The laces should lay in an 'X' across the top of the shoe.

3. Have the child you are teaching pick up the lace that is now on the left side of the shoe with their left hand, and the lace now on the right side of the shoe with their right hand. Just so we are clear, the laces are now in the opposite hand from where they started.

4. Now, if you had the left-handed child you are teaching cross the right lace first, like stated in step 2, then when the child picks the laces back up (laces now in opposite hands), then the lace in the left hand should be in front of the lace in the right hand. Tell the child to take the lace in the left hand, while holding the lace in the right hand taunt and upward, and pull it back towards their body. Then have the child, while holding the right hand still, push the lace in the left hand between the two laces. Have them take the lace back in the left hand and pull it tight downward.

5. Now that the knot is done, have the child drop the laces on both sides of the shoes. Have the child you are teaching take their right hand and stick out their pointer finger. Now tell them to point their right pointer finger to the left. With their left hand they need to take the left shoe lace and loop it around their right pointer finger, pinching the loop at its base, down by the knot.

6. While holding the loop with their left hand, have the left-handed child wrap the right shoe lace around the base of the loop and the tip of their thumb (this leaves room for them to push the right lace through) starting from the back and wrapping around towards the front.

7. Take the lace in the right hand, that is now wrapped around the loop in the left and the tip of their left thumb, and push the lace through where the left thumb is, almost like they are pushing their left thumb out of the way. Then have the left-handed child you are teaching, with their left hand, grab the loop just pulled their by their right, and with their right hand, grab the loop made right after the knot with their left. Just so we are clear, the loop made by one hand should now be in the other. Have them pull the loops taunt and they are done.

Use this neat poem from AtoZKidsStuff.com to help the child you are teaching remember the steps.
Build a tee pee
Come inside
Close it tight so we can hide
Over the mountain
And around we go
Here's my arrow
And here's my bow!

They key to teaching any child to tie their shoes is patience. If the child senses that you are frustrated then they will become frustrated. Try allowing the child to pick out a cool pair of shoelaces that they can have once they have learned how to tie their shoes as incentive to keep trying. Good luck and check back for more information on teaching a left-handed child basic skills.