I took a poll at the school bus stop and learned that most of the kids don’t know how to tie their shoes thanks to the plethora of slip-ons, hook-and-loop closures and those elastic zip pulls. Call me old school, but I think teaching kids shoe tying is fighting a good fight. It’s a long process; you’ll have to sit for what feels like a half hour as a little one loops the rabbit around the tree (or whichever method you use). Then you just might have to stop every 10 feet for a re-tie. But eventually, it will pay off. Before you get impatient trying to herd them out the door, practice the basics on Plan Toys Tie-Up Shoe ($5.40). It’s just a simple wooden shoe, but it removes one of the biggest obstacles of shoe tying: the knee.
About Heather Kuldell
Heather Kuldell thinks a day without stepping on her son's tiny, metal cars can be called successful. In addition to protecting sensitive insteps, she blogs, bikes, cooks and attempts to garden. By trade, she has worked for alternative newspapers, magazines and co-edited three collections of journalism called
Best AltWeekly Writing and Design.
