Shoelaces

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I was probably 4 or 5 when I first learned how...the whole...shoot, I don't even remember how it goes anymore...make a loop...through the loop, around the loop, pull it tight...something like that. My only problem is keeping them tied Short of double knotting them, it seems like I just can't keep them tied no matter what.

That would be harder for me than just regular tying

I'm 18 and I can't tie my own shoes.
But hey, I can't tie almost anything.

It's still ridiculous, so I am considering investing in
a pair of slip-on dress shoes for school.

Well it depends on who you ask. I was tying my shoes probably around the time most are, but my parents refused to accept it as tying because I was doing it their way(I used to do 2 bunny ears then wrap them around each other and go through the hole, they insist you make 1 ear, go around it, and make a loop through the hole... Like it matters?) But I almost never did/do tie my shoes. I will tie them tight enough to stay on, but loose enough to slip on and off. Why untie them, just to tie them again later?

I can only tie laces consistently one way (sometimes I can do the other way, sometimes not). I could not learn the wrap around and loop through way at all when I was a child and did not learn to tie laces until another child showed me the tie knot, bunny ears and knot again method.

When I was about eight years old, velcro sneakers came out. A girl in my class got a pair in pink. I thought they were so cool (because of not having laces and because sneakers were universally white or blue back then). I told the girl she was lucky and she denied this saying her mum had to get them so she would not be teased for not being able to do up her laces. I marched home from school that day and told my mother she had to get me velcro sneakers so I would not get teased for not being able to do up my laces. Mum said she was buying no such thing and if I did not want to get teased for not being able to do up my laces, I should learn to do up my laces......

I could not tie them up alll the way until I was ten, but it might be understandable since I was mostly following verbal instructions. After hearing all those weird stories about bunnies and trees, I was at last given a simple set of instructions. Tie the first knot, make a loop with one lace, wrap the other around your finger, etc. I got it right on the first try that time, in about ten seconds. Adults are still just as confusing at times as they were back then. If they would only state what they would like done in a way that makes sense...

I still can't tie them without them coming lose within a few hours.

I was about 3 or 4.. I am a klutz though, and I don't think difficulty tying shoelaces is rare, I look after some kids, and the girl is 7 and only just learned to tie her shoes.

My mom started to teach me when I was around 4, but I never was good at it. I wore Velcro tennis shoes a lot during my childhood. I still am not good at tying my shoelaces, even now as an adult. While I can tie them now, I can't make them stay tied. If I want them to stay tied, I have my mother double knot them, and then they stay tied for months. (I just slip on my tennis shoes; I don't untie the laces to put my shoes on.) I also cannot tie a knot with any sort of material, be it string, rope, etc. My hands just aren't coordinated enough, I guess. I also have always had trouble differentiating between my right and my left, so I think this adds to why tying knots is so hard for me.
-OddDuckNash99-

Tie-rd and rather lacey topic

I remember how much emphasis there was when I was a did to learn the child independence behaviours--shoelace tying, reading, writing hair/teeth brushing, dressing, bed making, bike riding, ice skating, and the like. Your status, so to speak, depended on how far along the continuum you were on the way to total independence. God forbid if you did not meet your milestones on a certain date and time. I think it was because of the sheer numbers Baby Boomer kids. Class/club sizes were huge, and if you fell behind, you were a hopeless reject.

Most kids eventually get the hang of most of this stuff, or a compromise solution is reached The competitive atmosphere made it so nerve-wracking, at least for this Aspie. I preferred to be left alone to experiment the best way for me to figure out all of this. It worked, and I still do things this way even now. I take my time and figure it out using logic, experimentation, slow thinking, and even formulating my own rules which I write down for later. Also, PRACTICE. It does not make perfect, but it hones the edge.

I believe I was 7 or 8 before I got the hang of tying shoelaces. My mom was not very patient & that didn't help matters out at all. I got all kinds of insults because I couldn't catch on to such a supposedly simple task. Another area where I had severe issues was learning to swim. It took me a long to get the hang of breathing while swimming (when I first started, I would come up gasping for air). Again, my instructors were less than patient, not understanding that I was having major coordination problems. I think it's just a matter of needing extra time to learn certain skills. Can't rush it, but when a person is ready, he/she will get it. I believe expecting someone to reach any milestone at a certain age really isn't fair to individuals, since no 2 people are exactly alike anyway. Some will obviously learn something quickly whereas someone else may take many times longer to grasp a skill (still others may never quite get it).

Seven. Later than any other kid I knew. It was embarrassing.

What's weird about this thread is that everybody seems to have the same unusual shoelace-tying method I've got.

I've got a very vivid memory of learning to do it. Obsessing over my shoes and then discovering this way of tying the laces that worked but was a series of movements unlike the way people had repeatedly showed me. If I could draw I could make a perfect picture of how the paint was peeling on the porch and the autumn sunlight and the chairs and toys on the porch and the crap that was in the yard at the time. I suppose it must have been a powerful moment for me. Though after I was always a little shy to let people see me tie shoes, not wanting to brag about the skill because I was afraid they'd say that mine was the baby way of doing it.

I took forever to learn to ride a bike, too, was years behind other kids. I gave up and became obsessed with adult-sized tricycles and would be very happy and excited when I saw one. The ability appeared abruptly one day when my mother said she was embarrassed that we couldn't go to this kids-and-parents trail-ride biking event thing I couldn't ride a bike. I ran out and rode off on the thing in a fit of rage, determined never to return. Riding like I'd been doing it for years.

Took me forever to learn to read an analog clock, too. I made and memorized a chart that explains what to say for the various positions of the hands. I still take longer than most people to verbalize the answer to 'what time is it?' from an analog clock, but have no need to go through the (now unconscious, but not fast) process if I'm reading it for my own benefit.

No velcro when I was in Primary School! Only astronauts had it. So I wore sandshoes with elastic. This officially makes you so stupid and useless that it becomes legal to bully you. I can tie laces now. But can't wear lace-up shoes anyway because they make my feet feel odd.So I wasted time learning that skill.

I was 18...

I was 10 myself, and like other folks here, I used shoes with velcro fasteners in primary school. I thought those sneakers looked cooler than most shoes with laces anyway (not that I normally care about my clothes, but still).

Well, I tend to keep them on when I'm indoors, but it's not a bother to me to take them off. Often I'll sit on my bed to read a book or watch some DVDs, and I'll take off my shoes before doing that. After having taken a long stroll, it sometimes feels like a small liberation for my feet to take of my shoes.

I don't remember exactly, but I was the last kid in my year at primary school to work it out.

I was like 6 I think. I dunno, some times when I was a kid I couldn't be bothered and got my mum to fo it for me. It took me quite awhile to figure out how to tell the time on a 12-hour clock.