Learning to Tie my Shoes

When I think of eventually mastering skills as a child, I think of learning to tie my shoes. It took a significant amount of time. I did not successfully learn how to tie my shoes until I was 8 1/2 years old. I do not recall previous attempts of shoe tying-aside from being at school and having to ask peers to tie my shoes for me.

But I do clearly remember the afternoon when I mastered shoe tying. My great-aunt who had been a nurse for many years was visiting and my parents told her about my shoe tying struggles. She asked if she might give it a try with me. I remember sitting with her on the living room couch with a single shoelace in hand. She had me practice crossing, tying, knotting a shoelace not on a pair of shoes but around my knee. Before the afternoon was up, I could tie my shoes!

The message: when a child is struggling to master a skill, don't give up. Just try a different approach! You never know what approach may be just what clicks for the child.......