3 IN 10 CHILDREN CAN’T TIE THEIR SHOELACES WHEN LEAVING PRIMARY SCHOOL

3 in 10 children are still unable to tie their shoe laces on leaving primary school according to findings from a survey commissioned by OSGO* to coincide with National Feet Week (13th – 20th May).

Of the 500 surveyed, 46% of parents thought that being able to tie your own laces was an important life skill yet 62% of parents admitted to tying their children’s laces for them to save time and stress every morning. One mum said: ‘Its far easier for me to tie my children’s laces before we leave the house on the school run or we would be really late.’

As well as time constraints, 57% of those questioned said that their children also had no interest in tying their shoelaces and were not bothered about learning how.

Advances in footwear design and fashion trends have meant that many children don’t wear shoes with laces until much later than in previous generations, who were expected to learn by the age of around seven. Velcro and pull-on designs are the most popular amongst parents because of ease of use and time-saving.

76% of parents said they taught their children to tie laces at home with only 14% relying on school to teach their child. During National Feet Week, OSGO are urging parents to help their children begin to learn this essential life skill which helps to support feet as they continue to grow and develop.

Tony Gavin, CEO at OSGO believes that children should be taught to tie their laces from an early age and said:

‘It’s a worrying statistic that children are progressing to high school without having learnt a crucial life skill. Children’s fine motor skills should be developed enough by aged six to begin learning to tie their shoe laces and parents should dedicate time to teaching their kids to perfect this. Not only is it a key life skill, being able to tie laces properly supports young feet that are still growing and developing.’

Shockingly one mum claimed:

‘My 11 year old son plays football on a Saturday and the matches are regularly stopped so the referee can tie a players laces!’

How fast can you tie your laces? Join the #lacerace on Twitter at @NatFeetWeek Visit www.nationalfeetweek.org for more details.