It's funny how children are all so different. Even though Casper has been kicking a ball since he made his first steps and can confidentially climb any object you can imagine (help!), the development of his fine motor skills are less progressed. He only just now learned to tie his own shoelaces -- on the brink of his sixth birthday. My other children were definitely able to do it earlier!

I posted the above photo of this accomplishment on my Instagram feed and received a few handy tips I thought would be handy to share here. Here are five simple tips for learning to tie shoelaces, surely they will help your child feel more confident to master the trick.

Five simple tips for learning to tie shoelaces

1. It sounds obvious, but do let your child wear shoes with laces. If they only wear step ins or shoes with velcro closure, they will never learn.

2. Make sure the laces are long enough (or don't lace the top hole of the shoe to allow more lace to work with).

3. First let your child master the basic knot. Once he or she masters that trick, get on with the other steps.

4. Colour one half of the shoelaces with permanent marker so that it is easier to identify the two different loops.

5. Cross over the laces and then tuck the aglets into the top hole on each side to make the loops. Then the loops stay by themselves and their hands are free to tie the loops together.

If you have other tips, feel welcomed to share!

xxx Esther

PS A simple tip to to make brushing children's teeth more fun.