Shoe lace converter for kids who can't tie yet?

JulieandBen

I realize I will have to teach my five year old to tie his shoes eventually. For now it's more important for him to be able to get himself dressed head to toe in the morning. I'm finding it harder to find decent looking athletic shoes that velcro. Eventually my laziness is going to lose and I'll have to teach him. Other than those springy laces, does anyone have a rec? Thanks!

neverblushed

My kid did occupational therapy for fine motor.  His therapist said to keep him in velcro shoes for kindergarten, and that another year of growth would make learning to tie 10X easier. 

She was right!  I got him shoes with laces this year at the start of first grade.  It only took about 3 days for him to work up to doing it by himself.  Then we just had to make sure he had enough time to tie them before school because he was pretty slow.  It takes practice to learn how to keep the right amount of tension on the laces.  By October, he was tying like a pro. 

SueBear

I don't have any problem with velcro, esp. for another year or two.

Also, there are more than two ways to tie a shoelace.  DD makes two loops and ties them together (vs. making one loop, then having the other lace do the "rabbit around the tree and down the hole" thing).