And 62% of parents admit they have no time to teach them
by Michael Smith (Veshengro)
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 learned 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.’
The problem is that children's fine motor skills are not developed for many kids by the age the read primary school. Some are not even strong enough in their fingers to hold a pencil due to having spent far too much time playing with touchscreens. If there would be an app to tie laces they could do it but without an app... no.
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!’
I find this, I must say, rather shocking but not surprising I must say considering that parents are so busy nowadays, mostly with themselves and their cellphones.
OSGO is a podiatry membership organisation, created for private podiatry practitioners. OSGO provides, support and information for podiatry practices nationwide.
- National Feet Week (13th May – 20th May) encourages people of all ages to prioritise foot health in the same way they would dental and eye health with regular podiatry appointments.
- National Feet Week is raising money for Forgotten Feet www.forgottenfeet.uk – a charity that provides chiropody and podiatry services for those most in need. Purchase your National Feet Week laces for GBP £1.00 donation from podiatry practices across the UK.
© 2019
