Why Do My Daughter's Shoelaces Keep Coming Undone?

Last Updated (Monday, 10 January 2011 14:13) Written by Raymond Nakamura

We just bought my six-year-old her first pair of shoes with laces. Smaller sized shoes were always all Velcro, or hook-and-loop fasteners, as they prefer to be called.

Tie Goes to the Runners

Tying shoelaces is supposed to be one of those developmental milestones for five to seven year olds (not that I keep track of such things). Some people lament the loss of basic skills. For the record, it was my daughter who wanted the ones with laces. My wife showed her the "bunny ears" method, which I had forgotten all about. Here are some more suggestions for teaching children to tie shoelaces.

She's Come Undone

My daughter seemed to pick up the tying fairly quickly, but her laces kept coming undone. I wondered why.

Knot to Be

In my own experience, laces with a round cross section come undone more easily, especially if they are made of slippery stuff like polyester or nylon. Despite this, they seem to be proliferating. Apparently, fashion is at least partly to blame. Maybe it has something to do with how complicated the shoelace making process is. In his book about body technology called Our Own Devices Edward Tenner, writes about shoelaces illustrating the way ordinary things are "a ceaseless interplay of technology, economics, and values."

Fit to Be Tied

But now I think my daughter's main problem is that she's accidentally doing a granny knot, which slips apart more easily — a subtle topological problem. So I have to get her to reverse the way she does the first wrap.

Algebra and Old Laces

If you have time on your hands, you might like to look here for a list of eighteen different ways to tie your shoelaces. Lacing can be an art in itself and also lends itself to mathematics with regard to the "best way" to do it or using different amounts of lace. Go ahead and tie one on.