If you read my blog on a semi-regular basis, then you know that my son turned five years old this past January. To me this age is marked by some important milestones. He will be starting kindergarten in the fall, he may begin to lose his baby teeth, and it's about time he learned to tie his shoes.Up until now, almost all my son's sneakers have had a Velcro closure. He loved being independent and being able to put his own shoes on without assistance. Well, at the end of the winter, we presented him with a new pair of Sketchers that had shoe laces instead of tabs. He no longer had that independence and I knew he wanted to regain it.
With the help of his Tie Buddies, Jake was able to learn to tie his shoes in just one week. What are Tie Buddies? Well they are little plastic rhombuses that you thread your child's laces through to help them learn to tie shoelaces. The trick is that the Tie Buddies takes the complexity of making the loops (or bunny ears) and maintaining them while kids attempt to tie their shoes. They are available in fairy and race car designs.
Take a look at this video of how well my son can tie his shoes after just one week of practicing with his Tie Buddies . . .
My thoughts about Tie Buddies as a parent:
1) The designs add a little fun to the daunting task of learning to tie one's shoes.
2) I am pleased with the short amount of time it took for my son to learn how to tie his shoes.
3) If the child pulls on the Tie Buddies too hard while tying his or her shoes, they will slide a little bit. You will have to reposition them so that they make the bunny ears in the right places the next time the child puts on his or her shoes.
4) The Tie Buddies makes it difficult for the child to untie his or her shoes independently. One cannot pull on the tail of the shoelace to undo the knot. Although this is an inconvenience, it is worth dealing with it during the training period. Once your child learns to tie his or her shoes, the Tie Buddies can come off and this won't be an issue any longer.
These work so well that I think Tie Buddies should consider making sets for adults who have arthritis and have trouble tying their shoes. Perhaps plain black and brown ones for those who would like them to blend in or some with Swarovski crystals for those who don't?
Thank you to Tie Buddies and the Family Review Network for this opportunity.
What you can win:
The prize for this contest is one set of Tie Buddies (winner's choice) for your little one to use.
Limitations:
This giveaway is open to U.S. addresses only. You do not need to be a blogger to enter, but you must have a valid email address. If you enter anonymously and do not include a valid email address in your comment entries, I will not be able to notify you should you win this random drawing.
How to Gain Entries:
Tell me about at least one person you know who could really use a set of these Tie Buddies to assist them with tying their shoes. You must do this to be eligible to win this contest.
Extra Entries:
1) Visit the Tie Buddies website. Leave a separate comment telling me which style of Tie Buddies you would choose if you won this contest.
2) Add this blog to your Technorati Favorites. Then leave a separate comment telling me you did so and under what username. Add to Technorati Favorites
3) Blog about this giveaway linking back to this post AND to TieBuddies.com . Then come back here and leave a separate comment with the link to your blog post.
4) Tweet about this giveaway linking back to this post. Then come back here and leave your link in a separate comment.
5) Subscribe to this blog's feed. Or you can follow me through Blogger or subscribe via email (widget is on sidebar). Then leave a separate comment telling me you did so.
6) Add my button or blog link to your blog's sidebar. Then leave a separate comment with the link to your blog.
(All entries will be verified prior to awarding this prize.)
Random Drawing:
This contest will be closed on Monday, April 13th, 2009 at 11:59pm EST. A random number drawing will be held shortly after. The winner will be announced here and will be contact via email or through their blog. If the winner does not respond within 48 hours, a new number will be drawn.
Good luck in the drawing!
