Generally, children will try to put shoes on by themselves around three years old. They may get the sides wrong, but, as parents, give them lots of praise for trying!
Learning to put them on correctly encourages their independence and saves time when going out. Here’s a tip to help them tell the difference between the left and right shoe.
- Cut a sticker in half and place them on the insoles of the left and right shoe. It could be a cartoon character or your child’s name.
- Put the shoes together sole-to-sole. Draw half of a circle or dot on the left and right outsoles.
The shoes are now a matching game!
Keep in mind this is an immediate solution to get things started. Putting on shoes needs good core strength and skills including fine motor, cognitive, visual perception and attention. If your child still has challenges with this task, talk with your occupational therapist for further support.
Let us know how you go with this tip, and what sticker you use!
This blog post was edited from Jessica Lee’s blog.
Jessica Lee is an Occupational Therapist at Plumtree. You can find more tips on her Instagram blog: jessthanperfect_ot
