Making Shoe Tying easy with EZLeaps - a Product Review

I heard about EZLeaps at the absolute perfect time. After a recent doctor check-up, my 7-year old son was asked if he knows how to tie his shoes. I was surprised by the question but instantly worried we missed an important milestone (you guessed it, the answer was no). So once we finally got a pair of sneakers with laces, I was ready to teach him to tie his shoes. I honestly don’t remember who taught me – it seems so ingrained that even my method for tying shoes looks easy to me but not so much to my son. And that’s why I was happy to hear from EZLeaps – they requested we try the product and my family was happy to get any extra help with the shoe tying business that was not going too smoothly.
The first thing you need to do is watch the video – it breaks it down in just a few simple steps. Here’s the video:

Next, we did the fun measurements – I’ll take any chance to practice math with my kids. The small colorful card above our geometric ruler is the EZLeaps card.

Finally, my son was ready to move on to the tying. He pinched the laces and made the X, tucked the laces and squeezed – this was the easiest part. It’s very important to squeeze the laces tight in this step. If this is not done – as we found out later, the final result is too loose. so squeeze!

Next, the EZLeaps card goes over the top. Let me take a step back and describe it – it’s a simple plastic card with a few holes strategically placed to make the looping and tying easier. The card comes in many fun designs for boys and girls and has a little hole on the side to attach to their backpack (see all designs here: ezleaps.com/products).

His next step was to pull the laces up and over to make loops on each side. He pinched each loop, made an X, and tucked under the other loop. The tucking was the part we definitely need to practice more. Once the shoe is tied it looks like this:

We were now ready to remove the EZLeaps card. Our first result was a bit loose and I know why – it’s important to squeeze the laces on that first X (before you put over the EZLeaps card).

My son didn’t mind, he was so happy he got this done himself – he even demonstrated how to tie your shoes with EZLeaps to his younger sister who was inspired to try too. Her one wish was that there was a mermaid or princess EZLeaps card.

Tying shoes is a simple skill but it is a life skill and something that will give them confidence for the rest of their lives. I think the hardest part in tying shoes for kids is in pinching and making the loops – EZLeaps makes it so much of an easier job. It’s also faster. Teachers probably notice how shoe tying takes a little extra time at school, so I’m not surprised that this product was invented by a former elementary school teacher – Eileen Sloan, a mom of two. Adding the extra step of a small card with strategically placed holes [EZLeaps] makes all the difference in tying shoes and in a day of a child, his parents, teachers, and coaches – and my day was definitely brighter.