Tying your shoes is one of the hardest things for young children to learn.  It is also one of their biggest accomplishments.  I can still remember the day I first learned to tie my shoes, and believe me, there's not a whole lot I remember from being that small, but that memory has always stuck out in my mind.

Riley is still a little young to learn how to tie her shoes just yet, but I was very interested in finding out more about how the Tie Buddies would help her when she became ready to give it a try.

Tie Buddies work by basically shortening the laces for the child, taking the difficult "loops" out of the equation and giving them something steady to grasp onto while tying their shoes.  Parents need to attach the Tie Buddies onto each lace as shown:

Next, simply follow the directions on the back of the package and practice these steps several times with your child.  I like how each of the Tie Buddies have characters shown on them.  This is intended so that you can make up stories for your child to help them remember the steps.  When Riley gets old enough, I plan on trying to come up with a little song for her that also incorporates the fairy and wand images on her Tie Buddies.  I swear I can remember the lyrics for songs that I haven't heard in 15 years, so I know this type of learning tool really works!

Also, once the shoes are tied, the Tie Buddies become an instant accessory!  The bright pink colors and little characters on the Tie Buddies will add some interest to her shoes and make them more fun.  If I had one suggestion for how to make the Tie Buddies better, it would be to have a short story or song created which goes with each of the images and printed on the back with the instructions.  This way, parents would have a great story or song at the ready and could use the Tie Buddies with their child right away.