How to Lace Kids’ Shoes to Prevent Heel Slippage – 3 Easy and Simple Steps!

Is your child complaining that his or her heels are always slipping off the shoes? Have you noticed blisters around your child’s heels? After having worked for a specialized children’s shoe store for over a decade I figured out the most effective way of how to lace kids’ shoes to prevent heel slippage.

Heel slippage is one of the most common reasons why children refuse to wear their shoes or develop blisters around their heels. The good news is that I came up with a shoe lacing technique that will help keep your child’s heels in place.

Why Does My Child Heels Slip Off the Shoes?

There can be several reasons why your child’s heels keep slipping off the shoes, but I have put together the 5 most common ones:

• Your child’s shoes are too long or too wide.
• Your child has narrow feet/heels.
• Your child has a high instep.
• Your child wears orthotics inside the shoes.
• The shoes are stretched out around the heel area.

Whichever reason is making your child’s heels slip off the shoes, I will help you solve this problem by showing you the most effective shoe lacing technique to stop heel slippage.

I have applied this shoe lacing technique in hundreds of different children’s shoes and the results are immediate. I learned this shoe lacing technique from working for a specialized children’s shoe store for the last 10 years. We specialize in helping children with foot problems, and a great number of them wear orthotics inside their shoes, which usually requires a special shoe lacing technique.

Sometimes your child might express discomfort and tell parents that the shoes feel “funny” or the shoes bother them in the back. If you notice a blister around your child’s heels your child is likely experiencing heel slippage. Take a look at the image below to check where children get most blisters when they experience heel slippage:

Most parents are not aware of the importance of using all of the eyelets (shoe holes) of the shoes. I have noticed throughout the years that most children who experience heel slippage are not using the top two eyelets of their shoes:

The shoe lacing technique I will show you below can be applied to all sneakers that have shoelaces.

How to Lace Shoes to Prevent Heel Slippage – The Most Effective Way!

1️⃣ Start by leaving the two top eyelets (small holes of the shoe) of each side of the shoes open – take a look at the image below for clarification:

2️⃣ Grab the shoelaces and go through the top hole first as shown in the image below:

3️⃣ The last step is to go through the holes you left open:

I call this shoe lacing technique the “lace-locking technique”. Basically what this shoe lacing technique does is push your child’s feet back against the back of the shoe, securing and protecting your child’s heels.

Getting the Correct Shoelaces for Your Child’s Shoes

These shoelaces come with little bubbles running intermittently along the length of the shoelace, and they hold the shoelaces so they don’t come untied. They are made of 100% polyester, extremely well-made which makes them hold up better than any other regular shoelace.

The Importance of Undoing the Laces Before Taking the Shoes On/Off

It’s really important to remind children to undo the shoelaces every time they remove their shoes, especially if they always complain about heel slippage.

Every time your child removes the shoes without undoing the laces the heel counter of the shoe gets stretched out. This means that there will be too much extra space around the heels which will lead to heel slippage. For example, the image below shows how the shoes used to look when it was new (image on the left), and how the shoe looks now (image on the right). Do you notice how the back of the shoe on the right is all stretched out from the child not undoing the velcro strap?

Preventing heel slippage is extremely important to prevent your child from developing blisters or experiencing discomfort when walking or running around.

Do not hesitate to contact me directly at my e-mail if you have any further questions or if you are having a hard time finding a specific shoe style for your child. My e-mail address is: fittingchildrensshoes@gmail.com

Let me know if you have any questions about this shoe lacing technique in the comments section below.