How to Tie Shoes to Prevent Toe Walking – Let’s Help Your Child Walk Heel to Toe
Do you have a child who has been toe walking lately? As a shoe fitter with a passion for helping children achieve optimal foot health, I have seen firsthand how the right shoes and lacing techniques can make a significant difference. If left untreated, toe walking can lead to your child developing poor coordination, muscle tightening and stiffness, and pain in the Achilles tendon.
Choosing the right shoe can help in preventing toe walking by encouraging a more natural gait. Once you have the correct pair of anti-toe walking shoes, it’s important that you lace them correctly so your child can get the full benefits that the shoes have to offer.
How to Tie Shoes to Prevent Toe Walking
There is a specific shoe lacing technique that is the most effective for toe-walking children. My coworker who has over ten years of shoe fitting experience taught me how to tie shoes to prevent toe walking, and I want to share this technique with you as it can make all the difference in helping “ground” your child.
1. Step One: Begin by lacing your child’s shoes normally with a crisscross but leave the top two eyelets of the shoes unlaced:
2. Step Two: Go through the top eyelets first:
3. Step Three: Go through the eyelets that you left unlaced:
Why Is This Shoe Lacing Technique Effective for Toe Walking Children?
This shoe lacing technique pushes your child’s feet back, securing your child’s feet against the back part of the shoes, which serves as a reminder for your children to get off their toes.
In addition, there is a large number of children who need to wear orthotics inside their shoes to prevent toe walking. This shoe lacing technique works great for children who wear orthotics as well as it prevents heel slippage and helps keep the orthotic in place.
Getting Durable Shoelaces for Your Child’s Shoes
Selecting the right shoelaces is just as important as choosing the right lacing technique. Durable shoelaces that stay tied are essential to prevent the shoe from slipping off and to maintain the proper fit throughout the day.
- Order these shoelaces made by GREATLACES on Amazon
- Packing contains two pairs of laces
- Order the correct lace length by counting how many eyelets (shoe holes) your child’s shoes have
- Disclosure: Some links in this post may be affiliate links
Additional Resources: Anti-Toe Walking Shoes for Kids
The anti-toe walking sneakers I recommend to help prevent toe walking are designed with built-in support and features that promote proper foot alignment. They often include:
- They are rigid at the front to help discourage toe walking.
- A firm heel counter to support the rearfoot.
- A slightly elevated heel to encourage heel strike.
- Structured insoles that provide additional arch support.
Contact Me for Specific Shoe Recommendations
Not all toe walkers are the same, and some shoes that work really well for some children might not work as well for others. If you are unsure about which shoes are best for your child’s toe walking condition or you want me to take a closer look at your child’s feet contact me at the email below:
fittingchildrensshoes@gmail.com
Why Do Children Toe Walk?
These are the three most common reasons why children toe walk:
- Flat feet
- Sensory issues
- Instability
Children who toe walk can strongly benefit from physical therapy to help treat the underlying cause and teach the child how to properly walk heel to toe. Whichever approach you take, I strongly suggest that you don’t take the “wait and see approach” as the longer you wait, the worse your child’s condition might get.
First, I am very grateful for so much information that you have made available to parents of toe-walking children ? In a country where getting proper medical help requires jumping through hoops even after insurance and paying so much – you come across as an angel for your active help.
We asked several doctors in the US about my son’s toe-walking and they all said it will go away. Then when he was 11, we went to India and showed his walking to a pediatric orthopedic surgeon and neurologist both of whom said that it is idiopathic and he does not have a flat foot. We went to a local physiotherapist they recommended while we were in India and she was shocked that my son’s condition was ignored by US doctors for so many years. She said they treat kids with toe-walking in India from 9 months of age right when they start to walk because it’s easiest to fix and prevents problems in the tendon muscles and other hip joints and muscles. In my son’s case, his muscles around his hip and feet have become tight and less flexible because he has compensated for the toe-walking in other connected joints. They said he may never fully regain flexibility and mobility back in those muscles fully but physiotherapy and reversing his toe-walking will give him strength and improvement recovery.
Sorry for the long story, however we will try out the shoes that you are recommending with the shoelace tying technique.
Hello Ananya,
Thank you so much for sharing your experiences and emphasizing the importance of being proactive and not taking the “wait and see approach” when it comes to treating and preventing toe walking.
Keep us posted about how the shoes work out for your son.