Football boot laces

[inthename]

can anyone tell me the name of those laces type thing for trainers/football boots that you don't have to tie? ds has to play football and rugby at school, but his feet are too big for the boots that do up with velcro and hes hopeless at laces! Thanks

They are called triathlon laces, but if your child is at secondary school he needs to practice doing laces. He really should be able to do this by now.

many thanks. not sure why you feel he 'should' be able to, surely all children are different?
As it happens, he can, but finds they come undone and would rather not trip over laces during a game as he finds games pretty difficult without getting yelled at for that as well!

Did you not mean to post in 'secondary education'?

Like diavlo I assumed age over 11yo, (especially with rugby) and, unless additional needs, the skill of tying laces woudl have been mastered. because of Velcro, many children learn later than the previous norm (5ish when I was at school), but once they need to it's usually mastered really quickly and easily.

Some rugby suppliers do sell this type of lace, so they're not a total no-no, but properly tied ordinary laces are far safer.

If he double knots the laces they should stay done up.

Footy boot laces are usually enormously long so this is generally fine to do. Same with trainers. DS2 triple knots his because they are so looooong

yes, I meant to post here.
yes, he can tie laces, but they come undone, then he trips up, then he gets yelled at.
He plays rugby because he has to rather than wanting to.
He struggles with this sort of game and has problems with hand/eye coordination when playing these sort of games, so thought I'd try and make things a bit easier.
Not sure why a life story is necessary when asking about laces that don't need to be tied or the assumption that all children by secondary age can tie laces (pretty sure theres lots who can't for a whole variety of reasons)

Anway OP thanks for this, you have reminded me to buy some triathlon laces for a tri I am doing.

Hoping they will knock precious seconds off my time.

best of luck clary

If they don't stay done up, then he can't tie them properly.

And yes, unless there are additional needs, children can dress themselves including laces (and ties) by that age.

I think we need a mumsnet survey because I'm not convinced that there are many high school pupils who cant do laces
And if there care lots then we need a mumsnet campaign because that's just shocking.

My ds can't do laces and he is 15. We got quicksnaps for him, but I don't think they are available in the UK. You could try lock laces perhaps? I think you can buy them on Amazon. Currently he is wearing ladies trek/running shoes which come with a locklace style fitting - he liked the colour.

For us the difference is that now ds undoes his shoe laces to put his feet in and out of his shoes. This means that his shoes actually fit him, he is not falling over his laces and his shoes actually last. Before that he wrecked his trainers in a couple of months and his feet were slopping around in them. ds is dyslexic and I suspect probably has dyspraxic traits too. His handwriting is certainly appalling. His sister has no problem so it's not a parenting fail, he can do the bow, it's just never tight enough and when he tries to undo it he invariably ends up with a knot. The shoe lace solutions work, so why on earth wouldn't we use them?

incancerre just what would a 'mumsnet campaign' be looking to achieve? Some sort of shaming of parents of kids with poor fine motor control?

Secondary school son who can't do laces here too.

I don't think anyone would aim to shame DC with additional needs.

I hope your DS is getting the for his specific needs, because that might impact on so many areas of life. And as lacing is a commonl intervention used from an early age or children who need developmental support for fine motor skills, then I'm guessing this is tip of iceberg if he cannot manage it.

You might want to try the special needs boards if there are other areas of difficulty in school or everyday life.

Football boots need to be laced very tightly - we live abroad and DC are expected to be able to tie laces before starting school aged 6, its considered a sign of school readiness not because they have to wear lace ups but because it is a rough garage of motor skills and managing a multi part task (obviously the occasional child still starts school unable to tie laces, but its seen as an indicator amongst others that a child might be better delaying starting or need some additional help with skills.)

So almost every 6 year old here can tie laces, but parents still do football boots for matches often, as they need to be properly tight to reduce risk of injury.

No. I'm not suggesting shaming anyone.
Just bemoaning the loss of important life skills in our children
I wonder how many of these children who can't tie laces go on to pass their driving tests? Now there's a scary thought

Do you mean Greepers? We have these, they come in a range of colours and styles, trainers, smart shoes, boots etc Ds2 has had them for years - a godsend!

Wow - I'm amazed that one small post about shoe laces has caused this, next time I'll just look it up myself.
Seems there are a few posters around who just want to stir things up over nothing, all children are different and do seemingly every day things differently.

I guess if you are strongly opposed to a discussion it is better to Google than MN a question! :o

and thanks to the helpful folk for the links
(he can tie laces - it tends to go wrong when they come undone when raining, muddy and games teacher yelling in his face!)
And if professionals use these things in professional sport, is it then assumed that they can't tie their laces either!??

I will remember those wise words in future MrTumble

What have shoe laces got to do with driving? I don't have any concerns that ds will be able to drive, turning a steering wheel is a totally different action to tying a bow. Why is doing shoe laces a life skill? I don't have any shoes with laces as an adult, they aren't compulsory!

I don't think they're used in rugby or soccer after entry level.

Not safe enough.

Totally different from running/triathlon and their performance requirements.

I use Lock laces - they hold very firmly. I've also had xtenex laces which are a different design, but don't like the feeling of the lumpy bits on the top of my foot

To drive safely you need good coordination and problem solving skills
If a tweenager can't tie his laces and can't work out for himself how to make his boots stay on his feet then how is he going to cope with driving a car?

I have triathlon laces in my gym trainers, and they're ok. No extra long dangly bits to trip on, which was the advantage of them.

They're nowhere near as secure as they'd need to be to prevent twists or sprains in contact field sports (football, rugby, hockey etc) ok for running (but I'd think twice if truly off road) and fine for gym stuff.

Try googling Alan's laces website for different knots that's he might get on with better, but ultimately need to make sure the start knot is the other way round from the bow or it will twist and untie. Then double knot the loops on top to use up excess lace.