Proprioception and Shoe Tying — Why It Matters and How to Build It

The short answer

Proprioception is the body's sense of where its parts are in space and how much force they are using — without looking. Shoe tying depends on it constantly: judging how hard to pull a lace, how tight to hold a loop, whether the knot is finished or about to slip. A child with proprioceptive challenges can know every step of shoe tying and still struggle, because their hands cannot reliably feel what their hands are doing.

I am Bobby Morong, a special education teacher. Proprioception is one of the most overlooked reasons kids get stuck on shoe tying. Here is what it actually is, how it shows up in this specific skill, and how to build it.

What is proprioception?

Proprioception is one of the body's hidden senses. While vision tells you what is in front of your eyes and hearing tells you what is around you, proprioception tells your brain:

• Where your arms, hands, and fingers are positioned
• How much force your muscles are using
• Whether you are pushing, pulling, gripping, or releasing
• How tight or loose something is in your grip

It comes from receptors in the muscles, joints, and connective tissue, and it is what lets you scratch your nose with your eyes closed, judge how hard to set a glass down, or pull a zipper without ripping it.

How proprioception shows up in shoe tying

Shoe tying is full of small force-and-position decisions that proprioception is making for you in the background. Watch a child tying a shoe and you will see proprioception working — or not — at every step.

• Pulling the laces tight enough but not too tight. A child with weak proprioception often pulls so lightly the knot collapses, or so hard the shoe pinches.
• Maintaining tension while the other hand moves. Holding a loop steady requires the brain to feel the lace without watching it. If proprioception is unreliable, the loop slips the moment attention shifts.
• Knowing when a step is finished. A solid knot feels different from a loose one. Without that internal feedback, kids cannot tell whether they are done.
• Coordinating both hands at different jobs. Bilateral coordination depends on each hand knowing where it is. Proprioception is the substrate underneath that.

Signs your child may have proprioceptive challenges with shoe tying

Proprioception is invisible from the outside, but a few patterns are telling:

• They consistently pull laces too loose (knots fall apart immediately) or too tight (cannot get the shoe off)
• They have to keep looking back and forth at both hands while tying
• They lose the loop the moment they try to use the other hand
• They cannot tell when a knot is finished without an adult confirming
• The same struggles show up elsewhere — pressing too hard or too soft with a pencil, dropping forks at the dinner table, knocking over cups

If several of these ring true, it is worth mentioning to your child's pediatrician or occupational therapist. Proprioception is something OTs work with all the time.

How to build proprioception for shoe tying

Proprioception is trainable. The two principles: give the body more force-based input, and reduce the demand on proprioception in the moment of practice so the child can succeed and build confidence.

Activities that build it

• Heavy work. Carrying laundry baskets, pushing chairs in, wall pushups, animal walks — anything that loads the muscles gives the proprioceptive system a workout.
• Resistance squeezing. Playdough, putty, stress balls, squeeze toys — graded force practice in the hands.
• Tug-of-war and pulling games. Pulling against resistance teaches kids what "firm" feels like.
• Threading and lacing activities. Lacing cards and bead threading practice the same finger-tension control shoe tying needs.
• Two-handed tasks. Opening jars, unwrapping packages, hand-over-hand climbing — anything that requires both hands to know what the other is doing.

Reducing the demand in the moment

While you are building proprioception over time, you can also lower the demand on it during practice itself. The biggest help is keeping the laces from collapsing the second your child's grip wavers. Training Ties® hold the laces in place at the hard moments, so a child who is still building proprioceptive control can complete steps successfully and feel what "done" actually feels like — instead of feeling failure on repeat.

Why this matters beyond shoe tying

Proprioception is one of those underlying skills that shows up in handwriting, eating, dressing, and almost every fine motor task. Building it for shoe tying tends to pay off across the board. Many parents report that the kid who finally tied their shoes also started writing more legibly and getting dressed more independently in the same window — because the same system was getting stronger.

Related guides

• Shoe-tying help for sensory processing disorder
• Shoe tying glossary — proprioception, bilateral coordination, motor planning defined
• Why shoe tying is hard for kids
• Why can't my child tie their shoes? A motor planning guide
• Autism, ADHD & fine motor support

Frequently asked questions

What is proprioception in simple terms?

It is the body's sense of where its parts are and how much force they are using, without looking. It is what lets you touch your nose with your eyes closed or judge how hard to pull a shoelace.

How does proprioception affect shoe tying?

Shoe tying constantly relies on judging force and position without looking — how hard to pull a lace, how tight to hold a loop, whether the knot is finished. If proprioception is unreliable, kids cannot get consistent feedback from their hands and the skill is much harder to learn.

Can proprioception be improved?

Yes. Heavy work, resistance activities, two-handed tasks, and graded squeezing all build proprioceptive awareness over time. Occupational therapists work with this regularly.

How do I know if my child has a proprioception issue?

Common signs include consistently pulling laces too loose or too tight, needing to look back and forth at both hands while tying, losing the loop the moment the other hand moves, and similar force-control issues with pencils, utensils, and cups. If several ring true, an OT screening is reasonable.

Is proprioception related to autism or ADHD?

Many autistic kids and kids with ADHD have proprioceptive differences, though it is not universal and not exclusive to those diagnoses. Sensory processing differences are common across many profiles.

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