Why Do Parents Glue Pennies to Their Children’s Shoes? (EXPLAINED)


Why Do Parents Glue Pennies To Their Children's Shoes

Have you ever noticed a toddler wearing shoes looking normal and creating some special sound while walking?

If this strange sound attracted your attention, it’s time to look at the coins adhered to his footwear.

You may feel strange when you first see the footwear with the coins. However, this way is normal and even common in many families.

Why do parents glue pennies to their children’s shoes? This article will show you the reasons. Let’s check it out!

What Happens If You Stick Pennies At The Bottoms Of Your Shoes?

Pennies are valuable enough to save half the money you will spend on tap shoes.

You’ll need some coins and some adhesive to make the magic happen, and your lovely tap shoe will appear.

So, if you stick them to your children’s footwear, what will happen? 

Pennies are composed of copper. They make a clicking sound when you put them together or play with them.

As a result, whenever the coins lodged in the bottoms of footwear come into touch with the ground, they produce a sound.

In other words, friction occurs when you use pennies to attach your toddlers’ footwear.

It produces noises similar to those made by a tap dancer’s shoes. You can replicate the tap shoes’ functionality.

Nonetheless, the outcome may be followed if it evokes specific circumstances that cause the noises to being generated.

It relies on several factors:

  • The number of pennies lodged in your child’s footwear in proportion.
  • Your floor: A marble floor will produce more sound. However, a wooden base with furniture will work.
  • The techniques utilized to stick the pennies together.

If you consider these aspects, your tap shoes may have a great impression.

Why Do Parents Glue Pennies To Their Children’s Shoes?

They do this trick for many good reasons, such as to lessen wear, replace tap shoes, keep an eye on your kids, add bring, or just for fun. 

If you plan to apply this trick, you can go wrong. Below are the good reasons for this creativity of parents. Let’s take a closer look!

Keep An Eye On Your Children.

Sticking coins on footwear is a great idea, especially for toddlers. 

If you’re a new parent, you can become exhausted from keeping an eye on your toddlers while energetic kids rush around.

All you need to do is to adhere the pennies to your toddlers’ footwear and allow them to move around.

You may also watch them by listening to their footsteps on the wooden floor.

It allows you to keep track of your children even if you’re at work, and you may check in on them whenever things go quiet.

This way seems interesting to children, and they routinely try on their customized footwear.

Keep an eye on your child

Lessen Wear

It is beneficial to both children and adults. The metal beneath the easily worn rubber sole safeguards it and assists the shoes more durable.

Children’s footwear will outgrow themselves before kids can wear them. 

It is, nevertheless, a helpful idea for parents of high school and middle school kids who do not appear to develop as quickly as preschoolers.

A sturdy, non-worn heel gives better support.

Add Bling

Few individuals put coins to their otherwise dull footwear to add glitter.

If it is the case, you can glue coins in front of your footwear or on your shoe’s sides instead of the bottom if you want your footwear to look blinky.

Add bling

Replace Expensive Tap Shoes

Tap shoes may be costly, mainly if your kids are passionate about tap dancing.

They test out penny-glued footwear to see whether they like them before investing in the real thing.

Pennies sound like tap shoes when they’re posted to the bottoms of footwear.

Furthermore, growing children outgrow footwear rapidly. So, purchasing such expensive footwear regularly is not a good idea for everyone.

This approach enables your children to explore, comprehend, and appreciate their passion for dancing without investing millions of dollars.

Just For Fun

Most children prefer being noisy and making sounds. They don’t like tap dancing or require constant supervision like toddlers, but they want to make sounds.

The sounds of pennies-glued footwear on the wooden floor are soothing and not overwhelming. It’s pleasant to listen to its rhythm.

Therefore, if you want to assist your youngsters in enjoying sounds without bothering others, consider this solution.

It allows your children to know various sounds through different leg movements. 

If they continue with leisure, they could become famous dancers or musicians in the future.

Just for fun

How To Glue Pennies To Your Kid’s Shoes?

Do you want to try this trick after learning about the benefits of gluing coins to your children’s footwear? Follow the step-by-step instructions below.

Step 1: Purchase A Sufficient Sum Of Pennies

Ensure you get sufficient coins before you begin the gluing procedure. 

2 or 4 will not suffice; you’ll need at least 8 to 10 of them. 

If you don’t have so many coins on hand, go to any grocery and request a money change.

Step 2: Apply Glue To The Shoe’s Bottom

It’ll be a good time to add adhesive to the bottom part of your footwear once you have a significant amount of coins and glue products.

Remember to clean the bottom surface well before gluing it down. If possible, you should use soap to clean it.

When the bottom is dirty, the glue may not attach correctly. Add a droplet of adhesive to the surface after being cleaned.

It’s best to use super glue to keep the coins from falling off when the youngster is moving or dancing. Ensure you proportionately spread the adhesive.

Otherwise, your children will find it challenging to maintain leg balance when wearing these shoes.

Step 3: Glue The Pennies

It’s time to attach the coins to the glue areas you have used. 

When adding the coins to the bottom surface of your footwear, turn them upside down while applying firm pressure.

Clean the area around the coins with a towel if there is any extra adhesive.

Set your footwear down on the floor after the pennies seem to be in place.

The force applied by the shoe on the ground should be sufficient to make the coins firmly set.

Check if your footwear can balance themselves correctly on the floor once the adhesive has dried.

Remove the coins and attach them in a symmetrical shape if any side is higher or lower than the rest.

Gluing process

Can You Stick Pennies To The Bottoms Of Any Shoes? 

The short answer is yes! Any shoe may have coins glued to it. Make sure the bottom surface of your shoes is flat enough to stand and hold the pennies. 

Metal coins are flat and composed of metal. If you plan to attach them to any surface, they must be balanced.

Furthermore, deforming a penny to obtain a shape that would correctly adhere to the curving surface is difficult.

If the coins are glued to footwear without a flat bottom, the odds of your kid slipping while walking are pretty high.

Different shoes

What To Consider When Gluing Pennies To Shoes? 

Consider the following tips to guarantee that your children can generally walk in penny-glued shoes.

Occasionally Switch The Pennies.

The coins are likely to wear out quickly if your child takes part in a tap-dancing class. The footwears’ proportionality might deteriorate over time, which is problematic for tap dance shoes.

Make Sure The Shoe Isn’t Too Weighty.

If you add enough metal coins to your footwear, they become too heavy to wear.

A heavy shoe might be challenging since it drags your feet down. Hence, don’t weigh out your shoes when placing the coins.

Never Use Tape.

The tape will not be as effective as glue. As a result, avoid using any tape. Instead, use super glue to complete the task.

Considerations

How To Get Rid Of Glue Out Of Pennies? 

When changing the coins, you may find it challenging to remove glue from them. Below are some valuable tips to make your task much more straightforward.

  • Use acetone or rubbing alcohol.
  •  Apply one of the two solutions to the adhesive and use a cloth to scratch the surface. The glue should degrade and disintegrate.
  • Scrape the adhesive from the surface as little as possible. Not only will it scrape but also harm the surface.

FAQs 

Is It Legal To Do So With Pennies?

The answer is yes. Using coins as a construction material is perfectly lawful.

Can You Hot Glue Pennies?

Yes! If you want framed pennies, you can hot glue coins to maintain their position. 

How Many Pennies Do You Need To Stick To The Shoes?

It depends on your preference. Parents use 8 to 10 coins to stick to the footwear.

Will Pennies Make The Shoes Slippery?

In some cases, placing coins in your kid’s shoes might make him slippery.

So, it’s best to put a couple in there. Before giving these items to your child, test them with your hands.

Wrapping Up

This article has eventually got to your question: Why do parents glue pennies to their children’s shoes?

There are many explanations for why parents insist on sticking coins to their children’s footwear, such as replacing tap shoes, keeping an eye on your kids, etc.

Hopefully, this post will be helpful for you. Thank you for reading!

James Dylan

James is a journalist who specializes in sports journalism. In addition to his passion for writing, he also loves running. He knows which shoes are best for running and which are ideal for sports. He is happy to offer valuable advice on shoe-related matters.

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