shoes for babies

[trionam]

My mother in law doesnt seem that impressed that I bought shoes for my nine month old daughter, shes in a walker now and i think the shoes help her balance better,is there some old wives tale that says shoes are bad for babies that havent learnt to walk yet or something?

[jills]

well our health visitor said she wasn't keen on them until baby was an established walker.  Our wee guy is 14mnths old and onlky has soft shoes for hkeeping his feet warm outside.  indoors, he's always barefoot.  Apparently when tehy are learning to walk, tehy gather much mroe information through their feet if they are bare...tehy can learna btou textures, terraiN

[jills]

well our health visitor said she wasn't keen on them until baby was an established walker.  Our wee guy is 14mnths old and onlky has soft shoes for hkeeping his feet warm outside.  indoors, he's always barefoot.  Apparently when tehy are learning to walk, tehy gather much mroe information through their feet if they are bare...tehy can learna btou textures, terraiN 

[jills]

sorry....said baby is mashing keyboard!!!!

anyway, they learn to balance better (apparently) if allowed to explore unshod.  I notice that Clarks are now selling "crawling" shoes, which sounds like cashing in to me, as no shoe could be as senstive as a bare wee foot!

[andy hughes]

I'd agree, babies learn far more from the esnsitive soles and toes if they are exposed to carpet and flooring. Add to that the fact that babies' bones are very soft, and can be easily damaged by being forced into hard shoes. Best to stick to soft shoes for outside, and bare feet for inside, until baby needs to walk outside regulalry.

[smudge]

I'm 57 & walk around bare feet too - thank God for carpets!

[blueeyedlass]

yeahhhh can i join your club too because the first thing i do when i come inside is take my shoes and socks off.

[smudge]

That's a good idea Pickle. There's nothing like kicking your shoes or boots off after being in them all day mich m. Freedom for the feet!

 

Whilst we're on the subject, I believe toddlers should only wear 'proper' soled shoes when they are ready to walk unaided. Before that, they should be able to feel & get to grips with floor surface. We did that with our children & they've done the same with theirs too.

[Hebejebe]

The shoes need to be exactly the right size for your child or, and I am seroius about this, they could actually inhibit and even deform the growth of your babys feet.  Just think how soft and supple the bones are, do they really need to be crammed into shoes when the child can't even walk yet?

[FP]

I'm 57 too and never wear anything on my feet at home.  My mother has always tried to force me into slippers.  However, beware, a physiotherapist has told me that she can tell I am always barefoot because my arches have apparently 'rolled inwards' and has advised that I now wear slippers with arch supports to stop the arthritic pains I am now getting in my feet.

I don't think this advise would apply to babies though and am sure they are best without 'proper' shoes until they have perfected their walking.

[cazzabella]

I'm so glad there are others who agree with me about babies going barefoot. I hate having my feet in shoes all day and regularly go barefoot in the summer, indoors and out. I have 5 grandchildren and thankfully my children have all taken my advise to let their children go barefoot for as long as possible. Our feet are so much more sensitive to touch than we realise, and babies love to play with their feet and toes. Why cover them up? To me it's the same as expecting your child to wear gloves all day! My youngest grandson, 3 months old, loves laying on his mat, bare feet and kicking furiously on a 24 pack of Walker's crisps! (We'd improvised one day and never looked back) You can see him squishing the bag between his toes - he seems to love the feel of the plastic on the soles of his feet and the noise it makes - cheapest toy on the market! He's a sweaty baby and hates wearing socks (well any clothes really). Babies sweat twice as much through their feet as adults do, so going bare foot also helps them maintain their body temperature correctly, and as most of us live in comfortably warm houses nowadays there really isn't any need for them to have their feet wrapped up. Most foot deformities are caused by wearing shoes. Children need to be able to spread their toes for balance and use the soles of their feet for judging the terrain they are walking on. In cultures where going barefoot is normal, it is very unusual for children to have foot problems and most can walk on all sorts of surfaces without any problems. It's a fallacy that our feet are delicate and easily damaged - unless you needlessly cram them into foowear.

[Mr.Ix]

The main thing wrong with Childrens Shoes is the Price!!!   I couldn't believe how much my little boys first shoes cost. I wouldn't pay that for a pair of mine ;)

[atkrhome]

Babies shouldnt wear 'proper' shoes until they need them for walking. Barefoot is best, it allows the feet to spread out naturally and will give better balance than wearing soes.

babies feet grow ever so quickly too and if they arent measured regularly and properly then they can end up with bent toes/bunions and deformed feet.