Feet Feet Feet

There are some things that, as parents, we have been thinking and worrying about since before our children were even born. There are other things that we started thinking about and worrying about as soon as they were born. But sometimes, there are things that never occurred to us to worry about, until someone else says something.

So, feet.  Not something I had been worrying about. Then, when my daughter was a few weeks old we were at a mama group when one of the mothers started talking about how the only things she bought new for her daughters were shoes- because foot development was so important. Everything else could be used, but the shoes had to be $75 brand new ones. Whoa! I thought. What was so scary about foot development, and why was this the first I had heard of it?!

I only recently, finally, did some digging into what the deal is with foot development- and THIS seems to be the best website to explain the details, although I also got some good basic info HERE.

Basically, what I learned sums up to this (although this certainly doesn't go into enough detail so read the real articles if you can)

• The first five years are the most important for foot development.
• From the very beginning (as in, from the time you bring your baby home) babies need to be able to have a wide range of motion for their feet and toes to allow them to stretch and flex for proper development. This means, no tight socks or swaddles that significantly limit their ability to do these things (or, if you must tightly swaddle legs and feet for certain sleep periods, make sure they have lots of other opportunities during the day to flex and stretch and play with feet and toes).
• Continue to keep your child's feet as uninhibited as possible as they learn to sit and crawl. Make sure socks are not tight (when they are necessary, which often is not the case- apparently, if the floor is warm enough for baby's hands to be bare, his/her feet can be bare also) and avoid shoes as much as possible (this was natural for us since money is so tight and it didn't seem to make financial sense to invest is shoes for a child that does not walk).
• Crawling is very important for foot development- give your baby as much opportunity to crawl as possible (unshod.org recommends putting your baby in a play pen rather than a swing when you need to keep him/her out from underfoot, but really, use common sense and moderation people; do that many people keep kids in swings for so much of the day that they don't get enough opportunities to crawl? Really?)
• Once your child is walking and needs shoes the recommendations are for shoes that are "flexible, roomy, and simply made are best. Remember, children's toes and feet must be allowed to grow naturally without restrictions and pressures.... [it should be] flexible through the arch. Having found a flexible arch, make certain that the sole itself is not so thick that the shoe becomes hard to bend..." Also, avoid pointed toes, arch-support features, and heels (the flatter the better). As far as length and width are concerned, get shoes as wide as possible and "[t]here should be at least one adult thumb width or three-fourths of one inch of space between the end of the child's toes and the end of the shoe"
• Go barefoot as much as possible. Period. "It is not enough that children's feet be free from deforming shoes-foot health also depends upon going barefoot in order to develop agility and strength in the feet. . . . For toddlers, shoes should be worn outdoors only during inclement weather and indoors only for infrequent dress-up occasions."

The article also suggests that after your child's first five years, you should compare his/her feet to some peer's. "If you will have your child follow the directions just outlined, until he is five, you will find that he has perfectly functioning, almost entirely unimpaired feet. (The ends of the first, fourth and fifth toes may be curled in a little, no matter how great care is taken, because there are presently no shoes on the market which are entirely non-deforming). Compare your child's feet with those of his playmates the same age - with whom this care was not taken. Your child will have straighter, stronger toes and denser muscles on the bottom of his feet. You will be amazed to discover that other children's toes will be skinny and weak, even gnarled. When you see the ease with which your child moves about on his feet you will feel rewarded for the care you have taken of his feet." I don't know how well I can follow all the guidelines given, but we will certainly do bare feet as much as possible (which I now know is more than I would have thought) and I just might look at some other children's feet when my daughter is five!