Most children's feet, 98% of all children's feet to be precise, are born healthy. Flat feet or flat feet are not uncommon in infancy and are not particularly dangerous for further development, since the bones and muscles, which are still very soft, change and adapt in the first years of life. The right footwear is required to ensure the healthy development of little feet.
You are faced with the choice of choosing the right shoes for your child and do not know exactly which of the conventional shoes ensure a healthy development of the little feet? We want to show you a healthy alternative to conventional shoes: barefoot shoes. Whether with or without socks in the shoes, their flexible soles allow the foot to move and develop anatomically correctly and naturally in the shoe, without the toes being forced in a certain direction due to an incorrect fit, thus forcing an unwanted misalignment.
Barefoot shoes for children - the healthier alternative?
In order to strengthen the foot muscles of your baby or your child at an early age, you should let your child run barefoot as often as possible and almost always, provided that the external circumstances allow it. Walking barefoot ensures the correct toe position and improves the body coordination of small children through the perception of sensory stimuli through the soles of their feet. This is also the case in barefoot shoes, which act almost like shoes without soles and thus allow the foot to perceive the stimuli.
If the external circumstances do not allow your child to walk barefoot, shoes should logically be put on. For a healthy development of the feet and legs, barefoot shoes are the healthier alternative to conventional shoes. With their flexible and soft sole, they take your child's natural walking into account. In contrast to us, the children put their feet much flatter on the ground. So this means that the kids shouldn't have any problems getting used to the barefoot shoes. In addition to the flexible sole, the barefoot shoes offer comfortable toe freedom and a lot of space in the shoe, which contributes to the healthy and natural development of children's feet.
Why shoe choice is so important?
As mentioned above, almost all children are born with healthy feet, but the wrong choice of shoes or unsuitable shoes can lead to a misalignment of the toes or bowlegs and knock-knees at a later age. An Austrian study showed that children's shoes that were too small caused the big toe to become skewed. The more unsuitable the children's shoe was, the more pronounced was the slanting of the big toe.
If your child wears shoes that are too small for a short period of time, you do not have to worry about the health of their small feet. You should make sure that the foot can recover by walking barefoot frequently and that new, suitable shoes are bought promptly.
If a change to suitable shoes is not done very promptly, joint inflammation or misalignment can occur and your child can suffer long-term damage, so that medical treatment is necessary. In addition, in adulthood it can affect the entire body statics and cause knee, hip and back problems and even disturb the blood circulation in the feet and legs.
Which sole should children's shoes have?
When choosing shoes, you should pay particular attention to the sole of the respective shoe. A sole that is rigid and inflexible and usually unsuitable for the shape of your child's foot prevents it from developing naturally and can lead to consequential damage in the years to come. As mentioned above, barefoot shoes take into account the exact anatomy of children's feet and are a healthier alternative to conventional shoes, which usually have a wedge-shaped sole and do not correspond to the natural shape of the foot. Barefoot shoes are very flexible due to their sole and have a comfortable toe freedom as well as a lot of space, so that your child's feet can grow healthy and naturally without any problems. A flexible sole allows your child to develop the muscles
The advantages of walking shoes
For a stay in the fresh air, walking shoes, often made of leather, are very useful, as they are very water-repellent and occasionally waterproof. The leather is super waterproof, so you and your child can go outside without any problems even in bad weather.
The first walker shoes are very good for your child, as these shoes ensure a comfortable fit and the flexible sole allows the small children's feet to move as naturally as possible. These shoes can also be put on without problems without socks, so that walking barefoot is possible.
That is why barefoot shoes are the better choice
From now on, when choosing shoes, you should think twice about going for conventional shoes or doing your children's feet a favor and buying them water-repellent or even waterproof barefoot shoes. In summary, barefoot shoes are the healthier alternative compared to conventional shoes, which saves your child from possible discomfort in the years to come. Otherwise, the young muscles, tendons and joints of your child can suffer as a result of the wrong fit and a sole that is too rigid. The children themselves cannot yet judge whether the shoe fits and sits well. In addition to the risk of muscle and tendon weakness due to unsuitable shoes, other complaints can occur in adulthood, such as back, hip and joint pain and a misalignment of the big toe.