The more you touch, the better your brain develops.
The rich sensory messages from the feet are critical to a child's development. They contain as many neurotransmitters and hormones as those of the hands, so the growing brain can process them properly.
Walking barefoot promotes the growth of strong feet.
The bones in children's feet are malleable into their late teens, so barefoot running helps strengthen and stretch these important structures. Without shoes to compress the heads of the metatarsals (the parts of our foot that are closest together), young people have more room to develop the muscles that will allow them to stand firmly when they grow up!
Running barefoot encourages the development of a strong big toe.
With a strong big toe, the little toe can grow straight and tall, providing better balance. Stiff shoes that do not allow movement often squeeze the big toe towards the second toe and only partially strengthen it along its entire length!
Barefoot running improves the ability to bend the knee.
The importance of knee flexion cannot be overstated, as it is a key component to staying fit and flexible into adulthood. Developing flexibility in your feet and ankles will improve their strength when you step on a surface like grass or dirt - which can make all the difference on long runs!
Barefoot running improves posture.
Children's perfect posture is at risk. They spend more time sitting, hanging around and being more immobile than ever, which negatively affects the shape of their feet and how they feel overall! Barefoot running helps avoid the traditional "mini-gips" shoes that can interfere with both function and fun, while keeping the young body strong and maintaining good posture by not disrupting homeostasis (the process by which healthy structures balance each other).
Barefoot running provides a natural walking and running style.
Stiff, tight shoes can cause children to walk with awkward posture and a forced gait. Their walking style will change as they get older if you don't let them run barefoot to help them develop their natural walking style!
Most children are born with perfect feet.
Running barefoot helps keep your children's feet healthy! You know how babies everywhere take off their shoes every chance they get? Well, there's a reason for that. Our feet are a masterpiece of biomechanics - we shouldn't ruin them by wearing traditional sandals in the shape of a shoe.... But it's much more important to find ways to give our children the best possible start in life: 87% of children in the US are born with perfect feet.
All Watelves shoes are designed to be as close to barefoot walking as possible, while providing maximum flexibility. They enhance the natural strength and movement of your feet. They let you feel the ground beneath your feet.
The strong sensory connection between the feet and the brain causes us to move and find our place in the world. Watelves shoes bring you closer to nature and connect you to the world around you.
We believe:
The closer people are to nature, the more they will protect it.
Nature is the only truly sustainable world. The only shoes that are healthy for us and our planet are barefoot shoes.