Kids seem to have better instincts than us grown-ups on many occasions. Letting kids go barefoot is the best advice I’ve heard in years, especially since these days modern society has such an adverse reaction to bare feet and tend to have a servere overdependancy on shoes. Dr. Lynn Staheli, who directed the orthopedics division at the Children’s Hospital in Seattle for 15 years, documented that children raised in parts of the world where shoes are rarely worn had better flexibility, mobility, and strength, which resulted in fewer foot-related problems and injuries. In the 1960 classic “Take Off Your Shoes and Walk,” chiropodist Simon Wikler notes that children who go barefoot regularly develop stronger, healthier, and more functional feet than children who are generally shod. (He notes that a “constantly shoe-wearing tenderfoot” is rarely able to comprehend the innate capability of the human foot.) In a quick 30 minute internet search I found over a dozen medical reports and studies showing the adverse affects shoes have on our bodies from as far back as the turn of the last century and countless news articles from reporters reffering to these and other medical findings supporting this notion. Why then do we insist on wearing shoes so much when being barefoot is so comfortable and healthy? I agree that there is a time and place for shoes but the choice to be barefoot should always be left to each individual.
Pete says
Kids seem to have better instincts than us grown-ups on many occasions. Letting kids go barefoot is the best advice I’ve heard in years, especially since these days modern society has such an adverse reaction to bare feet and tend to have a servere overdependancy on shoes. Dr. Lynn Staheli, who directed the orthopedics division at the Children’s Hospital in Seattle for 15 years, documented that children raised in parts of the world where shoes are rarely worn had better flexibility, mobility, and strength, which resulted in fewer foot-related problems and injuries. In the 1960 classic “Take Off Your Shoes and Walk,” chiropodist Simon Wikler notes that children who go barefoot regularly develop stronger, healthier, and more functional feet than children who are generally shod. (He notes that a “constantly shoe-wearing tenderfoot” is rarely able to comprehend the innate capability of the human foot.) In a quick 30 minute internet search I found over a dozen medical reports and studies showing the adverse affects shoes have on our bodies from as far back as the turn of the last century and countless news articles from reporters reffering to these and other medical findings supporting this notion. Why then do we insist on wearing shoes so much when being barefoot is so comfortable and healthy? I agree that there is a time and place for shoes but the choice to be barefoot should always be left to each individual.