How good does it feel taking off your shoes after coming home from a long day at work, shopping or playing in the park? It may not smell too good, but it sure feels good. Just because it feels good should we let our kids go barefoot?
We all started off this life journey barefoot and then learned to walk. Learning to walk in bare feet gave us the tactile feeling of the ground and helped us get our balance.
But then we have our feet stuffed into shoes by our well meaning parents to protect our feet and the thought that it helped us walk properly. It’s definitely the social norm to wear shoes, but is it the best thing for our feet and should we let our kids go barefoot?
There’s controversy around this topic but the information below will help you to make an informed decision.
Is It Unsanitary To Go Barefoot?
This is one of the first arguments I hear when talking about letting my children go barefoot.
Yes, outside is dirty, but believe it or not, getting dirty is beneficial for kids. It helps them develop a strong and healthy immune system.
We live in a super germ conscious society today where we are over sanitizing our indoor environments and our kids hands. But there has been a lot of research done regarding the correlation between hygiene and children’s immune systems and it’s known as the Hygiene Hypothesis.
Hygiene Hypothesis
According to the U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) the hygiene hypothesis suggests that a young child’s environment can be “too clean” and doesn’t pose an effective challenge to a maturing immune system. Which of course is needed to develop a strong one.
In other words if you don’t give a child’s immune system the opportunity to learn how to fight off germs, it may not be able to fight off bad bacteria and viruses when it needs to.
What About Hazards?
Physical
It can definitely be unsafe for kids to walk barefoot in certain places where physical hazards exist, such as in areas with trash and debris. So we should always be aware of their surroundings and have a pair of shoes on hand (not literally) for them.
Physical hazards also include high and low temperatures on the surfaces that they’re walking on. I live in South Florida so in the summer everything is hot including beach sand, so shoes are a must in a lot of places. The same goes for extremely cold temperatures.
In areas where we don’t have to be worried about sharp objects or extreme temperatures or other hazards it’s beneficial for our kids to go barefoot. One reason is that it helps their feet toughen up resulting in extra protection against punctures and wounds.
Disease and Illness
Our largest organ, our skin is designed to keep pathogens out of our bodies. Your kids are far more likely to come into contact with an illness or a disease through their hands.
Not to bring out the germaphobe in you, but compare bare feet to bare hands and what your kids are touching on public sinks, doorknobs and handrails where germs are prevalent. Which do you think is worse?
Also, if you think about the bacteria and fungus that can grow inside the moist, dark and hot environment inside a sock, the barefoot alternative doesn’t sound so bad.
However, if you’re concerned about parasites, don’t be. Your children won’t come into contact with parasites such as hookworm in developed countries with good sanitation systems. This is because they’re transmitted through the feces of infected people and how likely is that to happen?
Of course yYou should always have your kids wear shoes in public restrooms.
Does Going Barefoot Cause Flat Feet a.k.a Fallen Arches?
This has always been a concern of mine when thinking about my kids going barefoot. I for one wear orthotics in my shoes as recommended by my podiatrist for the purpose of supporting my arch. So if my Dr. thinks I need support then don’t my kids?
Not according to Katie Bowman an internationally recognized biomechanist. She feels that orthotics are making falling arches worse. Remember that controversy I mentioned in the beginning of this post?
According to a study in the Bone and Joint Journal wearing shoes often throughout childhood has been linked to Flat-footedness. and other studies have shown that shoes can actually teach kids to walk incorrectly.
So it’s really the opposite. If kids wear shoes all of the time studies show that it restricts muscle growth in their feet and ankles which can lead to flat feet or fallen arches.
Should You Let Your Kids Go Bare Foot?
There’s definitely a time and a place for shoes such as inside schools, restaurants (no shoes, no service) and public restrooms.
But how about not spreading the outside world to the inside your house via the bottom of their shoes? Have them take them off at the door and go barefoot while inside.
Let them enjoy the freedom of feeling the ground on the bottom of their feet and literally become one with nature.
While they’re walking barefoot outside they’re toughening up the bottoms of their feet which will become a barrier between things that need to stay outside and not inside their bodies.
Help your children strengthen their feet and ankle muscles by letting them go bare foot more often. This will help them improve their gait and lessen their chances of developing flat feet.
How about you? Bare feet or no bare feet? Comment below.
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