Educational Articles

Footwear for Children

Posted By Robyn Hughes, ND

Disclaimer:

The above content is for educational or informational purposes only and is not intended to replace or augment professional medical instruction, diagnosis, or treatment. Read full disclaimer here.

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Comments
March 04, 2018
Siglinde Schwenzl

I totally agree with your explanation on healthy foot development in children. One of the kids I see in physical therapy is 6 years old and has overlapping toes. Do you have a pediatric size in Correct Toes? Thank you!

March 04, 2018
Natural Footgear

Hi, Siglinde,

Thank you for your question. The X-Small Correct Toes size works quite well for a lot of kids, and so it could be worth a try.

We recommend printing out this sizing document (at “actual size” or “100 percent scale”) to determine if the X-Small size will, in fact, work for this particular little patient:

https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0735/7693/files/Correct_Toes_Sizing_Guide.pdf?587466518543702542

I hope this information has been helpful. If you have further questions moving forward, please do let us know!

Kind Regards,
Andrew Potter

June 08, 2021
Melody

Hi, I am new to natural footwear. We have a toddler and all of our new house flooring is hardwood. My husband and I now have pain in our feet and sometimes knees. We are worried that long-term exposure to hardwood flooring might be harming our son too. What do you recommend?

June 08, 2021
Natural Footgear

Hi, Melody,

Thank you for your comment. I’m sorry to hear about the foot and knee pain that you and your husband are currently experiencing. I wonder: Do you go barefoot inside the house or do you wear footwear? If it’s the latter, what kind of footwear do you wear?

I wonder too: Was the transition to the new hardwood floors abrupt? If so, you might need to take a step back, so to speak, and use a comfortable slipper or indoor shoe for a little bit (to give your feet and knees a break).

If it’s heel pain that you’re experiencing, then a heel cup may be all that’s required to reduce the discomfort:

www.naturalfootgear.com/collections/foot-pads/products/tulis-heel-cups

In terms of the long-term impact on your son and his musculoskeletal development, I wouldn’t be overly worried about this. Our feet are designed to support us on a wide range of surfaces, including modern surfaces such as hardwood flooring, and they will do so if we allow them to develop naturally. I think you might find the following blog post on this topic both timely and interesting:

www.naturalfootgear.com/blogs/popular-q-a/can-walking-barefoot-be-harmful-on-modern-surfaces

Please let me know if you have any follow-up questions! I’m happy to assist however I can.

Kind regards,
Robyn Hughes, ND

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