7 Barefoot Benefits For Kids
Going barefoot is pleasurable, which is why children love being barefoot. In fact, scientific studies carried out recently ensure that children who tend to go barefoot develop better intellectually.
This is because they discover the world with the richness of all their senses.
Walking barefoot provides the little ones with a number of experiences discovered through touch, such as feeling different temperatures and textures, which can be pleasant or unpleasant according to the child’s taste and experience.
A child who walks barefoot can feel much more stability and firmness in his legs.
In addition, walking on different surfaces, such as freshly cut grass or dry leaves, provides relaxing experiences and also helps the child to have a deeper contact with the environment around them.
At the same time, all these experiences contribute to discovering the world and the body in a different way.
Walking barefoot helps form the arch of the foot
Walking barefoot also has physical benefits as it helps to form the arch of the feet. In fact, experts recommend that children walk barefoot with their toes as well as their heels.
They also recommend that the little ones go barefoot in different places like the beach, the pool or the grass, because this provides a wealth of sensations that nourish their inner world and help them walk on different surfaces.
Taking your shoes off has another benefit: it prevents bacteria that form fungus and cause bad smells. So, as you can see, it’s good to let your kids go barefoot, as they feel free that way.
If you’re worried about your baby’s feet getting cold, a small cut, or hurting your feet, try to let go of that fear and check the safety measures in your child’s area to avoid any unnecessary accidents.
Furthermore, knowing the chances of something happening – which may not happen – should not be a reason to deprive the child of living the experiences that walking barefoot provides.
This is because she will also learn from these experiences, which have no reason to be all negative when you are aware of what the baby is doing.
There are also rules for wearing shoes.
Just as you should take some safety precautions so that your children go barefoot, you should take them when wearing shoes. If they wear shoes from an early age, their feet can be malformed.
When children are still young, it is best to protect their little feet only with non-slip socks, as they are the ones that mold to the feet and not the other way around, as in the case of shoes.
The ideal is to choose suitable shoes for the child and know that not all occasions are suitable for wearing shoes and that they can be avoided, for example, when the child is taking a car.
Many children, when they do not wear proper shoes, can become children who tread wrongly or with deformed feet. Likewise, the toes can also be affected, especially the ones that touch the edges of the shoes.
The shoe size should be suitable for the child’s feet, neither too big nor too tight, as this can also cause foot problems.
It is important that the shoes are not made with synthetic material, as it will cause an increase in sweating and, consequently, may cause complications.
Shoes made of leather are recommended, as the feet can breathe and, in turn, the leather molds itself to the shape of the feet. Also, it is much softer compared to plastic.
The child should try on the shoes before buying and, when possible, ask for their opinion. If she still can’t speak, watch her expressions when wearing the shoe.
A mother almost always knows how to interpret her child’s expressions, especially when it comes to her benefit.