Walking & Shoes

This week both Jake & Josh started walking. :clapping: :woohoo: Prior to today, they never wore shoes. I figured if they did not need them to keep their feet safe, I was not going to pay for shoes just so their outfit would be complete.

So I was at Walmart today and picked up their first pair. Got home and put them on. They hated the shoes and could not walk. I know it will take some time for them to get used to walking with shoes but I decided to do a little research about walking and shoes in toddlers and most Dr's feel that they should be barefoot as much as possible.

I was wondering: Do you put shoes on them just when they are out walking around or do you keep them on all day?

Here's the article I found:

Physician says children need shoes that fit,
or no shoes at all
Style and price are not nearly as important as fit when it comes to choosing a good children's shoe. In fact, the best shoe for a child is often no shoe at all, according to Dr. Carol Frey, associate clinical professor of orthopaedic surgery in Manhattan Beach, Calif.. "We are no different from any other animal. We don't need shoes for proper foot development," explains Frey. Walking is a collaborative effort requiring constant communication between the brain and feet. Nerve endings on the bottom of the feet sense the ground beneath and send signals to the brain that help it determine how and where weight should be distributed with each new step. Shoes alter that feedback to the brain. The thicker the sole, the more muffled the message. "Children are forced to walk with their feet further apart to keep their balance," Frey says.
Frey has just compiled a list of shoe-buying tips for the American Orthopaedic Foot and Ankle Society. "Shoes are not necessary for support or development of the arch, they only protect the feet from the environment," said Fry, who routinely treats foot deformities caused by ill-fitting shoes. Babies and crawlers need only wear socks or booties to keep their feet warm, she said. Toddlers, too, should be allowed to go sans shoes whenever they are in a protected environment. Going barefoot helps children develop stronger and more coordinated foot muscles, Frey explained. Studies also show that barefoot children learn to walk more quickly and have fewer falls.
Besides growing up around man-eating lions, there’s a good reason Kenyans have won the last 10 consecutive Boston Marathons: They rarely wear shoes. This makes their feet extremely strong and far less susceptible to disorders such as fallen arches, says Dr. Frey.

 

Yeah I always heard the same thing too... Mine are barefoot in the house, although I'll probably go and buy them some good shoes once they start walking.

 

I didn't start putting shoes on my two until they were walking for a bit (to get more comfortable walking) and then it was only when we went outside. I also kept telling them that if they wear shoes then we go outside, and after a few times they got really excited about putting their shoes on because it meant we were going bye-bye. :laughing:

 

Barefoot or socks in the house is best. You only need shoes if they're going to be walking outside....and yeah, they need to be really flexible for early walkers. Preschoolians are great, and they have a really good twin discount -- 40% off both pairs. Of course, they're pricey to begin with...

There are tons of great "first" shoes out there in addition to Preschoolians -- Stride Rite, Pedipeds, See Kai Run, etc. All are expensive, unfortunately.

If your guys aren't walking on concrete or rocks and don't need much in the way of shoes, I would get the knockoffs of Robeez that they sell at Target -- Ministar, I think they are. Or, there is a seller on Ebay called "shoeszoo" that sells similar soft shoes...these are great for early walking.

Congrats on your walkers!

 

I had Robeez....and they were basically for show before they started walking. Sometimes I would put them on Anthony as he likes to take his shoes off ALL the time!

They only wear shoes when we are outside and going places. They never wear them inside. If you have a Stride Rite outlet near you-you can get some awesome deals. I went Friday, and I got two pairs-I believe the Munchkin brand which is under Stride Rite(someone correct me if I am wrong). They were on sale to begin with, then it was buy one get one 50% off. I paid $25 for BOTH pairs! Can't beat that deal!

 

I took my girls to Stride Rite and had their feet measured and bought them a good pair of first shoes once they were 100% walking. They wear their shoes if they are going outside (except for when DH takes them outside, then they go barefoot) and if we are going out in public they wear their shoes b/c I don't want them walking around stores barefoot. Around the house they don't wear shoes and neither do I. Basically if I have shoes on then I put shoes on them too.

 

we don't wear shoes in the house, so mine are mostly without shoes. but i've always put shoes on them when we go out somewhere, even since they were babies... because i didn't want them to dislike shoes [when they got older] cuz they weren't used to them. that was *my* thinking on it ardon:

p.s. WOOHOOOO FOR WALKERS!!! :woohoo:

 

That is great they both started walking YAY!!!!!!
Inside barefoot or socks.
When we head out shoes, but when they are playing in the yard they have just been in socks(heck that is what spray n'wash is for isn't it??) They walk fine in their shoes, but not when in the yard.

Dianna

 

Congratulations on walkers!
Inside we do either socks or barefoot. I am a shoe hater myself and wear them as little as possible, so that has been something I'm not too uptight about. When we go out is when we put shoes on the kids.

 

:woohoo: Jake and Josh!! :woohoo:

Add us to the list of the ones that only put shoes on when we leave the house. We started off with Stride Rite shoes for the girls when they started walking. Their shoes for new walkers have thin, very flexible soles.

 

We don't wear shoes in the house so we made it a big deal to put them on before walking out and now they love it! We did the weebox for our first shoes even oustide they were softer sole shoes which made it easier for them to get used to them. Then we moved onto regular shoes once they got the hang of it.

CONGRATS on the new walkers..it is a whole other world!

 

No time to read other replies, so I'm sorry if this is a repeat. The girls didn't wear shoes inside when they first started walking. When we went outside they wore robeeze. After a couple of months (after they grew out of the robeeze) I got them some sandles for outside (it was summer), but if we were in our own yard they were usually barefoot too. We aren't shoe-people so even now the only time they wear shoes is outside... as soon as we get inside the shoes (and sometimes socks) come off!

 

We're another no shoes inside the house family. My girls had thin soled shoes for walking outside the first six months. Now they're in regular sneakers (See Kai Run is a great brand) or sandals (Preschoolians).

 

I've recently started putting shoes on the kids for this exact reason. We don't have walkers yet but I would like them to get used to it just in case they decide to take off! Sorry I'm no real help but I just want to congrat u on your little walkers! :woohoo: :banana: :clapping:

 

I put mine in super-soft and flexible shoes only when they were outdoors or going somewhere and only after they started walking. Unless you have some very rocky areas like we do, you could get away with Robeez-type of slipper shoes outdoors for another several months. When we graduated to harder soles, I eased them in with Stride Rite Stages shoes. One trip to Payless and trying on harder soles convinced me that stiff shoes are a bad idea (they were walking well but trying those on made them walk like Frankenstein again!) Wearing good shoes that fit well did not affect their walking. AND, you don't have to spend big bucks to get good shoes but you do have to be able to bend them easily with one hand where the ball of the foot hits. If the shoe is stiff there, they won't be able to bend their foot as it should bend.

 

Our PT told us we needed to get the girls hard soled shoes now that they are standing, cruising, and getting close to walking. We bought them some cute shoes at Target. The first day, they cried when I put them on. It only lasted about 15 minutes. The next day, they cried for about 5 minutes. Now, I think they actually like them. They hold up their feet when we pick up the shoes to put them on. They wear them all day at daycare except for naptime. At home, they really don't wear them much because I find it a pain to change diapers when they have shoes on. I figure they get enough "shoe time" at day care. We do put them on any time we are out of the house.

 

We bought Preschoolians once they started walking until their 2nd birthday. They are really comfortable and come in so many styles. They are designed for crawlers, walkers, or runners. Plus the sole of the shoe is clear so that you can see when you need to purchase a new pair. We bought 3 or 4 pairs each for our DD and DS. The website also gives a twins discount!

 

Mine started wearing shoes around 11 months, when they were trying to crawl on asphalt. Fit is VERY important. Mine never complained about their shoes, and I always took them to Stride Rite for a proper fit. A friend of mine whose daughter is a few months older than the boys (she is the second child) would cry whenever they took her outside to walk. They decided to get her fitted for shoes, and it turned out the shoes they thought were fitting were 1 1/2 sizes too small--that is why she refused to walk. Once she had shoes that fit, she no longer had any issue wearing shoes.

 

another fan of preschoolians here. the shoes for walkers come out to about $24 a pair with the twin discount. but we don't wear shoes unless we're going out....just socks in winter, barefoot in summer.

target also has some cute soft soled shoes which they did well in, here's the link to the ones bear had.

http://www.target.com/Pre-Walk-Circo-Almon...;rh=&page=1

 

QUOTE(cjk2002 @ Mar 29 2009, 08:38 PM) [snapback]1249703[/snapback]
This week both Jake & Josh started walking. :clapping: :woohoo: Prior to today, they never wore shoes. I figured if they did not need them to keep their feet safe, I was not going to pay for shoes just so their outfit would be complete.

So I was at Walmart today and picked up their first pair. Got home and put them on. They hated the shoes and could not walk. I know it will take some time for them to get used to walking with shoes but I decided to do a little research about walking and shoes in toddlers and most Dr's feel that they should be barefoot as much as possible.

I was wondering: Do you put shoes on them just when they are out walking around or do you keep them on all day?

Here's the article I found:

Physician says children need shoes that fit,
or no shoes at all
Style and price are not nearly as important as fit when it comes to choosing a good children's shoe. In fact, the best shoe for a child is often no shoe at all, according to Dr. Carol Frey, associate clinical professor of orthopaedic surgery in Manhattan Beach, Calif.. "We are no different from any other animal. We don't need shoes for proper foot development," explains Frey. Walking is a collaborative effort requiring constant communication between the brain and feet. Nerve endings on the bottom of the feet sense the ground beneath and send signals to the brain that help it determine how and where weight should be distributed with each new step. Shoes alter that feedback to the brain. The thicker the sole, the more muffled the message. "Children are forced to walk with their feet further apart to keep their balance," Frey says.
Frey has just compiled a list of shoe-buying tips for the American Orthopaedic Foot and Ankle Society. "Shoes are not necessary for support or development of the arch, they only protect the feet from the environment," said Fry, who routinely treats foot deformities caused by ill-fitting shoes. Babies and crawlers need only wear socks or booties to keep their feet warm, she said. Toddlers, too, should be allowed to go sans shoes whenever they are in a protected environment. Going barefoot helps children develop stronger and more coordinated foot muscles, Frey explained. Studies also show that barefoot children learn to walk more quickly and have fewer falls.
Besides growing up around man-eating lions, there’s a good reason Kenyans have won the last 10 consecutive Boston Marathons: They rarely wear shoes. This makes their feet extremely strong and far less susceptible to disorders such as fallen arches, says Dr. Frey.


They really never wore shoes until they started walking - just those Robeez bootie things. Now that they are walking outside, I feel that they need shoes when they leave the house. Luckily, they both LOVE their shoes and bring them to me to put on them (that reminds me of a confession - my son has worn my daughter's patent leather mary janes in the house because he SO wanted to get them on his feet!) I haven't noticed any difficulty walking. They still wear Robeez ones - just the Tredz now with the rubber sole. In the very near future, I'm going to take them to Stride Rite to be measured and make sure we are wearing the right size, etc.

 

My boys never wear shoes in the house. In fact, they know the drill so much that when we go to anyone else's house, they immediately sit down to take off their shoes! The boys started to wear the soft-soled shoes around 8 mos, when they started cruising. Our then-daycare required shoes for any 'walkers' (even if it was just cruising), so they had them on there. I actually hate that our current daycare has the same policy because my kids get such icky feet from running around in tennis shoes all day!

Our first 'shoes' were the Ministar brand from Target (generic Robeez). Then we had Pedipeds. Then Robeez Tredz (made for outside use) & now whatever I can find. To this day, though, I make sure their soles are soft. I did get the boys fitted & bought good Stride Rite sneakers for this summer, since we'll be outside & in shoes more. I hate spending so much money on shoes, since they outgrow them so quickly, but a good fit is important! Our current shoes are getting too small & my poor Aiden immediately informed me of his "owwie toe" yesterday when I put them on. They're in the 'too small' pile now....

 

Mine have always worn socks only in the house and they wear shoes when we go outside. We went with Stride Rite shoes and had the fitted and it took the kids a little practice getting used to shoes when they first started wearing them, but now they are old pros.