Choosing
The Right Baby Shoe:
WHEN DOES
BABY NEED SHOES?
When baby begins to pull himself up to a standing position, it's
time for shoes. Shoes protect the soles of the feet from rough
surfaces and sharp objects, and flat-soled shoes give baby stability
and balance for a beginning walker.
HOW DO I CHOOSE
A GOOD SHOE?
Look for:
*Thin, flexible, sole that bends when walking (runners are not
flexible enough).
*A counter (back of heel) that won't slip off.
*Flexible upper part of shoe.
*Upper should not fit too tightly.
*Leather is the best because it allows heat and perspiration to
evaporate, keeping feet healthy (unlike canvas or synthetic materials).
*Proper fit. Three out of four babies have a narrow or wide foot.
Many shoes come in only medium width, and no half sizes. Proper
fit is crucial, because baby's bones are soft and malleable.
MY BABY'S
FEET ARE FLAT!
This is normal - babies have fat pads everywhere, including the
arch of the foot. This should disappear after a few years.
BABY NEEDS
A PAIR OF NEW SHOES WHEN:
*No toe room.
*With baby standing, feel through the shoe to see if baby's toes
are pressing against the edge of the shoe. You should be able
to get half your thumbnail onto the tip of the shoe before running
into baby's toe.
*If baby's toes seem to be curling under (you can tell when you
remove the shoe).
*The back of the shoe is starting to hang over the inner or outer
edge of the sole. Babies can outgrow their shoes in as short as
2 months, during the first year of walking. Check often!
Finally a scientific
study has been done that confirms what we have known all along--those
stiff, expensive baby shoes are NOT good for babies! Barefoot
is best. But, if baby needs protection from cold floors or pebbles
and sticks when walking outside, what should you use? For years
we have recommended soft, flexible, breathable leather "shoes".
The soles are just one layer of leather, and the shoes are the
natural shape of baby's foot. (See the "Solemate Baby Shoes"
button on the first page of our website for more information.)
You'll save money too--these are much cheaper than the stiff booties
sold in shoe stores.
Following is
the article, first printed in the Hartford Courant newspaper:
GIVE THOSE
STIFF LEATHER BABY SHOES THE BOOT
Infants walk just like adults and do their best walking barefoot.
Babies sleep
their best on their bellies.
A good spanking is good discipline.
Antibiotics are always the best medicine.
And now, please welcome a new arrival to the list of obsolete
wisdom for parents: Babies walk best in stiff leather shoes.
Not true, say researchers at Connecticut Children's Medical Center
who spent months studying the way babies learn to walk.
With the help of computer-assisted foot-pressure sensors and slow-motion
video, researchers learned that, from their first steps, babies
walk with a rocking heel-toe motion, just like adults.
ASSUMPTION
TOPPLED
The findings toppled the long-held convetional wisdom that the
first steps are flat-footed stomps that make a baby's gait look
similar to that of Frankenstein.
With that assumption, the stiff, high-topped baby shoe was born,
designed by shoe compaines to support flat-footed steps and wobbly
ankles.
But just as babies are nothing like Frankenstein, neither are
they like foals or calves, which balance at first on unstable
pins, the researchers found out. Babies' ankles, it turns out,
are perfectly stable from the beginning, making the traditional
high-topped shoe unnecessary. The conclusion, said Sylvia Ounpuu,
a movement specialist at the children's medical centre who directed
the study, is that barefoot is best for babies.
BABIES' WALKS
STUDIED
The study marked the first time that researchers at the children's
hospital looked at babies shortly after they learned to walk.
In the past, information about normal walking patterns was gathered
by watching children who were at least for years old.
For the shoe study, 35 babies, many recruited from the hospital's
day-care centre, were video-taped while parents and physical therapists
coaxed them to walk down a runway with inspiration from dancing
dolls, treats or funny faces.
To the naked eye, the babies' quick steps and chubby feet seemed
to confirm the theory that their first steps were flat. But when
the video was played back in slow motion, the foot action was
clear. The babies' heels struck the ground first, and the foot
rocked onto the toes - the same stride as an adult's. Sensors
placed inside the babies' shoes, which measured the pressure on
the sole of the foot in the various stages of stepping, confirmed
the action.