Many parents begin to prepare for the first steps of the baby in advance. And, after hearing and reading articles about "terrible" flat feet and other problems that begin to "grow" together with a bipedal child, they wonder whether it is worth buying special shoes for a son or daughter "at the first step." The well-known pediatrician Yevgeny Komarovsky tells whether it is necessary to shoe a child who learns to walk, and what should be the first toddler's shoes.
Do you need shoes?
Evgeny Komarovsky believes that a child may well learn to walk without shoes. Moreover, a person's foot is designed in such a way that he can move only barefoot. After all, no one is born with sandals or boots! From a natural approach point of view, no special footwear is required for the baby's first step.
But when the child learns to stomp on foot, he will have to slowly learn to wear shoes.
After all, he will not go barefoot to kindergarten, for a walk or in a clinic.
Parents should understand that the shoes do not correct anything, and the arch of the foot will usually be what it is genetically intended to be. Shoes do not affect the straightness or curvature of the legs, whether the baby learns to walk faster or slows down. Shoes only protect the feet from cold and mechanical stress, and nothing more. And it is necessary to treat it precisely from this position.
Barefoot or sandals?
All children, without exception, are born with flat feet, that is, 100% of babies have flat feet. The foot is formed as it grows and develops, and usually by the age of 12 it becomes clear whether there is flat feet or not. Dr. Yevgeny Komarovsky says that flat-footedness is often the fault of the parents themselves, because from childhood they taught the child to wear slippers at home, sandals on the street.
The risk of developing flat feet can be significantly reduced by allowing the child to walk barefoot more often. At home on the floor - it should always be, and slippers are harm. It is very good if the child has somewhere to run barefoot at least sometimes, except for his apartment.
It is great to let it out with bare heels on the grass, on small stones, on asphalt, if you live in your own house and there is a yard area. In the summer, on vacation in the village with his grandmother, the child is simply obliged to run barefoot. All this has a positive effect on the formation of the arch of the foot.
There is no need to fear hypothermia. Mom should not worry that a barefoot child who walks on the floor or on the ground will catch a cold. Legs are the only part of the human body, the vessels of which, when in contact with a cold surface, are able to constrict and thereby "save" heat and not release it into the environment. Walking barefoot is helpful. And sitting on a cold one is absolutely impossible, because the vessels of the priests in a child do not know how to narrow.
It is necessary to work on keeping the foot healthy from an early age.
Parents, according to Komarovsky, do not need to rush things and specially teach the child to walk. Unavailability of the musculoskeletal system, muscles and ligaments, as well as the spine and feet, especially in a plump toddler, can cause a variety of orthopedic problems. The child must take the first steps himself, without coercion from adults, and then when he is fully ready for this himself.
When are shoes needed?
Theoretically, a child starts to need shoes when he starts to leave the house "to people". All babies who begin to walk have an unsteady, wobbly gait, they do not have a developed push with their foot. This can be partly explained by the limited function of the children's ankle. From this point of view, it will be much more comfortable for the child to take more confident steps in high shoes that will fix and support the feet.
This does not mean that all parents of novice "tramps" should urgently run to the store for children's shoes with a high back and instep support. It is needed only for those babies who walk unstably, often fall, and solely in order to give them a little more stability and confidence. As soon as they get them, you can wear any shoe - with a low heel, with a soft heel, with anything, any model, if only the baby is comfortable in it.
High and fixing shoes are needed, in theory, only for children under 3 years old. If it ceases to be needed earlier, it's okay.
Orthopedic shoes
A child needs orthopedic shoes when an orthopedic doctor detects certain problems, for example, valgus feet, clubfoot, etc. These diagnoses must be confirmed by X-ray studies. Only this gives the doctor the moral right to recommend the mother to buy orthopedic shoes.
It often has to be made to order, taking into account the angle of curvature of the foot in a particular child. These parameters will be indicated by the doctor, and in the orthopedic salon they will try to take into account all the doctor's prescriptions.
However, you can often see how parents of a completely healthy child go to buy him orthopedic shoes, very heavy, scary, ugly and expensive, but "terribly useful." They do this for prophylactic purposes, so that there is no flat feet and in order to avoid many other problems. And they often do this not on a whim, but because the doctor advised.
Komarovsky is sure that as long as doctors in polyclinics receive a certain percentage of the profits of orthopedic shops and salons, this practice exists and will continue to exist.
A healthy child who has not been given absolutely specific diagnoses that require correction with the help of special medical shoes do not need orthopedic shoes!
Inherited boots
Often parents are interested in whether it is possible to give shoes from an older child to a younger one. Komarovsky says that there is nothing wrong with the baby starting to stomp in the boots of his brother or sister, no.
If the shoe fits him in size, does not press and does not dangle on his leg, if it is in good order, then nothing needs to be complicated. These are just clothes, and therefore you can wear them after another child, subject to hygiene rules.
How to choose your first shoe?
There are several simple rules, the knowledge of which will help parents choose both the first and second, and each subsequent pair of shoes for their child, and at the same time not harm him:
You should not buy shoes "for growth". If the sandals are too large, the gait rhythm slows down. In this, of course, there is no particular orthopedic harm, but still unpleasant. To compensate for the inconvenience of wearing large shoes, the child will begin to tuck the socks inward, and the knees will often be bent when walking.
No need to buy heavy shoes. This is especially true for winter and autumn shoes for the baby. The kid just learned to stomp, and they bring him heavy high boots, besides, a caring grandmother will definitely put a pair of woolen socks on the toddler's legs before putting on shoes. To understand how a still dumb child feels, Komarovsky advises adults to put on ski boots and walk in them on a flat road for at least half an hour without skis.
The model of the first shoe does not play a big role, says Evgeny Komarovsky. If the child is healthy, he does not have medical justified problems with the feet or spine, then the main thing is not the color and presence of laces and velcro, but the convenience for the child.
But it is important that the socks are still round, narrow noses prevent the normal development of fingers.
Toddler shoes should be made from environmentally friendly materials. It is better to give preference to natural materials so that the foot in the shoe does not lie.
The ideal first shoe should be as stable as possible. A small heel is welcome - it helps to develop the muscles of the foot faster. Hard heel will not allow the heel to "mow" to the sides and fall inward. A small and soft insole-instep support will gently support the arch from the inside.
You should not buy too hard shoes (boots, sandals), since soft shoes do not create artificial obstacles for the development of the foot.
Pay attention to the outsole. It should not be too slippery or overly soft. In such shoes, the risk of falling is higher for the baby.
You will learn more about how to choose shoes for your baby in the following video.
