Bare feet….my trio love having them!! But why, as grown ups do we tend to shy away from letting them do it? Conformity? Our adult brains weighing up the consequences of dirt and injury? Why do we stop it so much when it leads to a child feeling so free and less encumbered? As my little lady says, she “loves sinking her toes into chocolately mud”!!! I now bite my tongue and let them get on with it (within reason…I’m not about to let them trundle over areas with broken glass or anything!). Let me see if I can persuade you too with the following seven reasons 🙂
1. Our feet used to be just fine walking bare. Shoes can change how they function, and also damage them, as well as have knock on effects on ankles, hips, knees, and backs. Going with bare feet allows the feet to develop the way they are meant too.
2. It’s a sensory experience and makes children happy to experience all the pleasure from that. My children love squishing and squelching the mud through their toes. They like warm soft grass to tickle their toes and they can feel it like a bouncy cushion. They love feeling warm sand on their bare feet, and wetness from puddles.
3. Going with bare feet increases the body’s and foot’s strength. We worry about injury and illness to the feet, but in fact going without shoes can aid us prevent these more (within reason!). Increasing the foot’s strength can prevent injury, and toughening up of the skin of the foot can give it more protection. In fact, shoes provide the perfect environment to grow and trap more fungus and bacteria.
4. Going with bare feet helps proprioception (spacial orientation from stimuli), and also vestibular development. It is due to the direct connection between the child (via their feet) and the terrain they are walking on. How many times has your child tripped over due to their footwear? Footwear can hinder our nervous pathways and we gain more of them from having bare feet.
5. You can feel connection with nature more 🙂 I am a big one for wanting children to connect to nature more, for reasons I go into more depth elsewhere on the blog.
6. Children feel freer…..anything’s possible when you feel free and less encumbered. Life is more enjoyable with a feeling of freedom!
7. It’s a researched and proven stress buster!! So, what are you waiting for, kick off those shoes and socks and get out there and enjoy a bare feet life with your little people 🙂 We have a lot to learn from them!
Comments 19
My kid’s love going barefoot and it’s one of the reasons I loive taking them to the beach or playgrounds here because they can go bare feet and be free!
Thanks for sharing! I’m wondering if even I could benefit from going bare foot a little more! I just love my sandals and flip flops that I even wear them around the home! ooops 😉
Author
Mine do too, they feel so free, especially after a winter of winter boots every day. It is so good for their bodies too 🙂
Yes totally get you mama! My toddler only wears shoes in winter and when they’re might be a threat of injury (walking public footpaths, unaware of glass etc). But at home we’re always shoeless!
Caitylis x x
Author
It is so good for their little feet. Here in Sweden they don’t wear them indoors at school either so mine are out f their shoes now more then in them…it is perfect for small feet
Love this post! My son loves going barefoot and I encourage it as much as possible
Author
Thankyou! They really enjoy the freedom of no shoes don’t they?!
I love the idea of looking at bare feet as a sensory experience! When my daughter was little we did a bare foot sensory walk, but I hadn’t thought of letting her go bare foot just generally around the garden but I do now 🙂
Author
Thats so lovely! My three are always barefoot in the garden once it is warm enough
My girl loves to run around the garden with bare feet. She likes the feeling of the grass in her toes.
Author
It is such a sensory experience
I am all for bare feet, it is such a free feeling. I have let mine go bare foot in the park and walking through the woods before.
Author
It is such a lovely feeling of freedom
I love bare feet. I once spent a summer on a Scottish island and went for weeks without ever wearing shoes. It was so liberating.
Author
Oh wow that sounds perfect
There are so many wonderful reasons why we should allow the kids to enjoy being barefoot. As an adult, I still do just like when I was young.
Author
Thats perfect!
Yes I totally agree with this. I love going bare foot and there’s nothing better than feeling grass or sand on your feet.
Author
It is so sad we do not do it more
I hate the thought of bare feet myself, but my daughter loves running outside with no shoes, especially through grass.