Barefoot Shoes for Kids?
If you’re anything like me, your researcher alter ego comes out when it has to do with anything for your babies. When I was putting stuff on my registry for my first baby, I researched non-toxic everything before making selections.
I did the same thing when it came time to buy shoes for my little guy. I worry less about “non-tox” clothing and shoes because ya girl has a budget and tries to do well in other areas, but I wanted to know what the best style of shoe was for my son as he starts walking to ensure his little feet can develop well.
Now, I’m sure just about any shoe would be fine. We all wore whatever growing up and, for the most part, we’re fine. So I don’t go crazy about it. But if I can pick a better option while I’m already shopping for something, of course I’m going to.
That led me to ask a couple questions. What do pediatricians recommend for early footwear? What does science say about footwear and child foot development? What are the best style shoes for my new walker? Let’s find out.
We have to keep in mind what is developmentally appropriate for children when we are considering what their feet/leg position “should” look like. For instance, baby’s feet appear flat, although they aren’t, technically. They do have an arch but it’s supported by a fat pad. Isn’t the body so crazy? It gives babies the chance to develop foot strength before relying solely on their foot structure. You can start to see the development of an arch in a 3-year olds’ foot, and a 10-year old probably has a well-defined arch. Most kids will go through this progression just fine, barring you placing them in totally inappropriate shoes.
But still. How do we best support the development of children’s feet as best as we can, specifically considering their shoes?
The first thing I would say is that it is generally recommended to let your kids go barefoot as much as possible, especially within the first few years of their lives. This is something most podiatrists encourage as they state it is important for kids to be able to move freely and build their strength as they experience these movements for the first time and then fine tune them.
However, sometimes your kids need to wear shoes. I’m not letting my kid go barefoot on hot summer sidewalks, or at the grocery store, or in the chicken yard, for instance. Every parent has different comfort levels as far as when they allow their children to be barefoot. I, personally, go barefoot as much as I can and encourage kids to do the same.
But there are simply times when it is advisable to wear shoes. I can walk across a lot of rocky, pokey surfaces with little discomfort because I have done it for a long time. I ran around the neighborhood barefoot OFTEN as a kid. I also got a nail through my foot when I was about 7 years old. There are legitimate concerns about going barefoot in certain situations.
When you need or want to have your children in shoes, what is the best choice? Barefoot proponents would, obviously, encourage the use of barefoot shoes. But what does the evidence say?
What do podiatrists and PTs recommend for kids’ shoes?
As I stated, podiatrists, as well as PTs, generally recommend that kids go barefoot as much as possible, especially early walkers. This is because children are still developing foot muscle, mobility, and even structure at a young age. They don’t really need a ton of support, they just need to protect their feet from hazards but still be able to move their feet in a natural way.
Most podiatrists and pediatric PTs will say something along the lines of “early walkers’ shoes should allow their feet to move as if they were barefoot.” They also note that early walkers benefit from shoes that have strong traction to keep them from slipping.
Recommendations change a little as children age, with additional support coming into play. Podiatrists and PTs start stating that somewhat increased support could be helpful starting at 2 years and even more support for the heel and arch can be beneficial for children 5 and up. I haven’t found a ton of information on exactly why, other than reducing slipping of shoes, keeping the ankle in alignment, and preventing injury from unstable feet. Recommendations for children 10 years and over are pretty much the same as adults, which are pretty much do whatever you want but make sure your shoes fit.
How do barefoot shoes stack up for these recommendations? If you haven’t read our article on barefoot shoes, head over there to read about what barefoot shoes are and how they may be helpful. But to briefly recap, they’re pretty much exactly what they sound like. Barefoot shoes are designed to protect the feet from environmental hazards while allowing the feet to move and function as if one was barefoot.
Based on this and the recommendations for early walkers, it is a no-brainer that barefoot shoes are a fantastic (and the most highly recommended) option for childrens’ shoes for your littlest children. This is not to say that podiatrists and PTs will outright recommend barefoot shoes specifically (though some do), but they’re recommendations are the definition of a barefoot shoe, so it follows.
As the recommendations for kids aged 2-5 are basically the same as early walkers with the mention of slightly more support, barefoot shoes would also be a great option for these kids. The support recommendations largely revolve around allowing for safety of the foot and ankle when kids are running all over the place and jumping off of things. Unless your kid has ankle stability issues, they’re unlikely to need more support than when they’re barefoot.
Recommendations for the 5-10 year age group call for slightly increased heel and arch support, mostly meaning to make sure the heel doesn’t slip around and to provide shock absorption as kids tend to parkour everything. Again, this may not be much different from being barefoot, but this is where we start to see an increase in people recommending things like arch support and heel cushions in shoes.
What does science say about kids’ shoes?
The first thing I found interesting wasn’t exactly evidence of what shoe design is best but highlighted some interesting points about how health professionals, shoes companies, and parents view kids’ shoes. What stood out is that there was a lot of congruity in what all the groups thought and that health professionals sometimes stated they didn’t know exactly what was best. This tells me that 1) the basic talk around kids’ shoes is uncomplicated and you can trust most recommendations from credible sources, and 2) the research on childrens’ shoes is not exhaustive and awareness of what does exist may not be complete.
To the point of what shoe design is best, (again, not evidence but what the groups believe based on their best understanding) most believe that sole flexibility is very important and that ankle support may be important.
Like I said, there’s not an abundance of research on barefoot shoes specifically relating to childrens’ foot development. It is an emerging area of study, but there’s nothing super concrete. Part of this is probably because, like I said, most kids are going to develop their feet just fine. Another part is that there just hasn’t been too much emphasis on this topic before recently.
This report on the differences in foot morphology (its structure, basically) between habitually barefoot vs. shoe-wearing children highlighted that there are differences between the two groups, namely higher arches in barefoot children but that the number of studies is very limited, as are reliable measures of terms such as “habitually barefoot” that would impact direct comparisons between studies of this topic. More tangibly, children who are mostly barefoot or wearing barefoot shoes may develop better balance and jumping ability and those mostly wearing supportive shoes may develop faster sprinting ability.
Another review that was helpful in laying out a solid overview of the current research on children’s shoes and podiatric health goes through a few sources that discuss improved arches and hallux angles for children that wear barefoot shoes as well as, again, somewhat improved balance and forward jumping ability. One interesting point of their study was that it appears a bit of the improvement in balance and locomotion has to do with improved toe flexion. This makes sense if you think about the concept of barefoot shoes. They’re designed to give your toes room to move and your foot room to move all the way through the arch. Both of these things would allow your toes to grip and move better, which has always been known to be part of balance.
Overall, it seems that sole flexibility is one of the most important aspects of the design of kids’ shoes and is most important through about 3 to 4 years of age. Increased sole thickness after this point may not have much of an effect. The other key requirement in a healthy kids’ shoe is that they need to fit well, with enough room for the toes both in terms of length and width. Unfortunately, it is fairly common (more than the majority) for children’s shoes to fit improperly, whether that be that they are sized just big enough for the foot or that they are too short or narrow. There also appears to be a correlation between children wearing shoes that were too small and the development of hallux valgus (bunions), which can impact foot comfort and balance.
It’s important to note that any issues related to footwear are long term. Your child is unlikely to develop a foot injury from brief use of a shoe that is too tight. However, if this is done often, it becomes a greater risk. Pretty straight forward. Interestingly, other than moderate improvements in balance and forward jumping, there’s no real difference in other physical performance in comparisons of one-time use of barefoot vs. conventional shoes. So, again, barefoot shoes are really about the long-term impacts of footwear.
Pulling back from the research, I always like to take a second to just apply rational thinking to a problem. For this issue, it simply makes sense that it would be better for your child to wear a shoe that allows their foot to move as freely as possible while providing protection from environmental hazards. So many kids' shoes are hard and not built with consideration of foot shape. Most children have wide little feet, and their shoes don’t accommodate this. Especially given the recommendations that children’s shoes should have flexible soles and that they should fit with enough room for the toes to move around, barefoot shoes just make sense as a solid option. Not the only option, there are conventional shoes that do okay at this, you just have to be a lot more mindful.
My son is just about to walk, and I will only be putting him in barefoot shoes on almost all occasions for probably the next couple years, honestly. I just can’t imagine him trying to get used to feeling his feet move and trying to improve his ability and being stuck in shoes that don’t allow him to move normally. That’d be like… trying to learn how to play the piano but you have to wear thick rubber gloves. No thanks.
Once he’s older, this is probably something I’ll be more flexible on given the current research.
So what shoes are best for you kids?
Health professionals and research both support flexible soles and wide toe boxes for the earliest walkers and through the first several years of walking. After this point, health professionals tend to continue recommending flexible soles but with less emphasis and noting more support may be beneficial. The research isn’t as clear on the older ages of children and footwear, except that flexibility continues to be important.
Additionally, we should keep in mind that there isn’t an abundance of research on childrens’ shoes and foot development.
Based on the information laid out here, solid recommendations would be to keep your kids barefoot as much as possible, especially within the first few years of walking, and to supply them with flexible, somewhat supportive shoes that fit well as they age.
Barefoot shoes, then, are an excellent option for all children, but especially early walkers. These shoes are going to allow your kids to move like they’re barefoot while protecting them from environmental hazards. Additionally, most barefoot shoes are designed to grip the feet well to prevent slipping of the shoe as well as to provide appropriate traction to prevent slipping on surfaces.
For a couple of recommendations on children’s barefoot shoes, check out this post and scroll to the kids’ section.
I hope I was able to bring you some clarity on this issue! If you have any questions or feedback, feel free to shoot me an email. If you would like to receive more of this content, stay tuned for future posts and join our newsletter. I currently send monthly newsletters with the most recent posts as well as news and updates on all things holistic health and natural wellness.
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