Orlando H.Rivera DPM

Babies who have not started their first steps in contact with the ground should not wear shoes. The belief that you can catch cold feet is false and is not a reason to put the baby inside a car, where, if necessary, you can wear socks to keep your feet warm.

Likewise, in the crawling phase, those bare feet obtain numerous information that will help the baby to its psycho-motor development (the newborn's feet have a sensitivity much finer than that of the hand until nine months) and therefore pre-walking footwear is not recommended because it cancels this direct contact with the environment. By common sense, we will make a reservation if the land can harm the child. In this case, you can use pre-walking shoes or crawling, with a rubber reinforcement in the toe that protects that area of ​​the foot.

Among the studies that endorse these recommendations, Piaget's stages of intelligence development (which places the first "sensorimotor stage" between birth and two years) reinforces the importance of discarding footwear at this stage in which the manipulation and movement to learn to organize the information that comes through the senses.

Also Isabel Gentil García, professor at the University School of Nursing, Physiotherapy and Podiatry of the Complutense University of Madrid, defends that the physical movement in freedom and the sensorial stimulation of the baby through the bare feet is a factor of acceleration of maturation, of the proprioceptive development and intellectual development of the child. Author of the famous article "Barefoot children equal to smarter children" recalls that the feet of infants are a powerful receiver of the outside world.

Thus, the touch that the child develops on the feet gives him information on temperature, textures, etc., and plays unconsciously with the force, the pressure, testing the environment and himself. Therefore, we must promote proprioception and not place shoes that are a barrier to this range of stimuli.

The ideal and correct would be to begin to fit the child in his first firm steps in which he needs a shoe that confers security to his steps and that must meet certain requirements: a non-slip sole that gives him confidence, stable buttress that keeps the heel in a correct position and good support in the instep so that the foot does not "dance" inside the footwear. A body of flexible footwear will give freedom of flexion, which we will achieve with soft tissues that allow this movement, especially in the toe (indispensable condition to be able to perform a good takeoff).

Do not insist on putting shoes on them when they do not need them, because they do not walk.

Source: El Blog del Podólogo

RIVERA FOOT & ANKLE: At Orlando H.Rivera DPM, our priority is to deliver quality care to informed patients in a comfortable and convenient setting. When you have problems with your feet, you need to turn to a podiatrist who listens and responds… an experienced doctor who knows the field and can effectively diagnose and treat your needs… a friendly physician who counsels you on the best ways to maintain and improve your health. Our physician(s) meet all these criteria. Plus, you benefit from a dedicated team of trained professionals who give you the individualized attention you deserve.

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