My oldest son walked and ran barefoot in the wild and everywhere.
One day he said to me, “Feet are built for walking the earth. Wearing shoes is like using crutches. They cause the feet to become soft, flat, pointy, and useless for walking as though we are handicapped.”
He ran faster than all his friends while they wore shoes and he ran barefoot in the wild, rocky and thorny forest. He developed beautiful arches and a strong body as well as a love of nature and a healthy connection to the earth.
Children need to walk barefoot as much as possible. And they need parents to model a commitment to healthy posture and healthy feet. Our feet our not some useless thing hanging “far down bellow”; They are the foundation that carries us around and determines our structural well-being.
Our modern shoes gradually but surely harm our backs, neck, posture, and feet.
Nature did not make a mistake in shaping our feet and their connection to the spine and the whole skeleton the way it has. Yet the shoe industry is convinced that nature made a mistake and that they know physiology better than creation. According to the industry, feet are made “wrong” and need help to be able to walk. Yet, trying to fix nature only causes injuries.
(This is true in many other areas of parenting from giving birth to, sleeping or learning to read.)
How the modern shoe does harm:
• Elevating the heel, even slightly, harms the whole back structure as we have to compensate for being pushed forward.
• Supporting the arch deems it limp, preventing the development of the arch muscles and adversely affecting the foot, back, and neck.
• Forcing the toes upwards (especially while the heels are higher but even without) distorts the foot and the back, by putting our general weight in the wrong place, forcing our lower backs to arch and our neck to push forward.
• Making the shoe narrow towards the toes distorts the toes and foot, causing ugly and useless feet and over years, pain and bunions, while preventing the wider front of the foot from supporting the skeleton correctly.
I never use regular modern crippling shoes and sandals anymore. In the summer I hike barefoot. For fall, spring and winter I found shoes and sandals that are just like barefoot and I highly recommend those.
The do-it-yourself sandals can fit children too. The hiking sandals and the shoes are for teenagers, parents, and everyone. They provide the comfort of a shoe while keeping the foot’s structure natural, with soft flat soles and plenty of room for your toes.
Please use this link to check and care for your family’s feet the way nature intended:
