Kids Barefoot Research

Orthopedic specialists have long known babies learn to walk best barefoot. Growing scientific evidence shows that children's shoes should be designed on this model.  Research on children walking barefoot or in minimal shoes shows:

• Improved foot muscle strength and ankle function and strength
• Improved balance
• Improved strength recovery and muscle tone (particularly in the children who had previously worn rigid soled shoes)

Sources:

"An elevated heel of any height on a child's shoe shortens the Achilles tendon and is the beginning of permanent tendon shortening. Soles that are over 6mm thick prevent 80 to 90 percent of children's foot flexibility, thus denying the foot its normal step sequence."
–Dr William A Rossi, (2002) Children's Footwear: Launching Site for Adult Foot Ills, Podiatry Management, pages 83-100

"Slimmer and more flexible children's shoes do not change foot motion as much as conventional shoes and therefore should generally be recommended for healthy children."
–Sebastian Wolf et al, (2008) Foot motion in children shoes, A comparison of barefoot walking with shod walking in conventional and flexible shoes, Gait & Posture Vol. 27 pages 51-59

"Flat feet are most common in older children who wear closed-toe shoes, less common in those who wore sandals or slippers, and least in the unshod. A study of 2,300 children showed the incidence of flatfoot was 8.6% in those who wore shoes and 2.8% in those who did not wear shoes. While flat feet are not in themselves inherently bad and in some cases genetically unavoidable, you certainly would not want to "force" development with less arch than would develop naturally."
–Udaya B. Rao, Benjamin Joseph, (1992) The influence of footwear on the prevalence of flat foot: A survey of 2,300 children, Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery, Vol. 74‚ No. 4. pages 525-527. Note: please read this important information on flat feet in babies and toddlers.

Healthy Footwear Tips

• Allow plenty of room for toes to wiggle and spread. This means not only your shoes, but care should also be taken to make sure that socks are loose and sleep suits do not cram the toes.
• When buying for children, find soft toddler shoes from reputable companies designed specifically for their age group. A young child's foot is a different shape from that of an adult or teenager, requiring a correspondingly much bigger toe area than the shape of an adult shoe. Many shoe manufacturers simply scale-down adult shoes to make shoes for children, but this is not recommended. Specify wide baby shoes or extra wide toddler shoes, if needed. 
• Soling material for outdoor shoes on hard surfaces, such as sidewalks, should be slip resistant, shock absorbing, low profile (no heels) and flexible with no "molding" features like arch supports.
• Upper portion of shoes should be made of breathable material such as leather or cloth.   

To see our selection of Soft Star Shoes for babies, toddlers and children, click here. To learn more about the construction methods of Soft Star shoes, click here.