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Learning to walk can be an interesting experience. As soon as your littles are on the go, things can get a little more worrisome, right? Turn your head for a split second and somehow they've rearranged the furniture and made themselves a little milkshake, spilled it on the dog, and began to screech, and you really just had to go to the bathroom.
But all joking aside: what's going on with their tiny feet?
A study done at Lancaster University showed that babies start to learn to walk as young as 10-weeks old! Lean them forward a little, and instinctively they'll take a little step forward. That's already baby's first step toward their first step. (We know - they're growing up so fast!)
You can read more about that study HERE. It's interesting, I promise!
But what should we do to make sure we help them?
Of course it's important to baby-proof - keep all those breakables out of reach, put up baby-gates, keep drawers and doors safely and securely closed. It's even helpful to move those cute throw rugs that really pull the room together, because they could be tripping hazards. But what about shoes?
A lot of research shows that kids being barefoot actually isn't a bad idea. It's good for us grown-ups too. It strengthens foot and leg muscles, allows for proper toe spread which allows for proper gait, and something else super important: it helps a child develop body awareness. There are a ton of nerve endings in the feet (refer to: tickling) and stimulating those let's your child adapt to the ground below them. Interesting stuff, right? (I know. It's another article. But it is really interesting.)
But okay, there's going to be places you bring your little that require shoes. There's places with a lot of bacteria (think: pool locker room) or places that have things you don't want to step on (I'm not setting foot in Wrigley Field without shoes!), or places where it's just too hot (sand gets toasty during the summer, and so does the asphalt around pools, right?). We need shoes for those times, and we need to make sure that they're supportive and don't undo all those months of hard work they've spent trying to stop falling down, and getting up over and over again anyway.
Obviously we've got adorable options for you!
1) Kinderspel Walkers. They're lightweight, easy to put on, and fit snugly so your child's foot won't wiggle around. They have non-slip soles so
you don't have to worry too much about slips. They come in a bunch of adorably fabulous patterns.
2) Kinderspel Aqua Shoes. Like we already wrote about - sand can
be too hot for some adults to walk on. And sometimes pool showers are ... less than sanitary. These aqua shoes are cute, easy to put on, and the insert comes out so you can wash them. How perfect.
3) Kinderspel Slip Ons. They're adorable, sturdy, and easy. What more could you ask for out of a toddler shoe?!
Okay. We obviously love Kinderspel. But can you blame us? They're so, so cute, and so functional. Who doesn't want their kid to be super stylish while being comfy?
So let your little ones be little ones. If it's safe and comfortable and appropriate, let them run free, shoeless, feel the grass between their little toes. But if you need some shoes, those are some pretty good options.