Nowadays, there is an unavoidable habit of putting shoes on children even before they can walk, which is one of the most common mistakes parents make.
Why not put shoes on the baby?
At birth, babies’ feet are much more sensitive than adults’, and this sensitivity decreases over the first two years. However, until then, the feet, along with the hands and mouth, are the means by which babies explore the world around them, learning to process sensory information and acquiring their first notions of “self,” space, time, and the idea of causality. This stage is called the “Sensorimotor Stage.”
This means that shoes are unnecessary while babies are not yet walking (which explains why many children constantly struggle to take off their shoes). Children also grow very fast during their first years of life, so they will feel uncomfortable with shoes that are not recommended to wear for long periods because they can interfere with the growth and proper development of the feet. If it is necessary to put shoes on them for any reason, it is best to use fabric shoes that are comfortable and offer enough space so their little toes can move.
The feet and intelligence
Feet, as sensory receptors, contribute to the better development of the baby’s intelligence, which happens through: the maturation of the nervous system—this is the ability to differentiate and discriminate an increasing number of stimuli and relates to the differentiation of nerve cells. The experience of interacting with the physical world, which is manipulation and handling of objects. It means knowing how objects work through use; this development wouldn’t be possible without such manipulation because the maturation of the nervous system is not independent of experience. Therefore, the more babies investigate and explore, the more they learn.
Socks, babies, and comfort
Socks, on the other hand, do not present these limitations for the feet. They provide comfort and warmth to the baby when needed, do not hinder the proper growth of the feet, and do not cause any toe deformities. Still, ideally, babies should interact with their surroundings as much as possible, which is best achieved barefoot. Therefore, socks should not be mandatory all day but used only when necessary due to cold temperatures or when going outside and parents do not want to expose little feet to environmental contamination. At home, the more barefoot they are, the better and happier they will be, as well as their intelligence and little feet.
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