Do kids need arch support?
The old-fashioned idea was that a child's foot needed help as it grew with hard soles, support and cushioning around the ankle. The theory behind this tradition is because babies born without arches have flat feet which means their toes bunch together or turn inwards, causing them pain when they walk on uneven surfaces such has tile floors during early childhood years. Therefore, children need propping up inside shoes to develop taller souls predecessors called arch supports.
People are always looking for the perfect shoe, but many don't know that their shoes can make them worse. Many feet problems such as fallen arches or flat-footedness come from wearing improper footwear which may cause pain in adulthood when moving around becomes difficult due to an inability of muscles used by our body constantly relying on its ability to move quickly across different surfaces.
The human foot has been evolving for several millennia and it would be a pretty significant system failure if our feet were so chronically weak. In reality, they're not! The truth is that we put them in inadequate shoe boxes which prevent their growth into healthy strong toes with wide spaces.
And it turns out kids may be better off without shoes! A recent study by two universities in South Africa and Germany found that regularly barefoot kids also scored higher than those wearing footwear when taking balance tests or motor skills assessments such as hopping across gaps. Our shoes have warped the pure architectural form of human gait, obstructing its engineering efficiency and afflicting it with strains. Dr. William A Rossi writes that "in only a few thousand years," we've come up with an instrument carelessly designed to fit our foot uniquely, the result being damaging effects on how humans walk from head to toe!
So, how does being barefoot help you grow stronger?
Babies are born with flat feet. Kids’ arches develop over time and as the foot grows, so do its bones. If these structures stay bunched up or unable to move, it's like they're trying in a restrictive cast! This can be especially true for arch support which helps give an elegant shape but doesn't allow space needed by muscles etc., leading towards improper development of our strongest construction type(the arch). An arcing structure acts much differently than supports. For example, anybody knows who has walked on wooden floors after walking around all day, you'll notice right away if there is no elastic recoil when taking steps.
For babies and kids, being barefoot is not just about the physicality of growing bodies but also how they use their blossoming awareness. Dr. Kacie Flegal who specializes in pediatrics writes that one way to motivate proprioceptive development is by letting our infant be as much without shoes or inserts because it allows them to develop their sense of balance. The opposite happens when we put on supportive footwear which tries so hard at helping children learn more than what's actually there already, you're shutting off your child's natural ability.
The solution to improving foot health starts with us and our kids. Letting them go barefoot as much, if not more than shoes are necessary for their natural movement. We think that footwear should provide minimal interference in the way your feet function which will allow you to have a strong flexible base from which all other aspects depend on. No arch support or padding just enough so it protects against climate changes/terrain mix up without limiting mobility too much.