Leonardo Da Vinci called the human foot a "miracle of natural engineering". And it's easy to see why.
The foot is the foundation of the body. It gives the body stability and balance. It propels the body through a life time of walking, running and play. It holds the body in an upright position and facilitates correct posture and alignment. It provides the body with cushioning to absorb the pressures and forces on the muscles and joints from hard surfaces. We look to our feet to provide miracles so it is only fair to give them all the assistance they need.
The baby's foot contains no fully formed bones at all - just soft gristle and cartilage. This cartilage is soft up to the age of 6-8 years old and will take up to 18 years to develop and harden into the 26 bones that make up the fully formed adult foot. The shape of a toddlers foot is round with no discernible arch because a layer of subcutaneous tissue (that's puppy fat to you and me) surrounds the foot to protect the soft bone structure. So, a babies foot needs to be looked after very carefully. Soft cartilage can easily be bent out of shape in shoes that don't fit. |
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By the age of 8 your child's feet are starting to look more like the grown up version. But they are still vulnerable even at this stage, because the bones are not yet fully formed. At Shoes & Sox we know this all means that children's feet need to be looked after very carefully. Shoes that are either too long,too short,too wide,too narrow, too deep, too shallow, too inflexible and without cushioning, can cause health and walking problems in the future. The correct fit is essential in preventing this from happening in the first place.
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