Shoes are more important than you think. If you’re a parent, then your child’s development is most likely always on your mind. Movement is one of the first things children learn and the more they can move the more they learn.

“Your children learn to move so they can move to learn.” (Unknown Author)

Movement is critical and your shoes form the connection between your child’s feet and the ground. That has major implications.

The way your foot hits the ground directly impacts which muscles fire. Try doing a squat, then roll your ankle in and squat again. You should notice your muscles don’t feel the same. That’s because your body can’t work the same.

Too much developmental time with bad lower body mechanics will impact motor function, cause ankle, knee, or hip problems. That’s not including the resulting balance and tripping issues. Research is also linking movement issues with behavioral issues. Many children see improvement in behavior when the right muscles fire.

The number of children I see who have bad feet is higher than you’d think. Those “flat arches” are a result of multiple issues which could include:

• High birth weight
• Poor support in shoes
• Too much arch support when learning to walk
• Wearing used shoes that are worn
• History of ankle injuries

Let’s briefly discuss each of these starting with high birth weight. Gregg Johnson, PT, FFFMT theorized that a high birth weight contributes to the feet getting locked up because they didn’t have enough room in the womb. Being too tight for too long results in stiffness. This theory is consistently correct in my patients. Just under 8 lbs seems to be where problems start. When the foot locked up then the ankle cave in so they can walk, which causes the flat arch.

Poor support in shoes result in poor foot positioning and control. This problem is seen more in those with history of ankle sprains or flat feet. Poor support is commonly from bad shoe manufacturing, shoes getting worn out, or poor shoe design.

While kids are first learning to walk, too much arch support prevents them from using their natural foot motions, which prevent development of crucial muscles which support the arch. Without those muscles, they will fail to control that movement which leads to those ankles caving in.

Wearing shoes that are too worn, or worn in by bad feet, will also cause bad foot posture. The result is hips and knees not working right. If that goes on too long the muscles will stop firing correctly because that is what they learn. If your muscles don’t fire correctly then the arches fall because the ankle compensates.

Lastly, ankle sprains can result in the ankle losing proper form which again results in bad arches.

So what can you do? First, if you can, don’t go too cheap on shoes. Don’t break the bank, but be selective. Second let your kids run barefoot, it’s amazing what it will do. Third, get them crawling. Crawling alone makes huge changes. Lastly, get them evaluated by a qualified manual therapist to enhance that foot posture. They can address your foot in a way no one else can.

If you have questions on how to get the feet moving better, contact us or check out our courses.