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Why Soft Soles?

Our parents were taught that children learning to walk needed stiff, hard-soled shoes for support. Today we know better. As the feet of young children are soft and pliable, pressure from the wrong type of shoe can be detrimental to the development of their feet.

Pediatricians now recommend that children up to two years of age go barefoot (when practical and safe) or wear lightweight, flexible footwear. This enables children’s feet to grow naturally and to develop musculature and strength. A soft-soled shoe also enables them to sense the ground beneath their feet and to grasp with their toes as they learn how to walk.

But for safety and sanitation, as well as appearance, your baby will need shoes for most excursions, as well as for special occasions (what’s a party dress without Mary Janes or a tiny sailor suit without spiffy saddles?). Choose shoes that are closest to no shoes at all by looking for the following:

Flexible soles
Shoes that bend fairly easily when the toe is bent up will interfere least with the foot’s natural motion. Your best bet is to look for leather or rubber soles that bend easily. Many doctors recommend sneakers for their flexibility, but some maintain that traditional first-walker shoes are even more flexible and babies are therefore less likely to fall in them. Ask your baby’s doctor for a recommendation, and test those available at your local store before making your selection.

Low cut
Though high-top shoes may stay put better than low ones, most experts believe they are too confining and interfere with ankle movement. They certainly shouldn’t be used to prop up a baby who is not yet ready to walk.

Porous and flexible uppers
To stay healthy, feet need to breathe and to get plenty of exercise. They breathe best, and have the most freedom of movement, in shoes of leather, cloth, or canvas. Plastic or imitation leather is usually stifling and sometimes stiff, and tends to cause the feet to sweat excessively. Avoid “running” shoes with wide bands of rubber around them, since they can also increase sweating. If you purchase rain shoes or boots that are made of plastic or rubber for your baby, use them only when needed, and take them off as soon as she is indoors.

'THE BABY BOOK'
by William Sears, MD & Martha Sears, MD:

The Sole
"As a general guide, the earlier the stage of walking, the thinner and more flexible the sole should be. Before buying a shoe, bend it in your hand to test its flexibility. Then watch your baby walk. The shoe should bend at the ball of the foot as your baby takes each step... The rubber soles on some sneakers are thicker and stiffer than leather soles. Also, rubber soles tend to be more rounded, whereas the flatter leather soles tend to provide more stability. Avoid stiff shoes for young feet. If you have difficulty bending the shoe in your hand, leave it in the store. Your baby will have even more difficulty bending the stiff shoe with his feet. Stiff soles may catch on the walking surface, causing a nasty fall.

The Top & Sides
The throat of the shoe (the area across the top of the shoe just below the laces) and the sides should crease easily when your baby takes a step. If they don’t, it means your baby’s footwear is not flexible enough and the foot can’t bend naturally while baby walks.

Construction
Stick with natural materials – leather or canvas – that breathe, letting air get to baby’s perspiring feet. Avoid synthetic materials, such as vinyl, which don’t breathe."