Recommendations On Footwear For School Children
We need to consider the requirements for the foot in respect of support, growth, development and hygiene.
Support
Shoes need to have firm support at the heel and many shoes available do not have adequate reinforcement in this area. If it is possible to fold the back of the shoe down to the sole when it is new, the shoe is not adequate to provide the required amount of support. This can lead to early destruction of the shoe, or may cause problems to a foot that functions poorly.
Growth
Children's shoes need to be carefully fitted to ensure that there is enough room to allow for growth without putting their feet in shoes that are too large to allow proper function of the foot. 'Handed down' shoes may exacerbate foot problems, so this practice is not advised. A properly fitted shoe will hold the heel at the back of the shoe with either lacing or a strap while allowing adequate room for the toes to move.
Recommended Shoes
The Podiatrist can treat these problems of the feet as well as offering professional advice on footwear and foot support.
- Leather lace up with firm heel support and flexible soles
- Leather sandal with closed heel
- Sports shoes with leather and nylon upper or non plasticised leather upper and
- Desert boots with firm heel support to prevent side movement
- Occasional Shoes
We do not recommend the following to be worn for everyday use:
- Platform soles
- Elevated heels
- Thongs
- Rubber boots
- Desert boots without heel reinforcement and
- Plastic or plastic coated shoes. The plastic treatment of these shoes removes all the benefit of a leather shoe and renders the shoe far less suitable for the foot than the average leather and nylon upper of a 'sneaker'
- Sport Shoes
The majority of children, who use shoes designed for casual wear to play sports, alarm podiatrists. There is no danger to the foot if a shoe designed for sport is used as a casual shoe, but casual shoes have very little inbuilt protection for sports use.
The Australian Podiatry Association urges parents to seek advice from a sport shoe store when purchasing shoes for sport use. Specific qualities in footwear design may be required for some sports.
Children who experience foot or leg pain during or after playing sport should be examined by a podiatrist who will assess the way the child moves, as faulty foot function can lead to disabilities such as bunions, hammertoes and other foot deformities. The Podiatry Association can advise which podiatrists treat children's problems.
Sneakers Pose "A Health Risk"?
It is important that feet are allowed to function in a 'dry' environment and for this reason we suggest that children NOT wear the same pair of shoes day after day. One of the greatest criticisms against 'sneakers' is on the basis of the 'health risk' that results from the foot spending all day, every day, in a warm, moist shoe.
The cheaper forms of sport shoes with moulded soles and synthetic uppers probably cause most of these problems. With them perspiration does not get absorbed and because there is no ventilation it stays on the skin. It clogs the pores, causes rashes and creates ideal growing conditions for tinea, warts and other conditions. Wearing 100% synthetic socks with sneakers, or with any other type of footwear, will increase the likelihood of these problems.
We emphasis that a leather shoe worn all day, every day may have the same type of health risk if it is not allowed to dry adequately between wearing. It is also necessary to consider that some people have an excess moisture problem that requires treatment.
Some 'leather lace-ups' as well as some 'sport style shoes' (sneakers) are poorly designed and made of inferior materials. We feel that it would be quite wrong to totally condemn the entire range of footwear in these categories because of the inadequacies of a few.
It is with the emphasis that sport shoes be allowed to dry adequately between wearing, that we include them in this list of recommendations.
Socks and Stockings
It is recommended that socks be made of a cotton/synthetic mixture of a wool/synthetic mixture with the proportion of natural fibre being 60% of more. Naturally socks need to be washed after each use, not worn on successive days.
Synthetic fibre does not absorb moisture so socks and stockings made from this material allow a wet foot to stay wet until such time as the sock is allowed to dry. This is the prime factor in the cultivation of fungal disorders. Synthetics have a large capacity to stretch, and can be forced to cover a foot many sizes larger than the sock itself. The pressure exerted by a too-small sock on the developing structures of a young foot can be the cause of permanent deformities of the toes and toenails.
For hygiene and growth reasons we strongly discourage 100% synthetic material being purchased.
"Growing Pains"
Some children experience pains that may be an indication of imbalance of the muscular function of the legs. The Association recommends any pain be thoroughly investigated and parents should not accept that "they'll grow out of it".
Arch Supports
We are frequently asked to comment on the 'arch support' that is built into a number of shoes. This is designed to give comfort, not to correct 'flat feet'.
We do not believe that a normally functioning foot requires support of the arch. But we are very aware that a badly functioning foot requires assistance, usually in the form of custom made functional orthoses (foot supports) that are made to prescription for the individual after assessment and diagnosis of the foot type and function. Orthoses are made from measurements of the joints of the feet and legs as well as plaster moulds of the feet, taken by the podiatrist after examining the function of the feet while walking. Consideration is also given to the history of the individual and family tendencies to foot problems.
As some podiatrists have specialised training in this area, it is recommended that anyone needing assistance contact the Executive Director of the Association to recommend a podiatrist who is adequately trained to prescribe these devices.