To hate heels for little girls

[RainOnATinRoof]

For work I was involved in running a family event over the weekend. I was shocked at how many little girls were wearing high heels. Like this, but also a lot of boots with heels even higher. On girls age 6-10.

It's one thing for an adult to choose to wear heels, but buying them for a child? Do people really not understand how damaging they are? They alter the gait causing unnatural stress on feet, ankles, knees, hips, spines etc. I don't know why someone would want to subject a growing body to this.

When I was a girl I coveted high heels (but children's heels didn't really exist back then outside of tap classes), so I can understand that some children may beg for them, but parents can always say no. Just because they are in the shops doesn't mean you have to buy them! (note, I'm not talking about the plastic dress up heels which are usually worn around the house only).

lots of little girls want to look fancy or grown up - it’s as sinister as you make it, it’s no different to playing dress up as people have done for eons. It really depends whether it’s child led or not to me.

My nephews, at least a couple, also loved to dress up in suits to look grown up - hardly different to that.

These are tools of male oppression to some of us, little girls are merely playing - just like the light up Elsa shoes etc.

It's the occasional time for a party, no big deal.
I let Dd have them and yet now at 16 she would never wear heels of any type, Docs and Converse all the way.

What special events are people taking their children to that require no playing and walking slowly.

SIL dressed her daughter as a hooker from a baby. Hate heels, hate satin clingy dresses, hate cropped tops, hate feather boas, hate provocative underwear... on children.

Yanbu. I totally agree op.

YANBU. Totally tacky and unnecessary. Nothing wrong with party flats.
I equally despise ballet flats that fall off feet, though.
I’d like my kids to have healthy feet in the future!

Awful, and incredibly tacky 😷
I don't understand what is supposed to be attractive about painful shoes that most people can't walk in, anyway, but children are not meant to be that kind of attractive!

I hate them.... little girls need to play and at a family fun day i reckon trainers woukd be more appropriate.. something like those shoes is more appropriate for going out to dinner in a posh place not for anywhere that requires any running jumping or skipping.

My 4yo DD wore a pair of these to a party on Sunday. She loves them and they're no higher than those awful plastic dress up shoes that kids have been wearing forever.

There's a cbeebies programme where kids dress up and act as thought they're in different jobs and the business woman ( a maybe 6 year old girl) wears heels, and it really annoys me. Why is she wearing heels? I blame the apprentice!

I actually bought some of these shoes for Dd when she was younger.

RainOnATinRoof Those shoes you posted the link for are disgustingly ugly, who would even want their child to wear them?!

To all those saying that the shoes I linked to "are not that high", you're forgetting that children's feet are much shorter than adult women's feet, so the effect of heel height is amplified.

This blog post explains it fairly well. (the author is a bit extreme in her overall advocacy of minimal shoes perhaps, but you can't argue with the basic geometry she refers to)

Yes I hate them too. I would also prefer to see them in trainers or similar.

They don't need to be completely flat not to be high heels - a slight heel like boys shoes have! Weirdly the only other kind available often seem to be completely flat!

Healthy feet
Dressed as hooker
Provocative underwear
Seriously?
I'm beginning to think this is the underwear troll.

Oh is this just a way of driving traffic to your blog?

DD (7) had a sparkly pair for a wedding we went to, she wore them for about 2 hours before changing into trainers. I also let her wear makeup

Yes my dd also loves sparkley make up - it’s nonsense that wearing shoes like that for 2 hours to a party every few months is going to do any harm. Such intolerance.

I’m fairly sure she’ll get herself a good job in whatever she wants to do rather than becoming an extra in reality tv.

TheHungryDonkey lol Katy Bowman doesnt need to drive traffic to her blog - she's a published biomechanical scientist with a flourishing business!

They look similar to dance shoes

Fine for parties they are not everyday shoes

Fair enough but I’m not following mystery blog links from a poster that’s stirred a bit thread of girls wearing party shoes are oppressed and look like hookers.

Did you actually read my OP?

I never mentioned oppression or hookers.

No but a snidey op about footwear choices on little girls caused others to spout it off. I can read dear.

I’m amazed how judgemental people are. I bet a tenner if a Mum on here said is it OK to buy my son the same high heels the majority of answers would be of course.

My DDs have “high” heeled shoes from monsoon that they wear to the school disco and occasional parties. I really don’t think a couple of hours a few times a year matters at all.

No comparison to boys wearing a suit.

Female clothing restricts the ability to move freely. As an adult I sometimes choose to wear heels. Children however need to run, and jump, and dance. To restrict this ability is just wrong.