How do I get DS to keep his shoes on in the garden???????

[Nemo1977]

hi all
have a 21mth old ds who just refuses to wear his shoes in the garden. When we are out hes fine but in the garden i think he sees it as an extension of the house. There is nothing dangerous out there but its more the fact that where his sandpit etc is there is playbark down which hurts my feet to stand on so surely must hurt his???? IF i put shoes on then they will be off within a few minutes so i dont know what to do...any tips?

meant to say he hates having shoes/slippers or socks on in the house which is fair enough as i dont particulalrly like it either.

My dd is the same she is slightly older(23 months). This is no help but the only shoes she will keep on are her princess ones!

The extension of the house made me laugh, my dd sees the garden as an extension of the toilet, not good when if she has no shoes on...

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pmsl cold tea..he doesnt do the toileting thing yet..i have tried getting him shoes with thomas tank etc but he puts them on then runs out and 5mins later i find them abandoned

My kids take shoes off in the house as well - not trained to do it, just copy us I guess. Same probs with garden, think they like the cool grass sensation. Will watch this thread for tips. We have practically given in tbh. The back garden is ok and keep patio swept, out of the frinto door is shoes on rule. We don?t have playbark but obviously doesn?t bother him?
Read somewhere that walking barefoot on different types of surface such as sand, grass, smooth patio etc. is really good for their development as it helps to stimulate their brain (something about special needs children but think it applied to all children). Can?t remember exactly where I read this or the details but remember it made me feel better about no shoes in the garden at the time and it seemed to make sense.
I worry they will stand on a bee or something, but I guess there is just as much chance of being stung elsewhere on the body and we have short grass and a rule to stay off the flower beds.

posts crossed - like the wetsuit shoes idea. I have some of those for DD1, will dig them out and keep them by the backdoor.

i suppose will just have to leav him too it. WE dont have flower beds as all in planters and the grass is short so i can see anything...i rinse down patio everyday as we have a dog. Obviously he isnt bothered so best leave him to it..lol

funnily enough the only shoes he will wear voluntarily sometimes are his wellingtons

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I never wore shoes as a kid unless we went out. We grew up on the farm and there were heaps of things to hurt your feet. Kids have tough feet (or learn where not to step). Just because the bark hurts your feet, doesn't mean it hurts his (kids are pretty bright, they won't step on the bark if it hurts). Just let him do it.

Apparently it is good for feet to "breathe".

Of course, it is a different story when going out.

I'd just leave him to it - better for their feet to be without shoes anyway. ds will walk over our bit at the back door which is tiny wee bits of chippings - it's blooming sore - but he doesn't bother at all! feet like leather. the only thing i don't like about it is his toenails are a bit of a mess as he scrapes them - but its either that or rubbed sweaty feet in sandals.

I leave mine without shoes if they want to - it's nice for them to be barefoot . They'll let you know if it hurts!

mine never have shoes on in house/garden - it's good for their feet to go barefoot and much less hassle...

Little kids hardly weigh anything so the amount of force their feet hit the ground with is very very low, that's why they can walk on things you or i can't so comfortably.

My kids walk barefoot on our gravel driveway just fine. It bothers me a little to walk barefoot there, but I can tolerate it because I grew up going barefoot on gravel myself. My neighbours are amazed soft footers!!

I let my kids go barefoot all sorts of places, usually get looks for it, but I went barefoot virtually 100% of the time (out of school) as a kid, so just feels normal to me. I still take my shoes off compulsively every opportunity I get.

fqz - I thought I was the only adult to compulsively take shoes off every chance I get. Nice to know I'm not alone. Personally can't stand wearing shoes unless I absolutely have to.

DS happily walks across bark, stone chips and concrete. Only comes running for his shoes when it gets too hot.

Children's feet are as sensitive as their hands, if it hurts his feet he won't walk on it. Honest.

All barefoot here