No shoes?

[Alexx06]

Hey everyome first post, my 3 year old is refusing to wear any kind of footwear outside, mostly concrete and grass, Im fine with the grass but is he ok running on the concrete? Will this affect his feet development at all? Sorry if this seems simple but Im a young mum with nobody to go to anymore so learning as i go

It won’t affect his development but he’s more likely to hurt his feet by standing on something or stubbing a toe. Humans survived millennia without shoes.

What is it he doesn’t like about shoes? What’s he tried? It’s fine being barefoot in this weather but less manageable come the autumn and winter. I don’t blame him, I love being barefoot. But getting him into some wellies would be practical in time.

It's really good for their development to be barefoot as much as possible. Just check that it's safe in terms of broken glass etc.

@AnneLovesGilbert He just takes them off when i put them on and will shout no when i try and put them back on, any kind of shoe, slipper etc

His foot development will be excellent as his feet can spread without being confined by shoes. I let my daughter go barefeet where it's safe to do so.

Would he like flip flops?

These would be more dangerous than bare feet for an unstable walker.

For me I would enforce the shoes where it was dangerous to be without them. So on grass fine, on concrete like a school playground, fine, but pavements or areas where there might be broken glass is not fine.

I would always offer a toddler an explanation 'we have to wear shoes in this place because we might cut our feet' and then a choice e.g. 'do you want to put your shoes on here so you can run around or do you want to stand next to mummy?'

I would also make a big fuss about shoes being grown up and take them to choose shoes in any colour/material. Are you buying the type of shoes designed for good foot development? Fashion shoes can be very uncomfortable.

Is he an unstable walker though? He's 3 so I thought he would be pretty confident. You can get one with straps on the back for younger kids

Pretty much all young children fall over a LOT more than adults, they run, misjudge things, trip, try to balance etc. Flip flops are really unsuitable for young children.

Outside in the garden I wouldn't allow no shoes. You can't see a tiny piece of glass and it could lead to a serious infection even from the tiniest cut.

Skechers sandals are fantastic most of them light up... DS used to be fussy about sandals but he would happily wear those. Or you could try clogs. Could you explain to him that he MUST wear something when outside and let him choose a pair of shoes or no garden!

Fine to go barefoot at home, on beach or on grass where no glass. Not fine when out and about as glass can cut his feet and in hot weather concrete will burn his feet. I would enforce shoes when outside but allow barefoot inside. Eg do you want to go to the park? You must wear shoes to park or we can't go. Your lovely shoes will stop you hurting your feet. Nice to wear shoes outside.

Barefoot at home is fine. Outside the home it’s not.
He’s also old enough at three to learn that some things are non-negotiable. He has to wear shoes of he can’t go out.