Healthy, Active, Barefoot Kids

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Healthy, Active, Barefoot Kids
By Dr. Stephen Gangemi, a.k.a. Sock Doc

Kids these days! I sound like my grandparents saying that, but the difference is while they were perhaps referring to some punk kid tailgating them on their way home from their weekly Bingo game, I’m referring to the kids walking around in pumped-up-kicks whose health and fitness levels fall very short of achieving any Presidential Fitness Award.

Raising healthy kids starts with the feet, and that means the bare feet. It’s what our parents and grandparents did as kids. It’s what Huck Finn and Tom Sawyer did too, and they had some pretty cool adventures. Now kids would rather stay indoors, texting and friending on Facebook instead of playing with friends outside. With little exercise to speak of, and processed junk food the norm in many households and school cafeterias, it’s no wonder that most countries have a runaway problem with childhood obesity – approximately one-third of American kids are either overweight or obese. Raising a healthy and fit kid isn’t necessarily easy, but it’s well worth your time, and I’m going to suggest you proceed from the ground up. Read more here: http://www.drgangemi.com/kids/healthy-active-barefoot-kids/
 
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Reactions: Robin
I still need to find my kid something more flexible. He wore water shoes for awhile, but now has been wearing these stiff-soled sandals for most of the summer. At least he doesn't wear socks.

He stays BF pretty much all the time except when going to the store or to the park. He'll play outside BF in our yard, or if I take him in the bike trailer he usually just stays BF for that, too. I've noticed he's been getting some nasty rashes I think from sweat around the feet and legs.
 
Healthy, Active, Barefoot Kids
By Dr. Stephen Gangemi, a.k.a. Sock Doc

Kids these days! I sound like my grandparents saying that, but the difference is while they were perhaps referring to some punk kid tailgating them on their way home from their weekly Bingo game, I’m referring to the kids walking around in pumped-up-kicks whose health and fitness levels fall very short of achieving any Presidential Fitness Award.

Raising healthy kids starts with the feet, and that means the bare feet. It’s what our parents and grandparents did as kids. It’s what Huck Finn and Tom Sawyer did too, and they had some pretty cool adventures. Now kids would rather stay indoors, texting and friending on Facebook instead of playing with friends outside. With little exercise to speak of, and processed junk food the norm in many households and school cafeterias, it’s no wonder that most countries have a runaway problem with childhood obesity – approximately one-third of American kids are either overweight or obese. Raising a healthy and fit kid isn’t necessarily easy, but it’s well worth your time, and I’m going to suggest you proceed from the ground up. Read more here: http://www.drgangemi.com/kids/healthy-active-barefoot-kids/
I get so sick and tired with people,I feel I'm surrounded by nutjobs!Even my cousin,who is in a medical profession tries to tell me that running with no shoes is bad for you...to me it seems the most obvious thing to do?!!;)
 
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Reactions: Bare Lee
This sounds great, but unless you are willing to pay $75+ for kids shoes. (which they will outgrow in 6 months) there aren't too many options for minimal shoes. My 7 yr. old son wears the Fila Skelatoes, but they're not too easy fro him to get on and off; he's mostly in flip-flops.

And I do not buy shoes on-line, so my only options are local stores.
 
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Try water shoes, Ram. They are extremely minimal, as you know, and really inexpensive. Sure, you have to deal with the "funk," but at $8 to $15 a pair, it's worth it.
 
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Reactions: Bare Lee
We tried a couple pairs of watershoes, but so far all the ones we have tried come apart too fast.