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Foot Fun for the Week: Give a Fingerful of Love

I know that most of you parents have been paying attention to your school-age child's feet in the past few months, as you most likely had to purchase new shoes for back-to-school. Ah, what a lovely process - we won't regale you with stories of meltdowns in the shoe store when I patiently explained to my five-year-old that heels are simply not practical (or safe) for young girls.

It's probably been a month since you last checked, but I'm going to encourage you to do it today or tomorrow. It's time to give your child a fingerful of love!

When your child is wearing his shoes, bend over and feel the front of your child's foot and its relationship to the shoe. Is it pushing against the front? Is there a little space between your finger and the end of the toes? It's absolutely amazing how quickly the feet can grow - they do not often grow slow and steady, but rather seemingly overnight, especially since we parents don't often think to check whether our child's foot has grown.

I did this recently, for a pair of shoes I purchased in August for my daughter - and believe it or not, her toes were touching! Yikes. The budget-minded part of me protested, "No fair! Those were supposed to last until January!" But, Good Mommy took over and we went out to get her another pair of shoes with some wiggle room.

Now, the reason this is so important is that kids usually don't complain that their shoes are tight, until they reach the point of no return - i.e. they can't even get the dang shoes on. This is far too late for them to be wearing the shoes. Once the front of the toes are rubbing against the front of the shoe, all sorts of damage can occur -from blisters to calluses and beyond.

That's why it's important to give your child a fingerful of love every month. I'll be happy to remind you!

Foot Fun for the week - parents, do a finger check on kids' shoes - they can get too small overnite. Do it today!

Dr. Manolian Weighs in on Toe Walking

Recently, a parent was concerned about her child's toe walking tendencies. The child was being evaluated by a pediatrician, and the behavior fell within the normal range at this age (3 years). We thought it might be helpful to get a podiatrist's opinion as well. Here is Dr. Manolian's response on the topic:

Toe walking is very common in young children and early walkers. Most children usually grow out of it. One of the causes can be due to a tight Achilles tendon. It is always important to seek medical evaluation from a physician who can determine the root cause. They may suggest exercise or physical therapy if there is a physical cause for the toe walking.

In addition to stretching exercises, many children who toe walk benefit from arch supports, or comfort insoles, that will produce plantar (bottom of the foot) contact, which tends to enhance normal walking patterns. If the child resists use, try to introduce the insoles gradually.

Toe walking is common in young children. Arch supports help by giving plantar/bottom of foot contact, which enhances normal walking patterns

Dr. Manolian Shares Advice for Young Runners

Dr. Manolian, co-founder of Ashton Industries and one of the inventors of our beloved Arch Angels, recently was interviewed for an article about foot health for young marathon runners, in anticipation of the upcoming Boston Marathon in April.

Click this link to see the full article

Let us know if you want to learn more about any of the topics covered in the article, and I'll get Dr. Manolian to write a guest spot.

Happy Trails!

Springtime in New England almost - although they're threatening snow this weekend, so we're not out of the woods yet. But, of course, my hot-blooded 5-year-old has already donned her new flip-flops outside. What's a mother do to? This is not my favorite time of year, when the shoes become hazardous and do nothing to su...pport tender little arches. I'm on a mission this year to find the best, most supportive sandals for little feet. My first two candidates are KEEN Sunports and Crocs Kids' Althens with the back-strap. I'll keep you posted. Do you have a favorite sandal for little feet?

Protect those feet - each has 26 bones - and children's bones don't fuse until adolescence, making them more susceptible to damage.

Leonardo da Vinci called the foot “a masterpiece of engineering and a work of art.”

Have your children's feet grown out of boots during a season? mine did - view my blog http://ping.fm/JbLIE

Winter Boot Blues

Socrates said, "When our feet hurt, we hurt all over." This from a man who probably never wore a supportive pair of shoes in his lifetime. However, he was onto something. Fast forward 2,4000 years and it does hold true that if our feet hurt, we are not in a good place. Never did this become more evident to me than this past weekend, when my seven-year-old son had major pain in his feet from tight ski boots.

The weekend began on a good note. We headed up to the mountains of Vermont to ski with the whole family. Two trips down the hill, and the good note was lost in the wailing moans of a pained kid. You see, we had checked to see that the ski boots he was going to wear for the season ng fit back in November, when we pulled them out of the deep recesses of the cellar. I forgot a very important truth about kids' feet though - they continue to grow - sometimes seemingly overnight!

So, there we were on the mountain, and he began to complain that his boots hurt. We tried loosening buckles, having him wiggle his foot a bit, and wondering if maybe a sock was scrunched up the wrong way, causing irritation. By the second trip down the hill, after he fell three times and was in tears, I realized it was more than a creased sock.

We got into the lodge, and I went straight to the rental area. He was sized for a new pair of boots, and they were a full size bigger than the ones he had been wearing. The look of ecstacy on his face when his feet slipped into those bigger, roomier boots, melted my heart. Poor kid. He knew they hurt, he was absolutely miserable, and it was an easy fix to get him back into a good place.

The rest of the day, he was a powerhouse on the slopes -and he didn't complain once about his feet. I learned a valuable lesson -- feet can and do grow in the middle of a season -- and I have to be sure to regularly check boots and skates, or cleats and sneakers, to be sure that they still fit. There's nothing worse than painful feet, and no child should have to live with it.

Have you ever had this happen to your child? What did you do? What did they say to let you know their feet hurt?