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!
