Cutest Kids' Feet Contest Coming Soon!

We've been busy at Arch Angels® headquarters. One thing we've had in the works for a while is finally coming alive. We wanted to share it with you even though it's not quite live yet.

Here at Arch Angels® we are so absolutely in love with kids’ feet, we want to find the cutest kids’ feet out there. And we want to share them with the world.

Sure, you’ve spent hours taking photos of your kids’ adorable faces, but what about those feet? Are they splashing in the puddles? Are they covered with mud? Do they have painted toenails and glitter? Take a minute, grab your digital camera, and capture your child’s feet doing what they do best – living life to the fullest!

The winning photo will receive $500 in cash plus a lifetime supply of Arch Angels® comfort insoles. That’s to make sure those feet keep doing the things they love, with the right amount of comfort and support along the way.

Stay tuned for the official launch - and in the meantime, start taking those cute pics!

Little Picassos

Life at Arch Angels headquarters has been heating up, and we're building our own little fan club. We had two trade shows to attend last month, and our in-house designers put together these banners for our booth. I personally think they're better than the professional one we paid for!




We'd love to see your drawings of your Arch Angels or pictures of your little angels. Send them to us here, or at info@myarchangels.com. More to come!

We Want To Change the Way You Think About Kids' Feet

I've been thinking a lot about how we view kids' feet and all the commonly held views on kids' feet that, as new parents, we tend to absorb while we're learning the ropes of parenting. Things like, "let them walk barefoot as often as possible," and "don't worry if they're walking a little funny, they'll grow out of it." We just shrug and say "Okay, the experts are saying this so I guess it must be right."

Well, I've always had issue with the first comment - walking barefoot. That works great for my friends Dave and Tami in Hawaii, where the kids spend much of their day on the beach or outside in general. Up here in the Northeast, we tend to have frozen tundra from November to March, so barefoot outside is impossible, and inside it's still too cold for little toes on those hardwood floors!

Yes, there is something to be said when a child is first learning to walk about letting their feet touch the ground and learn how to work the muscles to provide the stability they need to move forward. However, once they've got it down, then it's more important to find them shoes that continue to enhance that muscle and bone development while protecting them from the elements.

As for the outgrowing comment, while most kids sometimes do walk funny for the first few years, they may "outgrow" the behavior, but sticking them in shoes that don't have adequate cushioning arch support or stabalizing heel support can very well drive them down the path that many of us adults are finding - back aches, knee pain, foot pain. Much of this can be traced back to our childhoods when we were wearing shoes that didn't have the right inner support and cushioning to let our bones grow and muscles develop correctly.

So, I disagree with the "experts" on this one - I've seen firsthand that putting Arch Angels in my children's shoes have made a difference today in their level of comfort and stamina, and I strongly believe that that difference will lead to fewer long-term problems with their feet, knees, backs and overall physical health.

What do you think? Do you follow the conventional wisdom about minimal support when they're in their formative years? What did your pediatrician say to you if you brought up the fact that Timmy seems to walk on the outsides of his feet? I'd love to hear your comments!

The Skinny on Kids' Shoes

I mentioned I'm the mother of three children, ages 8,5, and 2. Needless to say they keep me running around. I'm always amazed by how active they are throughout the day, and also how quickly they can hit the wall, and complain of tired feet. Do you know what I've learned? The shoes that I have bought my children don't always provide all the cushioning and support they need. I've tried everything from $15 shoes from the box-retailers to $65 shoes from the latest and greatest European designers. What I've found is that even the most well-made shoes don't have adequate support in the arch - and that's why children's feet get sore and tired faster than ours!

What's the solution?
There are a few good shoes for children that I've found give the best arch support - Merrills come to mind here. But, as we all know, many times styles dictate what our children wear, not function. So, how do you balance the need to give your kids' feet good support and comfort with the desire to get those cute shoes they love? In a nutshell, Arch Angels. With Arch Angels, you can put our comfort insole in any closed shoe, and move it around from shoe to shoe. If you're anything like me, your kids have 3 or more different pairs of shoes at a time. You can use Arch Angels in all of them, and be assured their growing arches are getting the support they need on the inside while they wear the cool shoes they love on the outside.

Introducing Arch Angels: Children's Comfort Insoles

Welcome! This is the inagural post for our new blog about Arch Angels(tm) and how to have healthy kids' feet. We are launching our product in November, and we are excited to put it in the shoes of kids everywhere so that they can benefit from the comfort and support of an insole that is designed for kids.

We've been working on this product for more than five years, and we are so excited to finally share it with the rest of the world! I want to use this blog to share with you all the amazing things I've learned about kids' feet along the way and how, as parents, we have the opportunity of making sure our children are stepping out with their best foot forward into their action-packed lives.

Stay tuned and let's share with each other the amazing things our kids do with their feet!