Emma has been lucky from the word “go” when it comes to good shoes.
Her Greek auntie took the task, as soon as toddler Emma was able to be fitted with shoes, to buy and send over the best shoes she could find on the market.
When I say good shoes, I do not mean only pretty.
I mean shoes which not only look good but fit well and more importantly, prevent long-term damage of tiny, delicate feet.
Once Emma started school last year, things got a bit more difficult when it comes to sourcing good shoes. My sister in law could not find black Mary Janes easily, the usual shape requested and accepted in most British public schools does not sell very well in Greek children’ shoe boutiques.
I took Emma for her first ever pair of school shoes to Clarks and got the best we could find: leather, half a size bigger for her foot to grow in and pretty but as soon as she started wearing them in school, she started complaining of sore and sweaty feet.
Things didn’t improve in time and now I know it was because the shoes were not anatomical and designed to allow her growing feet to move and breathe naturally(the lining of her leather shoe was polyester, where is the sense in that??).
This summer, I was delighted to learn about Vivobarefoot, their recent, innovative, fun but very important campaign to raise awareness of the damage “ill-fitting, tapered non-foot shaped shoes do to children’s feet.”
Here are some of the scary facts we should all be aware of, as parents of school-aged children:
- “With 200,000 nerve endings, 33 major muscles, 26 bones, 19 ligaments; the human foot is a natural feat of biomechanics, and is the most sensitive part of the body after the hands and mouth.
- Cushioned shoes compromise vital feedback to the brain from the feet, and a tapered shape, which does not mirror the natural shape of the foot, prevents the foot from splaying when you step, limiting toe mobility and weakening the foot.
- Up to the age of ten years old, the bones in a child’s foot are soft and can be easily misshapen by external forces like poor fitting shoes and in a matter of weeks a child’s foot development can be compromised.”
According to Galahad Clark, founder of Vivobarefoot, children’s feet “are being physically deformed by the shoes they wear and the situation has become now a public health issue.”
I am very happy to be able to join the company in its efforts to educate and empower parents to protect the feet of their children and put them on a path of healthy natural development.
Please do have a read of the Vivobarefoot campaign worrying facts and data and make a difference in your children’s lives by providing them with shoes that encourage natural movement and help their feet grow stronger, not weaker, by wearing the appropriate footwear!
I have my eye on their kids’ Trail Freak sports shoes now and will be purchasing a pair for Emma for weekends spent in the fresh air, exploring our beautiful part of the world!
Disclosure: we were sent a pair of Pally Black Kids for the purposes of this review. No other payment has been made in exchange of this review and the opinions expressed are our own.
Mama's Haven 
I looked at them for the boys, but they do not have them in their size. I do not know why they think that older kids wouldn’t want to wear them!
These sound perfect for children’s growing feet. I have been unhappy with the shoes my children have for a while now. They wear out easily and are not the best quality, even though I buy quite expensive shoes for them. I will look more into this. Thank you.
My son (who is nearly 7) loves to walk around with bare feet indoors and in the garden. He is always reluctant to put his shoes on for school. I hadn’t realised that it was possible to buy school shoes like this. Will find out more.
I’d not heard of this brand before but I like their philosophy. I laughed at the boy with the sign “For foot’s sake!”
They are jolly good brand ~ good quality essential for school
One thing I never understand is why people don’t get their childrens feet properly sized before buying shoes, my sister-in-law is a nightmare about it x
I love the look of the black shoes in particular, they look stylish and comfortable! I loved the kids shoes when we lived in Scandinavia, they were gorgeous. Here not so much! 😀
They do look comfortable. I wonder if that is what we need. We struggled with ‘uncomfortable socks’ last half term, but I did wonder if it was really the shoes that were the problem.
I do know it is so important to get the right size, when was getting shoes for my god children it was not as straight forward as I imagined.
I really suffer with my feet and am keen for my kids to get the best start so will look into these
I’ve not heard about this brand before but I like their ethos. Their shoes look great too. So important to get shoes that look after the little ones feet 🙂
These look excellent. I haven’t bought the new school shoes yet so I’m going to check the website before we go shopping 🙂
Thank you so much for sharing this post. I am a first time mum and my Daughter needs a first pair of school shoes for September. x