My eldest daughter surprised me a while ago with her interest in vivobarefoot shoes. Her friend’s family had all started wearing them, and it was a topic of conversation on a 45 minute drive we took with them to the local park run event. When the next email offer arrived in my inbox, we snapped up a pair of Aqua Lites in grey and crimson (50% off and free delivery!) My daughter has been really pleased with them and wears them for her athletics club and much of the weekend.
When I asked if she minded me going barefoot while we walked the dog this weekend there wasn’t any hesitation in her reply, “Nah, I don’t mind” – This was very different to her answer just a few weeks ago!
My other daughter surprised me even more this evening when she asked if she could go barefoot whilst walking the dog. As her mum wasn’t around to ‘be sensible,’ we hit the pavement! I did carry her shoes just in case, but we happily covered three-quarters of a mile at a leisurely pace. She enjoyed feeling the different surfaces, and discovered a few pointy stones on the way round, but quickly adapted her stance without even breaking sentence.
I am not too worried about a soft, slow conditioning of my children’s feet to a more barefoot lifestyle. The don’t wear shoes in the house, they wear thin plimsolls at school, and both do ballet and gymnastic dance. If they grow up with strong feet and good form, and knowing they don’t need big cushioned trainers or orthotics, I’ll be happy.