All new parents rapidly find that there are very few parts of their child’s life that do not necessitate your intervention. Whether it’s while cleaning a startling amount of dandruff out of their cot or using a nasal aspirator to clear their nose, everyone soon realizes how many things we assume happen spontaneously actually require a parent’s attention. There’s a lot more to your child’s footcare than just selecting the correct shoes and making sure they don’t stub their toes. We’ll go through how to care for your child’s feet in this section.

 

Don’t Worry

If you’re paying close attention to your child’s feet, one of the first things you should know is that flat feet, or what appear to be fallen arches, are entirely normal. In reality, the arches have not fallen, but have yet to form. This is very common in children, especially if they haven’t started walking yet, but arches normally emerge by the age of seven. Even if this does not occur, flat feet are not a serious medical issue that is usually readily managed by purchasing appropriate footwear, so there is no need to be concerned if you do not see a well defined arch.

 

Purchase the Correct Footwear

As adorable as tiny pairs of designer shoes may appear, you probably don’t want to spend too much money on them because they aren’t the best thing for your child’s feet. For starters, kids’ feet develop quickly, so the shoes are unlikely to endure long enough to be worthwhile. And parents who do may be tempted to get as much usage out of them as possible, even if the shoes get a little snug. This can be detrimental to your child’s foot development, since they will require new shoes on a frequent basis to allow for growth. In reality, if your child hasn’t begun walking yet, you don’t need hard-soled shoes, but rather soft shoes with movement, flexibility, and capacity for growth.

 

The same may be true about socks, which, if overly tight, can restrict blood circulation in the feet. Socks should also be composed of at least 50% natural materials, such as wool or cotton, to allow the child’s feet to breathe. This can help prevent problems like verrucas and athlete’s foot.

 

Allow Them to Walk Around Barefoot

As crucial as acquiring the correct shoes is, allowing children to go barefoot on a regular basis is also important. Never forget that humanity evolved over millions of years, and that it is only in the last few hundred years that we have come to demand individuals to wear shoes outside or in public. The truth is that children’s feet require a complete range of motion in order for their muscles to develop properly, so don’t imagine that continuously putting them in shoes is protecting them.

 

Their Nails Should Be Clipped (Properly)

Most of us clip our own nails, but young children, of course, require assistance. Pay close attention to this point, because you might be astonished to realize that you’ve been trimming your own nails incorrectly for years. Many people believe that because of the nature of our nails (and the clippers), they should be clipped in a curved fashion. In fact, doing so may cause the nails to grow outwards rather than straight forward, which can easily lead to ingrown toenails, which can lead to infection. Instead of cutting your or their nails into a conventional “nail shape,” simply cut across in a straight line.

 

When it comes to parenting children, parents must keep track of many various things, and feet are an excellent illustration of how many new parents might be caught off guard. It may appear overwhelming to see how much consideration is required for things we have always taken for granted, but rest assured that these lessons will eventually become second nature, and you will learn how to approach all of these diverse areas in time.