Cool…thanks guys. I am definitely keeping that in mind with these surveys. Having also handed them out to several faculty members here in the department, I am keeping in mind that they are indeed designers, and I will be getting a different result from them when compared to the regular parents…which will be interesting to compare in the end i think.
I have been doing quite a bit of reading in this area, and have found some good information that is pushing me towards the two-part system i had mentioned…where an inner sock/bootie can allow safe barefoot walking around the house for the large majority of the time, and an outer shell, or “chassis” can be utilized for safe outdoor walking when necessary.
Here are some of the key findings that i’ve come across in my readings:
–Children with the healthiest and most supple feet are those who habitually go barefoot…studies of developing nations show that non-shoe-wearers have better flexibility and mobility, stronger feet, fewer deformities, and less complaints than those who wear shoes regularly.
–A high proportion of the world’s population walks barefoot most of the time, and the average person who walks barefoot has much healthier feet than the average person who wears shoes.
–The barefoot walker receives a continuous stream of information about the ground and about his own relationship to it, while a shod foot sleeps inside an unchanging environment. Sensations that are not used or listened to become decayed and atrophy.
–The majority of foot damage is preventable if parents take proper care of their children’s feet by allowing them to grow naturally - barefoot.
–A cross-sectional study suggests that shoe-wearing in early childhood is detrimental to the development of a normal or a high medial longitudinal arch. The susceptibility for flat foot among children who wear shoes is most evident if there is associated ligament laxity. We suggest that children should be encouraged to play unshod and that slippers and sandals are less harmful than closed-toe shoes.
–A baby who has just learned to walk takes around 176 steps a minute.
–Children’s feet can sweat up to half a pint of perspiration a day.
–Children take even more steps than adults each day - more than 18,000.