A recent Associated Press article discusess the fact that girls are wearing high heeled shoes at a younger ages. They are concerned that the shoes will interfere with physical development.
Some of the problems with wearing heels before feet are fully developed are:
~ Tightening of the heel cord
~ Changes in the growth plate
~ danger of sprains and broken bones
According to Mathew Dairman, a foot and ankle surgeon in Suffolk, VA, the age for begin learning to walk in heels is 12, as the foot bones have developed by this time.
My problem with heels has nothing to do with physical development, though it lends to strenghten my arguement. Young girls in high heel shoes just looks out of place. It seems as if the girl is attempting to grow up to fast. If it looks like she is growing up too fast, there is a good chance that she is growing up too fast.
I think parents should make it a point to keep little girls in little girl shoes. They need age appropriate shoes so they can play safely and so they don’t give the appearance of looking more grown up than they are.
Of course this is easier said than done. In my esperience, the biggest problem with finding age appropriate shoes are the shoe manufactuers and the size of feet.
Children shoe sizes typically end at size 4 1/2 at which point, girls go immediately into a womens size 6. (In my experience a child’s 5 and a womens 6 were about the same size). Once the child outgrows the size 4 1/2 shoes, she is forced to wear a womens shoe. With that said, women’s shoes don’t come in children’s size. However, children’s feet definately come in adult sizes.
This means that parents of 10 year old girls couldn’t purchase chld appropriate shoes if they wanted to. From the age 10-12, my own daughter was relegated to ballet flats with little to no support, and platform clogs, which at least did not have skinny heels to balance on. At 13, she is now wearing more ladylike shoes, but I am staying away from pointy toes and skinny heels.
So when is it OK to wear heels? Phsycally at age 12, when the child’s foot growth has slowed so that you do not effect development. But maturity-wise, not until age 13. Wearing high heel shoes should be avoided for as long as you want to child to remain a child.
~If you liked this you should also read my other posts at the home blog, the homeschooling blog, the parents blog, and the frugal blog. You can read my recent posts here.
Goodbye, Favorite Shoes! Hello… Happy Feet?