Captivating children by Anna Rutten from Kidiwise Early Learning Centre

Do you remember the joys of running around as a child, barefoot, without a care in the world?

Barefoot children are a wonderful sight. There are a huge number of experiences to be had with these little feet and here are a few:

Sand – children love feeling sand between their toes, wet sand, dry sand, treading or trudging through it. I recently observed children on the estuary. The expressions on their faces showed the very real experiences they were having with the sand oozing between their little toes. Jandals and shoes were quickly kicked off in favour of genuine natural feet. These made to measure ‘shoes' do not fill up with sand, grip much better and are easy to clean with a hose. They are less likely to get stuck in squelchy sand too.

Grass – there is nothing like the feel of the dew on your feet walking through the grass in the morning. Given the opportunity, children will relish the opportunity to feel grass in all its states – icy grass, dry grass, warm grass, wet grass, muddy grass. Yes, especially muddy grass – it's great for sliding.

Hills – have you ever taken a child on a hill climb in shoes only to find they proved a hindrance. Children can grip so much better with the natural variety – proof that they were stuck on our legs for a reason.

Health benefits – children travelling barefoot assists in using muscles needing to be strengthened by playing, thus optimising the lower limb bio-mechanics.

Now, I am not advocating a mass destruction of shoes banned forever and embodied into the laws of our land. Shoes have a very meaningful place. They are a wonderful means of protection from the cold, rough, hard and unhygienic surfaces and as our preschool children get older, they are necessary for many sports, outings and special occasions.