From the day your little one is born, you do your best to make sure he grows up in the best possible conditions. Do you also remember to take care of your child's cute little feet? It turns out that after the baby takes its first steps, many parents forget about prevention of this part of the body. This is a mistake that can cause children to develop foot defects. Find out how to prevent them.

Abnormalities in the development of the feet in children are inextricably linked with postural defects. Changes in the structure of the feet affect the work of the joints and the entire spine, eventually leading to their deformation and the formation of incorrect habits of moving or sitting. The only way to prevent this is to introduce prevention of foot defects.

Most common foot defects in children

The earlier abnormalities are detected, the greater the chance that treatment will take less time and the consequences will be less severe. Therefore, it is important to be aware of what kind of foot defects can occur in children. Among the most commonly diagnosed are two types of defects:

• Congenital conditions that require immediate medical consultation at birth, such as flat feet, valgus knees, hallux valgus feet, and hollow feet,
• Acquired, which occur in older children and adults, such as hallux, stiff toe or hammer toe.

Any defect requires medical consultation, so if you notice any of the above problems in your child, make an appointment.

However, while birth defects cannot be prevented, acquired deformities can. It is enough to implement appropriate preventive measures at the right time.

Prevention of foot defects in children

Wondering how to prevent foot defects in your child? Fortunately, it's quite simple and doesn't require doing complicated things. Here's what you can do.

• Don't help while learning to walk

When a child shows readiness to take his first steps, many parents want to help him do so and, for example, grab his hands and try to lead him, plant him in a walker or hand him a push.

While the intentions are certainly sincere and dictated by the welfare of the toddler, this should not be done. Such "acceleration" of learning to walk does not help the little one. On the contrary - it makes it difficult to maintain balance, interferes with the formation of the habit of properly rolling the foot on the ground and does not teach the proper reaction to a fall.

As a result, the child is unable to stand on his or her whole feet independently, begins to walk on tiptoe and/or fails to stretch his or her arms out in front of him or her when he or she falls over. As a result, there is a high risk of developing poor posture and foot problems.

Therefore, allow the child to make his own attempts to walk, learn to fall down and get up. This is important for his harmonious development.

• Wear the right footwear

Wearing stiff, made of low-quality materials or second-hand footwear is a simple recipe for foot deformity, and consequently the development of postural defects. What's more, feet will sweat in such shoes, which can lead to odor and even skin diseases.

Therefore, the basis for the prevention of foot defects is good shoes for the baby. It is best to choose a model that is made of soft, flexible materials, such as natural leather, has a flexible sole and is lightweight. This makes taking the first steps easy and pleasant, and also safe. What's more, such footwear allows this to create the right conditions for a child to learn to walk.

A good choice, for example, are infant shoes from the Emel brand. This is a Polish brand with many years of experience in creating soft, flexible footwear for children of all ages, which goes to great lengths to ensure that its shoes support foot development and ensure toddlers' safety when undertaking various activities.

• Encourage barefoot walking

If you want to teach your child how to place his feet properly and how to press his heels firmly against the ground so that he doesn't hurt himself while walking, let him go barefoot as often as possible.

Contact between the feet and the ground is extremely important for his harmonious development. Thanks to this, the toddler activates all the postural muscles and instep muscles of the feet, which allows them to strengthen, and also increases blood circulation in the soles. This reduces the risk of various skin diseases.

What's more, walking barefoot increases awareness of one's body, teaches balance and is a great sensory exercise, plus it's extremely fun. Walking without shoes together with your child can also become a great opportunity to observe the surrounding world.

Take care of prevention from the birth of your little one, and foot problems will surely pass him by. This is one of the best, and free, gifts you can give your little one.