SHOES TO WEAR IN KINDERGARTEN, AT SCHOOL AND AT HOME
We place great importance to shoes worn by our children on their way to school, kindergarten or in the street. People tend to pay little attention to shoes worn at home in spite of the fact that children spend a lot of time wearing such shoes.
It is natural for many of us to change shoes after coming back home from walk, or after fetching children to kindergarten. At school, it looks a bit different - pupils protest about changing shoes (presumably as a rule), but parents also happen to dislike it when their children have to change shoes at school. Such a change, however, is really advisable, not only when we consider cleanliness but it is very important for the feet to "air" shoes.
While buying shoes for wearing in closed places, we should take into consideration the same aspects as we do while buying shoes for wearing outside, namely: a wide and high top, flexible soles and an elastic insertion not allowing for "treading" the feet.
Shoes will be always used in quite high temperatures so we should remember that the feet sweat. For children who have just started to walk, it is recommendable to buy summer boots, i.e. the ones with a lifted top and an open top. The top should be made of leather or of fabric, or of knitwear well absorbing sweat. Soles should be light and very flexible, with an elastic shoe heel. The same boots can be worn by children at the age of 3 or 4. For children at the age of 5 or 6 recommendable footwear are bootees, summer shoes or even sandals with so called tuck for the
feet - a hollow that enables proper position of the child's feet which also prevents from moving the feet on both sides. While buying shoes for schoolchildren, it is vital to pay close attention to fabric which shoe tops are made of. The age when children attend school, and particularly the age of puberty is characteristic of intensive perspiration of the feet, which mostly concerns boys. That is why shoe tops should be made of fabric that well absorbs this intensive sweat. Leather, especially chamois and nubuk are best for absorbing sweat. Nowadays, there are quite common linen combinations of knitwear or needled cloth that are applied for shoes. They are characteristic of high hygienic properties.
When buying shoes for wearing in closed places, it is worth checking whether soles prevent from excessive slipping or if they do not smudge the floor.
mgr Barbara Skrzyńska - anthropologist
of the Central Laboratory
Shoe Manufacturing in Kraków
