Natasha Barber Fashion Shoes Causes Foot Disformity in Children

Natasha Barber Fashion Shoes Causes Foot Disformity in Children

Children's feet are soft and floppy - making them prone to damage from abnormal pressure, such as shoes which are too small, ill-fitting or unsupportive. A child's foot is complex made up of muscles, tendons, ligaments and bones. Not fitting an appropriate shoe to the particular type of foot can have detrimental consequences in the future, leading to muscle and development deformity. Luke Sempka, Podiatrist at Sports Lab says -almost 75% of children we see at the clinic have been placed in ill-fitted shoes, and suffer from unsupportive or over corrective shoes - which can alter the alignment of the foot and legs potentially causing pain and discomfort.'

Founder of SKEANIE (http://www.skeanie.com.au/), Natasha Barber is helping improve children's motor skill development one step at a time with the launch of a light-weight collection of shoes, handcrafted using soft, high quality genuine leather uppers and suede soles to help totts grip when crawling and walking.

Designed to help protect and comfort developing little toes with a 'Flex-EASE technology (elastic around the back of the ankle), the SKEANIE Junior Range have been heralded as -The Transition Shoe;' super soft, light and flexible enough to ensure natural movement of little feet without obstructing soft bone cartilage, tissue, muscles, and nerves. -Having worked with leading physiotherapists, doctors and designers around the world, the SKEANIE collection has been created with development and safety in mind.' says Natasha.

Awarded The Seal of Acceptance by The American Podiatric Medical Association (APMA) for the promotion of healthy foot development; and touted as an Associate Partner of The Australian Podiatry Association (NSW & ACT), SKEANIE Classic Pre-walkers will help transition your baby to the next stage, and protect their very first steps in life.

Interview with Founder of SKEANIE, Natasha Barber

Question: Can you talk us through the rising rate of Australian children who are experiencing muscular and bone deformity in the early stages of life?

Natasha Barber: A child's foot is complex: soft and floppy - making them prone to damage from abnormal pressure, such as shoes which are too small, ill-fitting, over supportive or unsupportive. Made up of muscles, tendons, ligaments, facia and 26 bones, a baby's foot contains more cartilage than bone, which, over time, will fuse and harden into adult bones. Stiff and compressive footwear causes deformity, weakness and loss of mobility" later on in life for these children's feet.

90% of the children that visit Physiotherapist Lana Johnson from BP Stensegrity www.bpstensegrity.com.au for a variety of musculoskeletal conditions end up doing foot-retraining exercises and strengthening because of poor gait and neuromuscular patterns they have developed through inappropriate shoe wear.

Ill-fitting shoes put one at risk for injury or deformity later in life, leading to problems associated with posture, walking, and even back pain. A child's biomechanical chain is delicate balance of ground reaction forces transmitted all the way up and down the chain. If a child is put in inappropriate shoes there are a whole array of complications which can present right the way up the biomechanical chain


Question: What is causing a majority of the muscular and bone deformity?

Natasha Barber: It's believed that most foot problems and pains in adulthood stem from ill-fitting shoes or poor foot experiences during childhood. Although the structure of the foot develops fully by the first two years, the bones themselves will not fully develop and harden until around the age of 18.

Question: How does bad footwear affect the growth of children in the early stages of life?

Natasha Barber: Preadolescent walking and running biomechanics are greatly influenced by footwear. Health professionals and parents should keep this in mind when considering footwear for children. The potential problems with many of today's more heavier and inelastic shoes for kids are that they can give the child's foot too much support. Evidence shows that bulky heavy soled shoes act as 'a sensory filter by reducing proprioceptive feedback" resulting in a decrease in children's necessity to learn how to place their feet with good control and good biomechanics. They have also been shown to 'decrease the intrinsic motion of the foot during walking" meaning that kids wearing these types of shoes miss out on the strengthening of the muscles not only of their feet but also of their whole lower limb. They have also been shown to 'reduced change in the length of the medial arch". Finally they have been shown to 'increases in sagittal plane motion at the ankle and knee" which in turns put more stress through these joints.


Question: How do these tips change as a child ages?

Natasha Barber: What is a -Pre-Walker shoe'? A pre-walker shoe is a soft soled shoe for little feet. It is preferable that the shoes are made from a leather upper with a suede leather sole for superior grip.


Question: What are your top tips for parents when purchasing footwear for their children?

Natasha Barber: Six baby feet facts you need to know about your bubs footsies
At six months of age, a baby's foot is still mostly cartilage. In fact, some of the bones only start forming between 9-18 months. By 18 years of age, most of the bones are formed.
Children usually begin to walk between 10 and 20 months of age. Every child is unique and will move through the developmental stages at their own pace.
Allowing children to go barefoot or wearing very soft shoes helps the foot to typically develop and assists in strengthening the muscles.
Always have both feet measured for length and width. The shoe should fit the natural shape of the foot, especially around the toes.
The toe of the shoe should allow toes to move freely and not be squashed from the top or the sides. Make sure there is about 10mm of growing room for children between the end of the longest toe and the edge of the shoe.
Shoes should fit comfortably around the heel and not be too loose or too tight.


Question: What is a -Pre-Walker shoe'?
Natasha Barber: A pre-walker shoe protect their feet from the elements, and support their ability to move without restriction.


Question: Why is a -Pre-Walker shoe' important for children?

Natasha Barber: SKEANIE was created out of a necessity as I was unable to find good quality, well priced pre-walkers in Australia for my son.


Question: What inspired the creation of SKEANIE?

Natasha Barber: SKEANIE was created out of a necessity as I was unable to find good quality, well priced pre-walkers in Australia for my son.


Question: What's different about SKEANIE?

Natasha Barber: SKEANIE is an Australian owned, family business. My motto is to create great quality, practical goods at affordable prices.


Question: How did you develop the SKEANIE range?

Natasha Barber: I spent a lot of time researching children's feet and working with experts in the paediatric podiatry field.

Interview by Brooke Hunter