The great shoe debate
Ana Isabel is two and half and hates shoes.
It doesn't help that my wife, who is nine months pregnant, often has swollen ankles and feet at this point. So she often ends up either barefoot or putting on sandals.
I'm the one always insisting that Ana put on her slippers or shoes. And it's not just about dirty feet either.
The other day Ana was walking with a noticeable limp. She favored her right leg.
Of course, I feared the worst. I worry that her bare feet hitting the cold, hard tiles in the house could have a detrimental effect on their development. I know that when I walk barefoot for too long, it hurts my feet.
We later realized that when Ana slipped trying to climb onto our bed in the morning she banged her ankle against the bed frame. It swelled for two days, but it's better now.
Still, it seems to me that Ana sometimes has a misstep in her walk.
Am I crazy or is it only natural for a toddler to reject the restrictions of footwear? Should papa stop being a fuddy duddy and just let Ana run wild bare foot?
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