Fashions newest controversial topic surrounds young children, and believe it or not, the wearing of high heels. These so coined “kiddie” or “kitten” heels have been spotted all across America, and these girls aren’t playing dress-up. It is a growing trend for celebrities and the general public alike to put their children in high heels, some as young as three months old! Having your children follow in the current trend can be very detrimental to the permanent structure of their feet. I strongly encourage all parents to not let their children participate in such behavior! Although formal studies with children have not yet been conducted, this is because there has never been such a trend until recently.
Women across the world know that high heel shoes can be very uncomfortable, especially when wearing them for extended periods of time. They can lead to many common foot conditions, including: calluses, corns, neuromas, bunions, and most importantly foot pain! Although it has been said that high heels are not the only cause of bunions, they are definitely a contributing factor. Putting a child in high heels can potentially do a great deal of damage, mainly for the reason that their foot is still growing. Since their bones are still growing, the point of the shoe can cause bunions, and the heel in the back increases pressure to the toes. This is not the right recipe for future adult happy feet! Realistically speaking, fashionable shoes are necessary at times. They should definitely be used in moderation when possible. Parents, don’t let your children grow up too quickly!
The purpose of this blog is to raise awareness about common conditions associated with the foot and ankle. Any advice given, whether medical or legal, is an opinion. For legal counsel or podiatric care, one should see their local podiatrist or attorney. More information can be found at my website www.michiganfootdoctor.com
there are several "facts" on your article that aren't as accurate as they should.
ReplyDeletewhile I'm sure you did your best and I don't doubt your professionalism you are giving erroneous information.
first thing: kitten heels aren't related to kids wearing heeled shoes. they existed long before this. the only relationship is that little girls can only wear short heels so when they wear thin heels they are wearing kitten heels (thin short heels)
second: I can't claim that all celebrities are the same case but Katie Holmes claims that her daughter Suri ASKED for the heels and was walking on tip toes to try to look like her mother until Katie let her wear heeled shoes. I'm sure you agree it's better for balance purposes that she has the heel instead of walking on tip toes without nothing to support the feet.
third: there has never been any formal conclusion about if wearing heels damages or not the feet. there are as many studies agreeing as disagreeing.
some of the women that complain about pain from wearing high heels is caused more by the fact that they aren't used to wear them or that they aren't wearing the proper shoe size than anything else. also most women don't know how to properly wear and walk with high heels. or they lack the required balance to do it. as an example a friend of mine almost broke her leg because she lost balance while wearing two inches high kitten heels and felt. we can't say it was because the heels. it was because she was clumsy.
the last mistake is when you say (I quote) "and the heel in the back increases pressure to the toes" that's false. since the heel is an upside down cone the surface in contact with the feet is the same no matter how thin the tip of the heel is or how long the heel is so the pressure to the feet is the same.
Sources:
ReplyDeleteCrossley, Pamela K. The Wobbling Pivot. United Kingdom: Wiley-Blackwell, 2010. N. pag. Print.
This book is about the Country of China since the 1800's. This book dives into A lot of different events through history of the Chinese Civilization. There is a focus on women in Chinese History and the idea of foot binding. The author gained his information by traveling to China and using documents to compile a complete history of China. He also interviewed many scholars in the field. This helps to give me historical basis of why foot binding lasted so long and the medical issues surrounding foot binding. My concern for this source is the fact that the foot binding and woman’s portion is very meek. I will be searching out another source for in depth history on Chinese woman’s foot binding.
Canning, Andrea.,Orso, Alberto., and Clarke, Suzan. "Should Little Girls Wear High Heels?." ABC Good Morning America. N.p., 27 Jan. 2010. Web. 12 Apr. 2012.
This is a article online through ABC Good Morning America. This article focuses on the effects of high heels on young girls (3 months old to 16 years old) and the moral and medical issues that parents should focus on before allowing their kids to wear the shoes. This focuses on young girls in the United States. This article explains how high heels are medically awful for young girls, or women of any age as well. The article also focuses on the social pressures that parents are allowing their children to live under. The author interviewed medical experts in the orthopedic field and authors from Parents magazine. I have a concern about the fact that I can not look into parents magazine's articles about the same subject unless I have a paid prescription. This is useful for my argument because it shows medically why heels are not healthy for girls of any age and how society (and parents) are forcing these kids into wearing heels even before their bodies form.
Ko, Dorothy. Cinderella's Sister: A Revisionist History of Footbinding. London: University of California Press, 2005. Web. 12 Apr. 2012.
This book focuses on the history of fashion foot wear and how foot binding was performed in many different cultures. This focuses on womens fashion throughout the world from the 1500's to today. This book shows how womens footwear has progressed throughout history from foot binding to heels. The author used documentation from museums, scholarly journals, and interviewed scholars in the field. The author also interviewed orthopedics for the effects of these shoes upon womens health. I have no concerns about this source. This works perfectly for my project because it shows how heels were not a new form of shoe, they metamorphosed from foot binding and other womans shoes from the past.
Harris, Gardiner. "If the Shoe Wont Fit, Fix the Foot? Popular Surgery Raises Concern." The New York Times 7 Dec. 2003. Web. 12 Apr. 2012.
A newspaper article that I found online pertaining to the dangerous surgeries women are undertaking to keep up with social norms. The is about women who receive unneeded foot surgeries in the United States for beauty purposes. This follows the decision of a one woman to alter her feet for her daughters wedding and how it went terribly wrong. This article focuses on the effects of unneeded foot surgeries and used the responses of 175 members of the American Orthopedic Foot and Ankle Society. I have no concerns about this article. This is a very important article for my use because it goes into the idea that woman are increasingly using foot surgeries as a way to keep up with the societal pressures that heels have caused on the average woman.
To the Anonymous above:
ReplyDeleteI'm a college student at A NY state womans college and I couldn't disagree with you more on all of what you stated above, especially since my thesis this semester is based on the medical issues surrounding the heel industry.
I will first start with your second statement, that Katie holms allowed her daughter to wear heels because (I quote) "it's better for balance purposes that she has the heel instead of walking on tip toes without nothing to support the feet." This could not be more false. Firstly, Katie Holmes should have more self control than to give into her small childs wims, every child wants to be like their parent but I don't try to hand children my articles to research; they have time ot grow up and make EDUCATED choices on what they want to do to their bodies. The childs feet are stil growing,still altering so placing her in heels (even if she begged and pleaded) is one of the worst decisions. If continued use occured, it will permanently damage her feet.
As for the childs walking on the balls of her feet to act like she is wearing heels: She will grow out of it. It is actually beeter for her to be barefoot and walking on the balls of her feet rather than in heels because as time progresses heels cause you to lose your balance and cause the nerves to forget how to grip a flat surface of the ground. It's like an instrument, if you learn how to play it wrong it's truly hard to break that habit.
For your third statement: You state that "there has never been any formal conclusion about if wearing heels damages or not the feet." This also could not be more false. Below I will leave all of the sources for my findings, I'm hoping to open your's (and anyone else who reads this post) about all of the risks with heel wearing. I still wear heels events on my campus so don't feel that I just hate the shoes. There has been medical prrof stating that the pressures from heel wearing go directly to the ball of the foot, the area located just before the toes. That being said, this causes lack of balance, over use and tention with muscles in the legs, and destruction of the arch of the foot (unless you have magical insoles but I doubt it). This is why women who wear heels fall often, it's not natural to put anyone in elevated shoes but it started in 3,500 B.C (definitely not a new concept).
Yes, there are plenty of articles going against each other on this topic but journals of study and Medical documents completely go with the above statement. The statements that claim that heels do not do medical damage have a preference or are funded by corporations that do. You have to always chek your sources when it comes to issues such as this.
When it comes you your cone theory: Have you ever put on heels? If you have, you would know immediately that the pressure is placed on the ball of the heel. If not, you would atleast realize that the pressure is not equal throughout the foot. I'll make this simpler. If you are moving a fridge down the stairs, where would be the heaviest side? Obviously, it will be the side that is falling towards gravity faster, the poor person who is closest to the bottom of the stairs while you are carting down the top half. It's just easy basic science. Of course the pressure is not even.
I hope this has helped to educate you. Here are all of my sources:
Thank goodness my little girl is different to most other little girls and does not wear silly heels and make-up. Here is my little girl making fun of silly heels for children. When my aunt brought her these awful shoes I said to my Nan that I did not agree with them. We are going to do a test to see how many parents bid for these shoes on Ebay even after watching the video my little girl created about how silly they are!
ReplyDeletehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YGWHQwFZUn0
Would be nice if lots of parents viewed them and then changed their mind about dressing their kids up like grown ups and gave them back their childhood!
P.S. Thank you doctor for this article. Really good to see a man that cares about our poor children. Hopefully we can put a stop to this awful culture!
ReplyDelete