This Small Change Might Revamp Your Child’s Sensory Growth

A child’s sensory capabilities are of utmost importance. It helps them navigate through the world, perform better during playtime, and greatly impact how they perceive their environment. But you know that already, which is why the title of this blog attracted you. You’re here to know how to enhance their sensory growth. If you’ve been nurturing your child’s sensory growth, you’ve probably tried puzzles and art activities. These help with visual and tactile senses, but often miss out on proprioception—your child’s sense of body awareness. This crucial area is often overlooked, but don’t worry, we’ve got you covered. Let’s explore how this small detail can make a big difference in your child’s overall development.

So, the “small change” we were talking about in the title is simply to let your kiddos run wild, barefoot! (With caution of the surface they're playing on, of course). You might be thinking, why is a footwear brand telling me to let my child run barefoot? Well, the answer to that question is… we’re telling you this because it's important and we care.

So, when we discuss sensory development, the first thing that might pop up in our head is the five senses: sight, sound, touch, taste, and smell. But we’re not here to tell you what you already know. Instead, we’re here to discuss two senses that are often overlooked: vestibular (balance) and proprioception (body awareness). Once a child starts to walk and run, we might think we don’t need to work on these senses anymore. I’m here to tell you that’s not the case. Even when your child has started walking or running and seems to be in full control of their body posture, that doesn’t mean they have reached full vestibular or proprioceptive development. For true, holistic development, they need more unsupported barefoot movement. When they wear no shoes, they get to feel the textures of the ground and constantly adjust to varied surfaces. This leads to better development of foot muscles and a more robust sensory experience.

Each foot sole has as many as 200,000 nerve endings! The sole of the foot is designed to feel! A child needs to feel diverse movements and surfaces in order to develop completely. Let's understand it like this: what if I told you to make your child wear thick, inflexible, rigid gloves all the time? That sounds absurd, right? I mean, how would the child interact with the world like that? How would they feel different textures and learn complex hand movements? How would their hands develop 'fine motor skills'? All these questions are valid, and they are equally valid in the case of their feet. We often don't let our children have unrestricted foot movement when they play. Instead, we often send them off playing with their feet packed into thick-soled, flat-padded, and tight-fitting shoes. We do know that sometimes shoes are necessary, especially when they go out to play. We need some protection for their feet when they play outside on strange surfaces. In this situation, we suggest you get them shoes that have been designed to allow free-flowing movement. We recommend our own shoes that are mindfully developed, keeping all this in mind. But whatever you choose, make sure the footwear has a wide toe box and a flexible yet protective sole, accompanied by padding that is not too isolative yet protective. Finally, let them have unrestricted barefoot playtime as much as possible.

This unrestricted movement of barefoot playing and running will allow them to improve their balance even more. This, in turn, can help them to perform better at sports or with overall movement in the future. On top of that, they will truly utilize the sensory capabilities of their feet to explore new sensations and understand the surfaces they operate on in an even better way. This can help them in the future to run better, play better, jump better, and just have an overall better awareness.

 We make shoes that are specifically designed to prevent restriction of foot movement with a wide toe box that ensures free movement of toes, and we use ultra-flexible materials in our soles so that flexibility of your kids' feet is not restricted. As great as our shoes are, we still know that barefoot movement is still necessary. We will now talk about how it's important and how it can bring massive changes in your child’s overall development.

Let the growth journey of your child be full of diverse sensations. Let them observe and experience this world to their full capacity. We at buds life are proud to be a part of your child’s growth journey.