From: Greta Wahl

Subject: Children of barefooters

Date: Jun 1997

Hello all free soles!

I have three daughters, 19, 13 and 11.  The oldest has just now started to go barefoot out of the house, I think it’s a warm weather thing for her.  Her feet are less painful for her in the summer (because of no constriction?)

The 13yo wouldn’t be caught dead outside of the house without sh**s (“What will my friends think?”).  For her, it’s still a matter of peer pressure.  This girl has constant pain, can’t even ride her bike more than a few miles.

The youngest?  She is a ‘born’ barefooter, as her mother lets her go without sh**s whenever and wherever she pleases (which she does all the time).  We were recently asked to leave the school nurse’s office, because our “bare feet were unsanitary”.  As a mom called in by an emergency, I couldn’t have cared less about their policy.

The results.  The oldest no longer has foot pain, the middle girl is developing some serious bunions, and the youngest can out-hike me in the mountains with less strain!  Parents, if you love your children, don’t make them wear shoes!

Happy Toes G.W.