Barefoot Play

When the weather warms, we allow children to play in our sand and grassy areas barefoot. These barefoot opportunities are based on safe temperatures. Please note, glass items are not allowed in our outdoor areas.

Why barefoot play?

Encouraging kids to walk around barefoot, wherever possible, is the best thing you can do for growing feet. Podiatrists say it helps the muscles develop and get stronger. The bare foot functions almost like a sense organ, feeling subtleties of changing terrain while walking and playing, and making countless small adjustments in how each step is taken. These adjustments actually help each of us form our balance, movement systems, and posture for life. Each foot is home to approximately 7,000 nerve endings and the information they receive and pass on to the rest of the body extraordinary. When that child’s foot feels the ground, the thousands of touch receptors in the nerve endings feed back to the rest of the entire nervous system. Tracy Byrne, a podiatrist specializing in podopaediatrics, believes that wearing shoes at too young an age can hamper a child's walking and cerebral development. "Toddlers keep their heads up more when they are walking barefoot," she says. "The feedback they get from the ground means there is less need to look down, which is what puts them off balance and causes them to fall down." So, you may even notice your toddler falling down less as a result of being barefoot!