Occasionally you'd step on a thorn or some broken glass but I can't remember that ever hindering us in any way other than enduring the mirth of your friends at your misfortune.

It's ridiculous now how I can barely make it across my pebbled driveway barefoot without crying out in pain.

There was a game we also played outside in the rains called "Taach" ("touch"). A sort of Catches in mud, with slides and all the messy fun!

So yea, you want your kid to wear shoes, at least outdoors.

https://www.abebooks.com/9780870496851/Disease-Distinctivene...

[1] https://www.cdc.gov/parasites/hookworm/gen_info/faqs.html

Edit: Also, no, outhouses were the norm in the American south. That doesn't mean their environs were sanitary though, and this was indeed where people picked up hookworm. As far as I know, the only times Americans would/will defecate in the open was on the frontier/in the wilderness, that is, when no other options exist. In spite of the meme that Americans are not so different from some people in rural India who defecate in their own water supply, one of the first things built in a given American frontier settlement was an outhouse, because poop is gross and toxic.

I've worn a variety of minimalist shoes, from vibram five fingers (you get looks, and they can smell awful, but they feel amazing) to Nike's thin soled line. Currently wearing a normal looking shoe with a vibram thin-sole and loving it. We can have the best of both worlds!

It sounds to me like what kids need is something closer to a strong sock- protect the foot, leave room for growth. Someone get on that!

[0] http://www.merrell.com/US/en/bare-access-4/17570M.html

[1] http://www.merrell.com/US/en/trail-glove-3/17571M.html

If you can find old stock Reach in your size, they're a great more formal shoe. Leather upper and a similar sole to the trail glove 2.

Not sure if you mean those Nike Free shoes, but I've loved wearing those in the past. Seemed to reduce foot injuries when I was running track and cross country.

Vibrams or something like those Nikes seems like a great middle-ground -- it's not a Boolean choice between being barefoot and wearing wooden clogs.

I haven't tried the adult shoes, but this company makes kids sized too. http://www.softstarshoes.com/kid-shoes/youth-shoes-size-1-5....

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Artificial_cranial_deformation

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/83/Ka...

Plus some children need assistance because of cranial deformation issues so your statement isn't really true either unless you think the doctors are wrong.

What I am saying is that most feet, as with most skulls (and even, I daresay -- as e40 humorously mentioned -- most brains), form naturally, without external "assistance".

I've been tempted to see if I can...I don't know, build up an immunity? Or get rid of them somehow?

But it doesn't seem possible.

If anyone knows a solution, I'd be happy to hear them!

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Permethrin

Reading about their feeding, I don't think you can get much immunity to the bites.

In my case, I don't think it's worth it. I wouldn't feel right spraying that over everything for a few reasons. The affect on my (downhill) neighbors' property, the killing-off of beneficial insects, etc.

I'm not against chemical use, I just don't think it fits for this. I'll keep my muck boots on.

Not to say I'm disregarding the evidence presented, but I'd like to be barefoot more than I am currently.

I wear muck boots nearly all the time I'm outside because they seem to shed chiggers and ticks pretty well. They're not especially comfortable, though, and are nothing like being barefoot.

FWIW shoes and sandals are nearly as bad as going barefoot, if chigger bites are the measure.

According to purdue, they don't: http://www.purdue.edu/uns/html3month/2001/010716.Gibb.chigge...

That said, they live in pretty much the exact same environments.

And this is where I'm once again reminded of that odd American custom of wearing shoes indoors at home.

Most of my extended family, lots of other people, etc.

If you mean doing it at all, then sure, lots of people wear shoes at home some of the time.

I think the piece is actually an instance of a press hit as described by http://www.paulgraham.com/submarine.html since it ends up linking to http://www.feetfreex.com/single-post/2016/10/07/Feet-Friendl... who have a product to sell.

Real life has asphalt, sharp bits of metal, thorns, and snow.

Fractures, tetanus, infection, and frostbite aren't optimal either. (Note: this is why footwear is not a recent invention.)

I mean, I live in a house - and that house has either carpet, tile, or a covered in hardwood, so that's a good place for being barefoot.

Finding flexible, neutral footwear for most anytime else is not a problem. The spectrum is flip flops to the most fashionable trail runner. I'm a buddy with one the biggest proponents of minimal footwear during the whole born to run craze.

He'll still jog barefoot, but only for like, 10 minutes after his real run. He needs shoes like the rest of us, since his goal is to run fast.

There are some photos I've seen in the past of kids feet who had worn shoes and who hadn't worn shoes, and there was a lot of difference.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/05/22/barefoot-shoes_n_53...

http://www.runnersworld.com/newswire/vibram-settles-class-ac...

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2625700/Bizarre-bare...

Those links relate to Vibram making unverified or unproven claims, not claims known to be false.

Moral judgement of making unsubstantiable claims is different than proving the claims false.

I run ~20 miles a week (not that far) in normal shoes and never get blisters.

Those aren't the benefits at issue here, though.

That said, I used to run barefoot all the time. Even in San Francisco. Never got any wounds or infections. After a year of practiceb even stepping on glass didn't pierce my skin.

MRSA can eat a kid's foot right off you know.

> MRSA is becoming a critical problem in pediatric settings;[38] recent studies found 4.6% of patients in U.S. health-care facilities, (presumably) including hospital nurseries,[39] were infected or colonized with MRSA.[40] Children (and adults, as well) who come in contact with day-care centers, playgrounds, locker rooms, camps, dormitories, classrooms and other school settings, and gyms and workout facilities are at higher risk of getting MRSA. Parents should be especially cautious of children who participate in activities where sports equipment is shared, such as football helmets and uniforms.

Hmm ... guess not. Sounds like running around San Francisco barefoot is actually safer than doing anything at all in day-care or a sports club O.o