Shoes

When the doctor first said, “You’re going to be a mother!” he never warned me how many pairs of shoes I’d be purchasing in that child’s lifetime! No wonder they bronze baby shoes as a keepsake. Actually, they are worth their weight in gold!

Pediatricians vary in their opinions of when babies should begin wearing shoes. Some say high top baby shoes as soon as they make their first step; other say sneakers are just fine, and still others recommend bare feet as long as possible. Since I have three children, I tend to support the latter theory. Do you think six years old is too late for a first pair of shoes?!

At any rate, the main problem is that kids GROW! Although those sparkling white baby shoes are far frm worn out…there’s just no way those fat, dimpled feet are going to fit into the shoes any longer than two months after you bought them.

If you are blessed with girls, and I have two...you will need a variety of styles of shoes …sneakers for playing, dressy shoes for Sunday, and school shoes for school days. Those are just the basics. Then add flip flops, or sandals in the summertime, boots for colder weather, ballet shoes or tap shoes if they are so inclined…and if they are interested in sports, girls and boys need, indeed can’t live without, soccer shoes, high top leather basketball shoes, track shoes, etc., etc. All these dadd up to a pretty sizeable investment every year, and their darn feet are STILL growing!

While Mom and Dad muck around in their comfortable, ten year old loafters left over from college; or mow the lawn wearing sneakers tinged a putrid green from glass clippings…baby dumpling is strutting around in $25.00 specials, that will very likely need to be replaced in three months. Where is the justice?

The way I figure it, in raising my three children to age eighteen, we will have purchased at leat 432 pairs of shoes! (Give or take a few dozen) Maybe the Japanese were onto something when they practiced foot binding from a very early age!!!?