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Cheryl
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| Posted: July 02 2006 at 10:36am | IP Logged
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Do let your children go outside with bare feet? I'm a bit embarrassed to say that the main reason I want them to wear their sandals is because when they don't, they come in the house tracking dirt everywhere. But I also wonder if it's safe. I think my mother used to tell us we might step on a bee or something like that. Also, when our house was being built, we let them climb the dirt mountains and my oldest cut his hand on something sharp. He needed 3 stitches.
I have one child who either cannot remember or just doesn't want to wear shoes. Should I continue to work on training him to wear shoes or would I be depriving him of a wonderful bare feet feeling?
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Cheryl
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Mom to Matthew 13, Joseph 11, Sarah 10, Rachel 6, Hannah almost 4 and Mary 1
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lapazfarm
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| Posted: July 02 2006 at 10:53am | IP Logged
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My kids are barefoot more often than not. (Actally, so am I )Sure, they (we) get the occasional thorn or whatever, but I find they actually track in less dirt on bare feet than on their shoes. The only place I absolutely require shoes is at the barn-for safety and sanitation reasons.
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Theresa
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MacBeth
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| Posted: July 02 2006 at 11:21am | IP Logged
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Unless we are renovating, which we are  , my kids are often barefooted. And so am I. I would not worry about it.
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Wendi DeGrandpr
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| Posted: July 02 2006 at 11:24am | IP Logged
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We spend a lot of time bare foot here as well. We have a splinter or stubbed toe here and there but nothing major. I too require shoes on the barn and the outdoor pens for the same reasons Theresa mentioned but that is it. When they do go out in shoes I require them to take them off coming into the house because they track in far more sand and dirt otherwise.
My grandfather used to tease me all the time as I only wore shoes from April to September if I absolutely HAD to.
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ALmom
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| Posted: July 02 2006 at 11:59am | IP Logged
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Around here I am always barefoot and many of my dc are/ were at different points in their life. My dh is NEVER without shoes, but isn't concerned about us going barefoot - just a tad surprised that rocks don't bother us.
I don't worry about shoes except for a short time after known construction or when I know they will be walking on very hot pavement. For construction, I make them wear shoes for about a week after the job - enough time for us to find and notice any nails missed(don't want them to find the nails the roofer missed in their feet). For hot pavement, I make sure they are aware of how hot it is and suggest but do not demand shoes. Oh my dh has requested that we require shoes for bike riding, so I do that, although I did grow up riding my bike barefoot (but then again we never worried about safety either, we hauled each other on our bikes, didn't know helmets existed, etc.).
We have had one injury that was a tad frightening - but that was because dc put his shoes on without socks after the fact and continued playing without telling me about the injury. Soap and water clean immediately after would have prevented the problem.
I do think dc develop their own preference depending on how tough the feet are. When they were little, I didn't put shoes on them at all as they had better balance without. When they absolutely got too old for only barefeet and had to be trained for shoes, we got socks with non-slip bottoms and transitioned to shoes. (We may be a bit odd, but I grew up where shoes were really optional almost all the time - and then it was mostly sandals or flip flops).
For muddy feet, it is quite simple to have a bucket of water and towel at the door that they use to re-enter the house. It only takes stepping in the water and a quick dry. I must admit we rarely do this - but have when the activity was particularly muddy.
Janet
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Sarah
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| Posted: July 02 2006 at 12:34pm | IP Logged
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I can't keep shoes on 4 of them. DS-almost10 cannot go without shoes. He can't stand it! 
We live in the country now, so I do worry, but oh well. . .I try to encourage sandals.
I wouldn't get too uptight.
PS--I'm the worst-I hate shoes 
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Sarah
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| Posted: July 02 2006 at 12:38pm | IP Logged
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Oh, I forgot to say, however, that DH being a doctor is SO strict about the kids NOT going barefoot in public places because of all sorts of very serious dangers--needles , glass, nails, etc. He said it could be serious.
So, I should have emphasized that we're barefoot around our mowed yard.
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Mary Chris
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I also love to be barefoot, must come from growing up in Hawaii . However, my dd11 just broke her big toe while playing soccer barefoot in the backyard. Now we have 4 weeks of keeping her toe immobilizied, she cannot even swim! From here on out I will be encouraging my kiddos, and myself, to wear shoes outside.
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Martha
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| Posted: July 02 2006 at 3:09pm | IP Logged
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I'm with Sarah.. if for no other reson than I hate wearing shoes myself.
Safe, known area = fine to be barefoot
Otheriwse shoes are required at all times.
I am allergic to bee stings (not emergency though) and still hate wearing shoes. I remember stepping on bees so often one summer that I didn't even cry about it or tell mom - I just sat down, pulled the stinger out and kept on treking. I'd come in to use the bath or whatever and my mom would spaz at the sight of my basketball sized swollen foot. And then turn green when I would giggle as I stomped it and said "it feels funky and kind of tickles now!"
But I also remember stepping on a broken glass out by a creek when I was 5 and screaming bloody murder as the nurses cut fragments of it out of my foot. I still have a teeny piece in there that they couldn't get to. And then there's the tetnus shot I had to have.
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Erin
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The children and I go barefoot all the time  We only wear shoes when we go out. Only have to buy two pairs of shoes a year this way, one pair for the winter, one for the summer. I'm from a rural background and my husband teases that it shows, he is a city boy and always wears shoes.
One time we stayed in a motel in the city, dh was at conferences, the children and I were back at the motel room before him. When he came in he laughed and laughed, just inside the door we had all kicked off our shoes as soon as we had walked in. There was this huge pile of shoes. Automatic, we wanted them off.
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Dawn
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| Posted: July 03 2006 at 6:08am | IP Logged
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Much to my mother's dismay my boys are almost always barefoot in the summer.  Though I keep a pair of yellow garden clogs near the door for myself.
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Cay Gibson
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| Posted: July 03 2006 at 9:16am | IP Logged
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Living south of town for 13 years in the country we were big barefoot buffers.
We moved north of town 3 years ago. The roof had just been changed and a box of roofing nails had fallen on the ground. One of my sons stepped on one of the nails warranting a hospital visit. 
Then we had Hurricane Rita last Sept. which left debris of every shape and form all over the yard. No one could go barefoot. 
My older three are teens now. They go around the house barefoot but know to put on shoes when going outside.
The little girls never know where their shoes are, often leave them at the neighbors, and live in the foot buff. Just the other day, Annie sliced her foot on something in the yard. It was Corey's first experience with a bleeding, crying, frantic child in his arms. He helped hold and comfort her while I tackled the cut. I really couldn't have done it without his help.
We're back to demanding those incredible flip flops when outside.
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marihalojen
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| Posted: July 03 2006 at 3:41pm | IP Logged
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We are big barefooters as well. We have such odd requirements for shoes for the boat that it is simply easier to not wear shoes! Shoes must float, they must be non-leather, the inner sole must be dark, when they are rained on it is better if they don't absorb the water or if the straps are thin enough to dry quickly...All three of us can walk across coral gravel without flinching but I still insist on shoes near the dumpster/recycle area (why cannot the men actually throw the bottles into the truck without smashing on ground??? They do this daily as their job. Surely they could hit the hole!) and I carry good shoes (sandles with heels) in the car for church and going out. That prevents the heels from getting trashed on aforementioned coral gravel. I now keep a pair or two for Marianna in the car as well - too many trips to stores and library only to find out when she steps out of car that there are no shoes on her feet.
Have we ever cut our feet - no! I'm amazed and know the day is coming, but until then...
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Topic: Bare feet?
