Do you like to go barefoot? Do you wear slippers at home or do you prefer barefoot? Do you like to take off your shoes to feel the soft grass under your feet in spring? Or, on the contrary - every tiny bit under your foot bothers you? Reluctance to walk barefoot, especially on various surfaces, is one of the symptoms of tactile sensitivity in the feet. It may also manifest itself in opposition to changing shoes to summer shoes, e.g. sandals, reluctance to wear socks, usually due to sticky stitches or threads, excessive tickiness, reluctance to clip nails, etc.

Children who have oversensitive feet often react very emotionally when asked to remove their shoes. They do not want to take off their shoes even when it is very hot, and if they are persuaded to wear sandals, they want socks for them - otherwise they are irritable, tearful and nervous. With very high sensitivity, children refuse to take off their shoes, even on the beach. Parents usually try to make their children take off their shoes by all means possible. Meanwhile, in the case of any hypersensitivity, forcing the child to do something against his will is not a good idea, as it can only aggravate the problem. So what can we do to help such a child? If the resistance is very high, let the child stay in his shoes, even if we are on the beach. You can also offer the child to stay in only socks or put on special water shoes that will protect the foot, but at the same time will be airy. Let us remember that it is primarily about the comfort of our child.

In addition, to get the feet used to contact with various textures, it is worth allowing the child to move on a variety of surfaces from the first months - it is worth having various sidewalks, carpets, mats at home, but also that the child can move on the cold floor. Being outside, let the child actively explore the surroundings, do not be afraid to take off his shoes in the sandbox or in the meadow. For older children, we can organize sensory obstacle courses at home - sensory discs are ideal for this. Remember that the more experiences our feet have, the better they tolerate various textures.

 

 

Anna Chacińska

special educator, specialist in sensory integration