Any other Barefooters out there? - Page 34

[PreggieUBA2C]

We're fair-weather and indoor barefooters here. We live in the remote far north of Canada and winter is -45, so some sort of foot covering is necessary (we count minutes to freezing exposed skin here).

BUT we're moving to New Zealand in five years and it turns out, as we just found out in the New Zealand tribe area, barefooting is the norm and default there. People go to work, shop, and live in bare feet!!! I CAN'T WAIT!!!

Free the FEEEET!!!

As an aside, last summer, my children and I were harrassed and told to leave Walmart because we weren't wearing shoes. They even suggested we buy some of their shoes to wear, and proceeded to lecture me about the safety issues. Like the person who deliberately walks around barefooted is the one who is need of information, right? Anyway, we left after I asked to see their store policy about this and they said that it wasn't posted, but that there is one. I asked to talk to anyone about that, and they wouldn't tell me who to talk to- all blustery and rude. I was calm.

Anyway, I checked out the Walmart corporate site and didn't find anything whatsoever about wearing shoes in their stores, just about offensive attire. Boo to blustery, suddenly available, and numerous Walmart employees at the Walmart here. I'd spend the better part of day looking for one of them if I actually needed their assistance, but walk in barefoot, and *poof*- the whole staff!

Now when we keep a pair of sandals in the van for trips into town, and we carry our sandals, toss them on the mats outside the entrances and put them on as we enter, and kick them off as we leave.

[purplemamaturtle5]

I'm new here and oh my gosh!! This is the coolest tribe EVER!! I HATE HATE HATE wearing shoes! I always have! (and probably always will!!) I have one pair of shoes (some keens) that I only wear when I absolutley have to in the winter time..... and I have 2 pairs of teva flip flops that I wear when I'm out in the summer time. (but I would say 99% of the time in summer its no shoes for me) There is just something sooooo satisfying about taking OFF a pair of shoes/sandals. Dont you all agree?? "Let those toes be free for everyone to see!!"

[Laur318]

barefeet!

we are barefoot. like 24/7. i drive barefoot and change into shoes to go into stores. i do love shoes for fashion. love love looooove them. "a girl is only as cute as the shoes she chooses" - lady gaga. haha! but really, fashion doesnt quite happen as a sahm/nanny!
i'm thinking about starting a nudist tribe if any barefooters happen to also be nudies!

[Magelet]

I have a question for all you experienced barefoot ladies.

I feel like often when I'm walking barefoot on cement, I stub my toe, not a little stub, but quite bad. The most recent time, I have a large blood blister, which is still quite painful several days later. Another time, I tore open my toe, with blood rushing everywhere, and had to call someone to come get me, because I couldn't walk.

do you just learn to walk differently? how? does this happen to you? how do you prevent it? It's enough to make me scared of walking barefoot on pavement sometimes.

[majikfaerie]

I think I walk differently. it's a process of being aware of the ground you're walking on. Also means I'm pretty good at walking in the dark, even in forest, coz i can "see" the ground with my feet. I went years and years without so much as owning shoes, and the only time I hurt my feet was when swimming in a river (a situation anyone would have been barefoot in) and stepped on a broken bottle.

[tsfairy]

Apparently I subbed to this thread many eons ago, but I've recently become a full-time 24/7 barefooter. It's quite a difference from my old ways, of living barefoot in the house, flip-flops outside and in stores.

I even go shopping and to restaurants barefoot! I've only been hassled a couple of times, once in HEB, and once at Fuddruckers. I shop at Walmart and Target frequently (ok I lie, I've only been to evilmart barefoot 2 times, but Target often) and haven't been noticed. We go to Barnes & Noble at least once a week and nobody has noticed. (This despite the fact that they do apparently have a corporate policy requiring shoes in their stores.) To be fair, I'm usually wearing long jeans or slacks so my feet are pretty well hidden.

DS1 has always been a total barefooter, but I've stopped making him wear shoes into stores and outside and he's happy as a clam. DS2 lurves his shoes.

I walk much differently now that I've been out of shoes for a while. If you normally wear shoes, then the muscles in your feet are under-used, so that when you walk barefoot you're using muscles that are quite weak. The less you wear shoes the stronger your foot muscles will become and you will be less prone to injury walking barefoot. Definitely a good idea to pay attention to your gait and where and how you're stepping if you're usually in shoes.

[accountclosed3]

basically reviving this one.

so, i tend to go barefoot a lot--always when indoors--but i'm now exploring BFing in other ways. I thought i would tradition myself with vibram five fingers and some basic sandals (perhaps luna?). 

i'm not sure what holds me back from BF just anywhere, to be honest. I'm starting to explore that.

but, i do want to get into triathlons again, and i think that BF actually might help with the running. when i would run in the past--in shoes, always--my ankles would lock up at random intervals and it was painful. so, i hated the running part, even though i very much enjoy running. so, i think that barefoot running might be a good option for me--a more natural gait, which might not lead to the ankle locking/pain.

yeah, so, things for me to explore.

[sweetpeppers]

I've been wanting to post to this thread. My son and I were taking a walk a couple weeks ago, and we were stopped by the police because my son didn't have shoes on. Apparently they had received calls about us from passing motorists. And rather than saying, well I see everything is fine here, I'll be on my way. She basically forced us to go home. She wanted us to ride the 500 yards or something in the police car! I refused because there was no car seat, and there was no way I was going to be escorted home in a police car when I lived right down the road. I was furious. Then they threatened to report me to CPS! That night my son said, "I don't want to go for a walk ever again." It was heartbreaking. He was so quiet after it happened he wouldn't say a word, and he's normally a talkative 3 year old.

The next day I went to the police station to complain/see what was going on. I didn't really get any satisfaction there. Then I went to the CPS office (same complex), and they hadn't filed a report, and the woman at the office thought it was very strange.

Now I'm paranoid when we go for walks. We still walk barefoot though if we want to.

[majikfaerie]

sweetpeppers that's awful :hug

I guess if someone calls the police they need to go check it out, fair enough. I'd be willing to bet it was just one person that called. there's nothing they can do about it. If your child is healthy and well cared for, barefootedness isn't an issue for CPS.

[Kristin0105]

What shoes do you put on your little ones in the winter? I would like to find a simple foot covering that would satisfy my dd desire to go bare foot even when it is cold out.

[tsfairy]

I'm surprised myself at how warm my feet stay even when it's cold (which is admittedly fairly rare where we live) but even moreso the kids. They really prefer to go barefoot even when shoes are an option or encouraged. Especially DS1.  If your DD can keep flip-flops on, they work well for short trips.

Both my boys have Robeez - on their website you can get up to a size 3-4, which fits my 5yo who wears an 11ish in regular shoes.  DS2 has a pair of the Robeez boots, which are lined with something soft and fuzzy (fleece?) and keep his feet really warm.  I'd like to get DS1 a pair of Soft Star mocs for the winter.  www.softstarshoes.com I want to get myself a pair too, but I haven't been able to justify the cost for shoes I might wear a few times at the most.  

I also made a pair of soft soled mocs for myself for those times when I have to have on shoes but need to walk a lot (so far only the zoo has been an issue, everywhere else I can get by either barefoot or in flip flops, which make my feet hurt if I walk for more than a few minutes.) There are quite a few online tutorials for making "soft sole slippers." Mine are more ballet-slipper style, and I added a criss-cross strap across the foot so they stay on really well but don't really feel like I'm wearing shoes.

[clothdipemomof2boy]

I feel horrible about this but I have been wearing shoes lately because I have been running alot lately to loose wieght and there is lots of glass all over the road. I know that there are alot of people that run without shoes and I have never been able to do this at all. I have tried but I havent been able to try dont know if it is because I have such weak ankles or what. I also bought som vegan TOMs this year to wear when I go to school (I am going to college on campus this go around) anyway and they are wonderful for thos that want something like soft shoes. They do have a sole and understand that they are not like robeeze or mocs and maybe like me dont like leather (because of animal by products and stuff). So yes I hate to admit it but I am barefoot in the summer and when I am at home but when I run or at college I do wear the shoes sorry all.

[tsfairy]

no reason to be sorry! lol

for those who don't like leather mocs, soft star makes vegan shoes, and I've made a pair of slip-ons with denim uppers and vinyl soles. Very comfy!
 

Originally Posted by clothdipemomof2boy 

I feel horrible about this but I have been wearing shoes lately because I have been running alot lately to loose wieght and there is lots of glass all over the road. I know that there are alot of people that run without shoes and I have never been able to do this at all. I have tried but I havent been able to try dont know if it is because I have such weak ankles or what. I also bought som vegan TOMs this year to wear when I go to school (I am going to college on campus this go around) anyway and they are wonderful for thos that want something like soft shoes. They do have a sole and understand that they are not like robeeze or mocs and maybe like me dont like leather (because of animal by products and stuff). So yes I hate to admit it but I am barefoot in the summer and when I am at home but when I run or at college I do wear the shoes sorry all.

[sweetpeppers]

double post deleted

Edited by sweetpeppers - 11/14/10 at 4:48pm

[majikfaerie]

yeah, don't be sorry if you feel the need to wear shoes. no one is going to judge you negatively for choosing to wear shoes for jogging on areas with broken glass! honestly :)

I started wearing shoes when I'm in cities - I went 7 or 8 years without even owning a pair of shoes, and I wore my blackened feet with pride... but I've now come to realise that I was absorbing a whole lot of really toxic heavy metals and stuff through the soles of my feet, and I started to get sensitive to it. I live in a rural area and don't go to the city all that often though.

[sweetpeppers]

I get my son Soft Star Boots every winter. They are outrageously expensive (for me), but he loves them, and they keep his feet warm and dry. They are made of natural materials by craftsmen and women in a family company. I enjoy supporting their business of making shoes that don't ruin your feet. They also sell vegan shoes. They make high quality shoes. I just bought myself a new pair of their regular shoes for shopping and cold days. I don't mind having cold feet when my body is basically warm, but my house is always cold, so I've taken to wearing wool socks around the house and soft star shoes outside.

[Magelet]

I was walking barefoot a lot this summer, but then I stopped. (I think because I mostly was only really going to work (where I need shoes) or synogogue (where I need shoes. well, I guess I don't NEED shoes, but it's a respect thing to wear them.))

I'm trying to get back into barefoot walking (mostly because I started having a lot of foot pain that I suspect may be related to wearing shoes.  The podiatrist said I should start wearing special firm insoles to support my falling arches, but to me that sounds like I need to walk barefoot more and build my feet back up.

But for the most part, it's cold!!! It's been about 40 degrees in the evenings lately, and maybe 60 in the day.  My feet are really not used to the cold and get painfully cold easily.  I guess I won't be doing too much barefoot walking outside until summer. (I try to wear my naots except to work, as they don't have a heel, and have a very soft sole, so I figure that's better than most shoes and I already have them. I can't afford soft stars though those look lovely for comfort. maybe I could make something like that...

[dakotablue]

Anybody else try the five finger shoes?

Dh just got me a pair because he said he was getting embarrassed his pregnant wife didn't own any shoes (which I do own a pair of flip flops that I wear when out and about as needed)

I am LOVING these. I actually was in the house for 30 minutes today before taking them off, which as I'm sure you all feel shoes off is first priority even before putting the newly bought milk away.

[Magelet]

I was thinking about it for winter, they're getting common around here, but I can't afford them even if I wanted them. And they feel really weird at first.  DP almost bought a pair when he was buying shoes a few months back but decided to buy a pair that can do double duty in more fancy occasions.

[A_Random_Phrase]

Was just directed to this thread today. I have to admit I haven't read it all, but I'm planning to devour it as soon as I post this.

When people used to ask me why I was barefoot, I'd tell them, "I was born that way and never got over it." I do wear shoes more than I want to because of cold, stickers/burrs/thorns, and social situations.

My mom was mostly shoeless, as well. I guess it was inherited.

Edited by A_Random_Phrase - 12/10/10 at 10:34pm