Little girls in high heels...

[Prana]

What are your thoughts on the new ''trend''? I saw a little blurb about it on the news this morning. I think the first time I saw anything about it was Suri Cruise wearing little high heels. I''m not talking about the fake plastic dress up princess heels, I''m talking like, legit 2inch strappy heels.

At first, I didn''t think much about it, I thought it was sort of cute, and she just wanted to dress up. But then I realized that it looked like it was becomming a trend! Personally, I think it''s just a little strange, if I had kids, I don''t think that I would allow my girl to wear high heeled shoes aside from the fake plastic ones. I think it''s inappropriate and probably not good for their growth.

I think I had my first pair of heels (like maybe 1 1/4 inch) when I was 8? I think it was for my first communion.

 

[Erin]

Girls grow up too fast as it is. How is she supposed to run and be a kid in heels?

 

[RockHugger]

Its dumb. My 2 yr old has a pair of princess shoes with 1in heels, but its for fun and dress up. Wearing heals all the time as kids will cause serious growth problems in their feet, and lots of pain in the future.

 

[monarch64]

*Sigh* I don''t know...I remember my grandmother buying me a pair of white sandals with about a 1.25" heel when I was 6-7 and my mother being very upset by that. I was only allowed to wear them to play in. I don''t know where you draw the line as far as age appropriate footwear, really. An occasional 2" heel, a chunkier one rather than something very narrow is fine for "tweens" imo.

There was an 11-12 year old girl in my office with her dad yesterday and she showed me her fake nails. Yes, fake nails that her parents had let her get professionally done, not press-ons from the drugstore. I was not impressed.

 

[monarch64]

Date: 1/27/2010 9:12:21 AM
Author: Tropicgal10
Its dumb. My 2 yr old has a pair of princess shoes with 1in heels, but its for fun and dress up. Wearing heals all the time as kids will cause serious growth problems in their feet, and lots of pain in the future.

But as far as podiatric health concerns, what do you think about children who go en pointe by the time they are 7-8 years old? Ballet slippers can cause a ton of damage but it seems acceptable for kids to participate in that sort of thing. A 1-2" heel is a major concern but what about standing on blocks of wood several times a week during ballet practice, not to mention performances? Hmm. Just pondering.

 

[Hudson_Hawk]

Ask any podiatrist what the number one cause of foot issues for women is and they''ll tell you wearing high heels. Children''s bones are soft and malleable, that means that over time with repeat exposure to the HH position their bones can become mis-formed (think of the Chinese foot binding practice of old). I think this is a real issue that''s going to cause foot problems down the road for many of these kids.

 

[Lilac]

I always had a couple pairs of plastic princess dress-up shoes when I was a kid, but never any "real" heels until I was a teenager. I remember I once bought a pair of shoes with chunky 2 inch heels when I was with my aunt and cousins and my mom got really upset and took them away and told me I couldn''t wear them until I was older. I think dress-up shoes to wear around the house occasionally is fine, but once you start putting little kids in heels to walk around in outside, I think it''s kind of ridiculous (and probably harmful to the kid''s feet).

 

[iheartscience]

Date: 1/27/2010 9:20:16 AM
Author: Hudson_Hawk
Ask any podiatrist what the number one cause of foot issues for women is and they''ll tell you wearing high heels. Children''s bones are soft and malleable, that means that over time with repeat exposure to the HH position their bones can become mis-formed (think of the Chinese foot binding practice of old). I think this is a real issue that''s going to cause foot problems down the road for many of these kids.

Ditto. Plus I think it''s inappropriate and creepy for a little girl to wear heels. I didn''t have any kind of heel until high school for prom/homecoming. I wasn''t the type of kid who would have wanted to wear heels even if I could, but I know my parents would not have been okay with it.

 

[RockHugger]

Date: 1/27/2010 9:16:45 AM
Author: monarch64

Date: 1/27/2010 9:12:21 AM
Author: Tropicgal10
Its dumb. My 2 yr old has a pair of princess shoes with 1in heels, but its for fun and dress up. Wearing heals all the time as kids will cause serious growth problems in their feet, and lots of pain in the future.

But as far as podiatric health concerns, what do you think about children who go en pointe by the time they are 7-8 years old? Ballet slippers can cause a ton of damage but it seems acceptable for kids to participate in that sort of thing. A 1-2'' heel is a major concern but what about standing on blocks of wood several times a week during ballet practice, not to mention performances? Hmm. Just pondering.

Those arnt good for your feet either, but kids arnt tippy toeing all day going to the store with mommy and going to school in those. It is for an hour or so every so often. Also, it is a sport the child is enjoying and will grow with, teaching how to balance with your feet and dextarity....just putting your kid in high heels to look''cool'' isnt teaching the child anything. I did therapy on women who wear high heals, and they all suffer damage to their back from the shifted center of gravity. Women know what they can do to your feet and back, but kids dont know any better and will wear them to please their mommies and to look ''pretty''. I think having your child wear those is very irrisponsible.
Just my opinion.

 

[iheartscience]

Date: 1/27/2010 9:35:43 AM
Author: Tropicgal10

Date: 1/27/2010 9:16:45 AM

Author: monarch64

Date: 1/27/2010 9:12:21 AM

Author: Tropicgal10

Its dumb. My 2 yr old has a pair of princess shoes with 1in heels, but its for fun and dress up. Wearing heals all the time as kids will cause serious growth problems in their feet, and lots of pain in the future.

But as far as podiatric health concerns, what do you think about children who go en pointe by the time they are 7-8 years old? Ballet slippers can cause a ton of damage but it seems acceptable for kids to participate in that sort of thing. A 1-2'' heel is a major concern but what about standing on blocks of wood several times a week during ballet practice, not to mention performances? Hmm. Just pondering.

Those arnt good for your feet either, but kids arnt tippy toeing all day going to the store with mommy and going to school in those. It is for an hour or so every so often. Also, it is a sport the child is enjoying and will grow with, teaching how to balance with your feet and dextarity....just putting your kid in high heels to look''cool'' isnt teaching the child anything. I did therapy on women who wear high heals, and they all suffer damage to their back from the shifted center of gravity. Women know what they can do to your feet and back, but kids dont know any better and will wear them to please their mommies and to look ''pretty''. I think having your child wear those is very irrisponsible.

Just my opinion.

Actually pointe is awful for feet...probably just as bad as high heels, if not worse. A good friend of mine has awful foot problems from ballet because of doing pointe. Plus her feet look awful and she''s always embarrassed about them.

A friend of my mine''s mom used to work at a dance store and she said that parents always brought their daughters in for pointe shoes when they were way too young. The store actually made a policy of not fitting girls younger than 10 for pointe shoes, but sometimes it was hard to tell exactly how old the girls were and of course their parents would lie about their age to get them fitted.

 

[nytemist]

Starset- in the celebrity world, they aren''t kids, they are accesories.

In the real world I think it''s ridiculous. I was at a mall during the holidays and saw this woman walking with a girl of maybe 6-7 years old. The gilr was wearing dress shoes that were easily 3 inches. Like an adult woman''s pair of shoes. She looked like a little stripper in training.

Monarch- with toe shoes it''s a little different. I did ballet from four until seventeen (knee injury). I started en pointe at eight and have never had any problems with how the bones developed in my feet. The sole of good, well made toe shoes is wood so your foot was either flat on the floor or pointed. True there is stress on the foot but not in the way of heels, where there is an angle from the toes to the arch and lots of pressure gets put on the heel.

A friend of mine is a podiatrist and hates heels. She said although some women start walking in them early and master it, it completely alters the bones of the foot and will be an issue by age 50-60 or so.

 

[vespergirl]

It''s ridiculous. I agree that girls grow up too fast these days - do 3 year olds really need heels?

Just one more reason that I''m glad that I only have boys ... I am not going to have to fight these fights a few years down the road

 

[RockHugger]

Date: 1/27/2010 9:44:02 AM
Author: thing2of2

Date: 1/27/2010 9:35:43 AM
Author: Tropicgal10

Date: 1/27/2010 9:16:45 AM

Author: monarch64

Date: 1/27/2010 9:12:21 AM

Author: Tropicgal10

Its dumb. My 2 yr old has a pair of princess shoes with 1in heels, but its for fun and dress up. Wearing heals all the time as kids will cause serious growth problems in their feet, and lots of pain in the future.

But as far as podiatric health concerns, what do you think about children who go en pointe by the time they are 7-8 years old? Ballet slippers can cause a ton of damage but it seems acceptable for kids to participate in that sort of thing. A 1-2'' heel is a major concern but what about standing on blocks of wood several times a week during ballet practice, not to mention performances? Hmm. Just pondering.

Those arnt good for your feet either, but kids arnt tippy toeing all day going to the store with mommy and going to school in those. It is for an hour or so every so often. Also, it is a sport the child is enjoying and will grow with, teaching how to balance with your feet and dextarity....just putting your kid in high heels to look''cool'' isnt teaching the child anything. I did therapy on women who wear high heals, and they all suffer damage to their back from the shifted center of gravity. Women know what they can do to your feet and back, but kids dont know any better and will wear them to please their mommies and to look ''pretty''. I think having your child wear those is very irrisponsible.

Just my opinion.

Actually pointe is awful for feet...probably just as bad as high heels, if not worse. A good friend of mine has awful foot problems from ballet because of doing pointe. Plus her feet look awful and she''s always embarrassed about them.

A friend of my mine''s mom used to work at a dance store and she said that parents always brought their daughters in for pointe shoes when they were way too young. The store actually made a policy of not fitting girls younger than 10 for pointe shoes, but sometimes it was hard to tell exactly how old the girls were and of course their parents would lie about their age to get them fitted.

Again, another shame on the parents. Shame on parents who put their kids in heels, and shame on parents who lie to have their kids fitted in shoes that will hurt them.
My 8 yr old was in ballet and they had the soft shoes, if I remember right, they also had the min age req.

 

[janinegirly]

It scares me! I actually didn''t know it was a trend..only child I''ve seen in them are Suri Cruise and it looked silly. Dress up time in your room is one thing but this is ridiculous. And whatever happened to little girls just trying on their moms and clunkgin around? This is one step away from beauty pageants!

 

[OUpearlgirl]

Date: 1/27/2010 9:16:45 AM
Author: monarch64

Date: 1/27/2010 9:12:21 AM

Author: Tropicgal10

Its dumb. My 2 yr old has a pair of princess shoes with 1in heels, but its for fun and dress up. Wearing heals all the time as kids will cause serious growth problems in their feet, and lots of pain in the future.

But as far as podiatric health concerns, what do you think about children who go en pointe by the time they are 7-8 years old? Ballet slippers can cause a ton of damage but it seems acceptable for kids to participate in that sort of thing. A 1-2'' heel is a major concern but what about standing on blocks of wood several times a week during ballet practice, not to mention performances? Hmm. Just pondering.

Children going en pointe at 7 or 8 years old?? That is nuts. My studio didn''t allow us to until we were 15. Then we had to take a one year training course where we basically did exercises with rubber bands and the like to strengthen our feet. THEN we had to go have an X-ray taken to be sure our feet were done growing. 7 or 8? Are you kidding me?!

 

[Shoopy]

NMS. I can''t really see a reason why a little girl would need heels, especially if just going to school.

 

[Prana]

Monarch- to answer your questions about pointe shoes: I was a dancer from the age of 2 through college. A good studion will not even consider putting you in pointe shoes until the age of 12, and only if the dancer has the correct foot formation and muscle, bone, and tendon strength. Even then, it will still be a while before that student is actually doing floor work in the pointe shoes away from the barre. So esentially, if the studio is doing this correctly, minimal damage will occur. I would never allow my child to go into point shoes before the age of 11 or 12.

 

[MissMina]

Health issues aside.
Children should dress like children.
Middle school graduation (age 13) is our family''s
benchmark for wearing (small)heels.
And only for special occasions.

 

[Hudson_Hawk]

Date: 1/27/2010 9:16:45 AM
Author: monarch64

Date: 1/27/2010 9:12:21 AM

Author: Tropicgal10

Its dumb. My 2 yr old has a pair of princess shoes with 1in heels, but its for fun and dress up. Wearing heals all the time as kids will cause serious growth problems in their feet, and lots of pain in the future.

But as far as podiatric health concerns, what do you think about children who go en pointe by the time they are 7-8 years old? Ballet slippers can cause a ton of damage but it seems acceptable for kids to participate in that sort of thing. A 1-2' heel is a major concern but what about standing on blocks of wood several times a week during ballet practice, not to mention performances? Hmm. Just pondering.

This is also a huge problem for the same reason. When I was dancing we weren't allowed en pointe until we were 13 at the earliest. The girls I know who were really seriously into ballet have HORRIBLE feet now as adults! As in they can't even wear heels because the toe box is too narrow for their bunions!

 

[radiantquest]

I do not agree with little girls wearing high heels unless they are for play, but I do also know that I was forced to wear heels before my mother approved of them because my feet were too big for my body and I to get a nice pair of shoes when I had a school recital I had to get a small heel. This was before those ballet style shoes were in so they were not there. There was only old lady looking shoes and heels.

 

[monarch64]

My 2 year old niece has been clomping around in my cowgirl boots (with a 1.5" heel) since she learned how to walk! Obviously I am being facetious, that's a little different than stripper heels I suppose. I'd better hide those from her.

 

[Prana]

Monarch, I think that the cowboy boots may be a little different. Although 1.5 inches and a 2 year old can walk in them??? wow!

I''ve seen pics of Suri Cruise in heels with at least a 2 inch heel

 

[asscherisme]

As a mom of daughters I think its RIDICULOUS!

 

[IloveAsschers13]

High heels are for dressy times only (ha adult OR child)

I know a lot of you are saying as a mother NO WAY. But think about it... For example for my first communion I got to have shoes that had a heel of about 1.5 that were childrens shoes and I was SOOO excited. I ended up wearing them maybe 5 times? In this case, it''s okay.

But for everyday wear no way jose!

 

[monarch64]

Date: 1/27/2010 11:25:29 AM
Author: girlface
Monarch, I think that the cowboy boots may be a little different. Although 1.5 inches and a 2 year old can walk in them??? wow!

I''ve seen pics of Suri Cruise in heels with at least a 2 inch heel

I realize it''s different, I said I was being facetious in my post above. And yes, she has been able to walk in the boots since she was a year old, not to mention her dancing. She is quite a performer.

 

[Prana]

haha oops. Somehow I didn't even see that. Reading between the lines I guess.

ETA: Now that I think about it, I'm pretty sure I only saw the words cowboy boots, and stripper heels. lol

 

[y2kitty]

They have the rest of their lives to be uncomfortable, childhood is supposed to be fun.

 

[monarch64]

Date: 1/27/2010 11:51:23 AM
Author: girlface
haha oops. Somehow I didn''t even see that. Reading between the lines I guess.

ETA: Now that I think about it, I''m pretty sure I only saw the words cowboy boots, and stripper heels. lol

Haha, no worries. I wanna see these pics of Suri Cruise in 2" heels though. Can you post a pic or tell me what site you saw it on? I''m super intrigued.

 

[oddoneout]

I don''t get it. Let a kid be a kid. I think it''s fine to play dress up but to wear them out everyday is just stupid and not practical.

 

[monarch64]

Wow. Those are a little grown-up.