Kids learn best when they´re moving – and moving barefoot is even better for their growing feet, bodies and brains too.
There is an ever-increasing body of scientific work to back this up:
Kids who are regularly barefoot have better-developed motor skills than those who regularly wear shoes, according to a study[1] from German and South African universities.
- A study from the University of Bournemouth[1] also found that kids who took their shoes off in the classroom had better levels of concentration, behaviour and did better academically than while wearing shoes.
- Academics from a group of American universities[2] showed how active kids had a bigger hippocampus, related to better memory performance.
- Another American study[3] showed how kids who played sports after school had better executive function (the ability to set and work towards their own goals).
- Meanwhile, a Dutch study[4] recently found even short bouts of aerobic activity boosted the attention span of schoolkids.
- A large German study[5] showed how just 10 minutes of playful coordination games, like bouncing two balls at the same time, improved teenagers’ concentration.
- Paediatric occupational therapist Angela Hanscom[6] says kids need play to develop their sensory systems – which in turn will help them learn.
- Dr Peter Gray, Emeritus Professor of Psychology at Boston College, has studied and written extensively about the harm of no play in kids’ lives; “social play with other children, serves a variety of developmental functions, all of which promote children’s mental health. (Without) play, children fail to acquire the social and emotional skills that are essential for healthy psychological development.”[7]
So if your kids’ schools don’t involve enough MOVEMENT and PLAY in their day – make sure their movement counts. Get as much barefoot time in at home and in nature at the weekends and, for then this isn´t possible, Vivobarefoot Kids minimalist footwear is as close to barefoot as possible. Thin, wide and bendy so growing feet can FEEL and move with space to grow strong and flexible for skilful movement to last them a lifetime.
LET THEM MOVE – even at school.
