Young feet are particularly soft and malleable. Muscles that are not used atrophy particularly quickly in children’s feet or are not developed at all. It is therefore particularly important to make children’s feet fit for the demands of life with specific exercises, and to build up the lazy foot muscles in adults.
Feet unfold best through foot gymnastics, contact with the ground and different stimuli. Don’t just let your child run barefoot as often as possible, but also train your child’s feet in a targeted manner. Well-trained muscles play a decisive role in foot health, not only for “young” but also for “old”.
Foot exercises at home
The following exercises are fun everywhere. It is best to combine this with playful and sporting incentives and encourage your child to hold the tension for about 5 to 10 seconds:
- Exercise: Wave your feet: Hold a handkerchief or silk handkerchief between your toes.
- Exercise : Place different sized marbles or pebbles on the floor and, sitting down, grab them with your toes and place them in a container.
- Exercise: Tear up handkerchiefs or newspaper with your feet.
- Exercise: “Paint” eight circles and squares on the floor with a small ball while sitting.
- Exercise : Balancing barefoot on the balance cushion (Pino fit, etc.), daily for at least 5 minutes
- Exercise : Repeatedly rocking on tiptoe while brushing teeth
- Exercise : balancing over a rolled up bath towel
- Tips :
- Climbing and balancing is very good for the foot muscles!
- Good shoes with a soft, flexible sole and cushioning, large enough!
- Watch out for worn soles! (then off to the cobbler or new shoes!)
- Do not use sports shoes/running shoes for longer than one year!
