Barefoot Children At Grocery?

Question

I just returned from grocery with my 6 and 4 y/o children who where Barefoot, hey it's mid July. I am so mad at the RUDE comments. In my book going barefoot is a Rite of Childhood, it gives Children a tremendous sence of freedome. I would never let them do that anywhere it was not safe. I guess I just wanted to vent it off. Please no stupid replys from child haters.

Answer 1

Sad to see so much anti-barefoot bias, unfounded fears and plain ignorance! Especially tech_girl, please check out the source, there are NO state health laws requiring footwear in the US; if your family owns a store you should be the one to NOT believe such myths and spread them around.

Bare feet are NOT dangerous. Germs don't pass through the skin, our skin is made to keep pathogens out. We are at far greater risk of picking something up through our hands; with those we touch all kinds of surfaces many other people touch -shopping carts, railings, doorknobs, money- and we're much more likely to transfer those germs to our face and/or food, where they can enter our body. The dirt on our feet may be much more visible but unless we lick our feet or prop them up on the table it'll just sit there harmlessly until we wash it off.

Injuries aren't likely either; the skin of our feet is a lot tougher than most people who never go barefoot think. I have been barefoot for ten years, I never divert my step no matter how much glass I see (in the mornings I often run at train stations, since I'm not a morning person and tend to have to hurry to catch my train). I get a tiny splinter maybe once a year, never had a cut, never had even the smallest splinter indoors. Really, asker's kids are going to be fine just walking around in the store! Even in the rare case of injury, there's been a vaccine against Tetanus since the 1920's that every active kid or adult should keep up to date (there are other ways of catching it apart from stepping on a nail barefoot) and infection really isn't likely. If a kid skins a knee or gets a splinter in their hand just once in a blue moon, do you make them wear knee pads or gloves all the time? Fortunately insurance companies seem to be more aware of the real risks than the general public posting here; barefooters have called many companies and none of them required or even recommended footwear for customers or any age.

Food contamination doesn't happen from bare feet; germs don't jump onto food from bare soles any more than from shoe soles, or from other exposed skin (bare arms, face). Only when you touch the food -there's those bare hands again, better invest in surgical gloves to wear when shopping!- or when you scratch anything above the food so anything falls onto it (hair nets required for shoppers?), can contamination occur. Not from germs flying spontaneously up from floor level.

The only 'real' problem with bare feet is that indeed many people don't like to see them, and consider it trashy. But how much difference does a tiny plastic strap of a flipflop make when looking at someone's feet? It makes a lot more difference *wearing* one because most of the pleasure of being barefoot comes from all the different surfaces underneath; the warm asphalt, the cool tiles near the frozen foods, etc... but seen from the top there's just the itty-bitty tiny strap -sometimes even transparent- and yet this makes a difference to those who say bare feet 'look gross'? Get real!

Answer 2

I'm just amazed at the level of fear in the answers above. When did everyone get so worried about a little dirt here and there? And while we're on it, when was this sudden storm of "shards of glass"? Everyone's so scared of that. Unless you're completely oblivious, you'll see things that are in front of you as you walk. I actually pay MORE attention to where I'm walking when I'm barefoot, than when I'm not.

Tech_Girl needs to check her facts...No laws, no codes. That's an Urban Legend!

We let our kids go barefoot whenever and whereever they wanted. It was also their choice, and they chose to be barefoot most of the time. I still go barefoot, just about everywhere: stores, restaurants, and yes even GROCERY STORES! Oh my!!!

Somebody close to the top said they'd never let their kids out of the house with out shoes AND socks on. How crazy! There are SO MANY more germs in those dark, hot, closed up shoes, than letting them just go barefoot.

Will you get an occasionaly scrape or scratch? Sure, but it won't be the end of the world. We put our shoes away in May, and went barefoot all summer long until September. Too bad your kids won't ever get to experience that joy and freedom!

Barefoot Tex!

Answer 3

they'd never let their kids out of the house with out shoes AND socks on. How crazy! There are SO MANY more germs in those dark, hot, closed up shoes, than letting them just go barefoot.

Will you get an occasionaly scrape or scratch? Sure, but it won't be the end of the world. We put our shoes away in May, and went barefoot all summer long until September. Too bad your kids won't ever get to experience that joy and freedom!

Answer 4

I hate to show my age, but the sight of a barefoot child in a grocery, on a hot day in July was a common sight in Evansville, In. back when I was one. This would have been the 60s.

I let my own children enjoy going barefoot as well, however the tradition is all but dead with my grandchildren, sorry to say.

Answer 5

I am not a child hater, as I have two of my own and a third on the way.

I think that your children should wear shoes in a grocery store. There are places where it is appropriate to be barefoot, and places where it definitely is not. The grocery store would fall into the latter category, IMO.

Yes, it is July. The sun is baking the asphalt/cement and they could get burns on the bottom of their feet. People spit on the ground, or worse, and they could get some sort of infection if they had an open cut on the bottom of their feet (which is likely if they are walking around barefoot). There could be slivers of glass or metal, etc. that they could step on and get embedded in their foot. They are more likely to get bitten/stung by insects, also. There are numerous reasons why they shoudl wear shoes.

Most public places require proper dress-which includes shoes-for entry. It is a liability issue for THEM, because if a barefoot child steps on glass inside or outside the store, suddenly the parents are sueing (just a 'for instance').

My children love to go barefoot-and I let them, at home or in our yard, at the beach or the park, sometimes. But NOT when we are in public. They atleast wear flip flops. You can get them at Old Navy-two pair for $5. It teaches them to follow the rules (No shoes, no shirt, no service) and, most importantly, is for their safety.

Answer 6

My 6 year old daughter would gladly go barefoot all day every day. However she complains when she steps on a sticker, she complains when the sidewalk is hot, etc. So to eliminate the complaints, we went to the dollar store and bought 2 pairs of one dollar flip flops. She loves them. They are the quickest thing to put on and take off, and they are not difficult to wear. Personally I hate having something between my toes, so I won't wear these things, but for many kids, they are perfect.

Answer 7

I have three children and I would never let them go barefoot in a store. You risk them stepping on sharp objects, broken glass, and I can't even begin to imagine the germs people track in on their shoes that are all over the grocery store floor.

Yes, it is okay for kids to be barefoot during the summer, but I think that freedom should be limited to non-public places.

It's a safety and health issue, not a "child hater" issue.

Answer 8

What the hell are you anti-bare people on about???? Bare feet in a grocery store are not gonna put down any more germs than the soles of shoes!! To think otherwise is ridiculous! Summertime is Barefoot time for kids....adults too, if they wanna! Sheesh!

Answer 9

He probably made some money while he was on seinfeld. Other than that he is a minor celebrity but today he's kind of a loser so I guess he does small comedy jobs or dresses up as a clown for kids birthday parties... I don't know.

Answer 10

Maybe people make comments because on the door of most every grocery store, there is a notice stating that shoes and shirts are required. I love to go barefoot as well, but I feel there's a time and a place.