In the 1800s and well into the 1900s shoes were only for church and for Winter. The rest of the year children were barefoot everywhere. In The Little House on the Prairie books, the author relates how in the early Spring, Mary and Laura would beg their parents to be allowed to "run barefoot".
And yet, in the TV series, you seldom saw them, if ever, barefoot. Kinda like The Waltons. After the first season, it was deemed "unsafe" for the young cast members to be barefoot.
Yep. The Waltons TV show was especially disappointing. Depression era kids, especially rural kids, only wore shoes during the winter. The Walton kids, after the first season, had multiple pairs of shoes each. Safety first, I guess.
Yes, I remember that! Since when did bare feet become so dangerous? When you see the damage ill fitting shoes do to young, developing feet, it makes you wonder what's more dangerous over the long term!
Yeah. I remember my friends Kelly and John (when we were 4th - 5ty graders) always barefoot - day in and day out except for school, even in the hottest of summer days when the pavement gets scorching hot... and they never had any injuries to their "vulnerable" feet. This was in Southern California but not near the beach. My other friend John, habitually walked home from school barefoot year-round (about 2 miles, carrying socks and shoes) all through grade school and half-way through the 9th grade. Never an injury.
Strong, amazing "barefoot every day" feet - perfect arches and toes.
ReplyDeleteIn the 1800s and well into the 1900s shoes were only for church and for Winter. The rest of the year children were barefoot everywhere. In The Little House on the Prairie books, the author relates how in the early Spring, Mary and Laura would beg their parents to be allowed to "run barefoot".
ReplyDeleteAnd yet, in the TV series, you seldom saw them, if ever, barefoot. Kinda like The Waltons. After the first season, it was deemed "unsafe" for the young cast members to be barefoot.
DeleteYep. The Waltons TV show was especially disappointing. Depression era kids, especially rural kids, only wore shoes during the winter. The Walton kids, after the first season, had multiple pairs of shoes each. Safety first, I guess.
Deleteah, also... remember the PBS show ZOOM? First and (most of) second season the kids were barefoot. After that... it was shoes mandatory for everyone.
DeleteYes, I remember that! Since when did bare feet become so dangerous? When you see the damage ill fitting shoes do to young, developing feet, it makes you wonder what's more dangerous over the long term!
DeleteYeah. I remember my friends Kelly and John (when we were 4th - 5ty graders) always barefoot - day in and day out except for school, even in the hottest of summer days when the pavement gets scorching hot... and they never had any injuries to their "vulnerable" feet. This was in Southern California but not near the beach. My other friend John, habitually walked home from school barefoot year-round (about 2 miles, carrying socks and shoes) all through grade school and half-way through the 9th grade. Never an injury.
Delete