Baby/Toddlers fear

Question

Hi parents! Just out of curiosity, is there anyone that has an experience of your kid being afraid of shoes? Like to see them and then put the shoes near their feet, the toddler will be crying?I have a 14 month old girl who is currently behaving this way. Shes only starting to learn to walk at home and at infant care, bare feet. So I would like to prepare her to be able to walk out in the public in future. So she definitely need some footwear. She wont want anyone to put on shoes/sandals/slippers on her feet. Only socks that shes familiar with. 😅Any advice? Thank you! 😊#FTM #advicepls #firstbaby

Vô danh · Answer

Oh this is so common, dont worry too much! Since shes already comfortable with socks, a good first step is trying those socks with rubber grips on the sole, it gives her a bit of protection outdoors while staying close to what she already knows, then slowly introduce soft sole shoes from there. Some kids have a sensory thing going on where the stiffness or thickness of regular shoes just feels really foreign and uncomfortable, so starting with something very flexible and flat (almost like a foot glove) tends to work better than jumping straight to structured shoes. A friend of mine went through exactly this and found that letting the child hold the shoes and play with them first, before even attempting to put them on, helped a lot, so it stops feeling like a scary foreign object. One trade-off to keep in mind is that very flat, minimal shoes are gentler for getting used to footwear, but in Singapores heat and humidity you do want something with decent ventilation so their feet dont get too sweaty and smelly. Just be patient and keep the tries short and low-pressure, at 14 months she has plenty of time to get there!

Baby/Toddler's fear