Giveaway #675 : Win a pair of Dotty Fish soft sole shoes - closed - winner Ana Nowell #dottyfish #softsolemovement

Baby footwear brand Dotty Fish have been working with The London Podiatry Centre, one of the most advanced podiatric clinics in the world. They looked closely at the effects of soft-soled footwear on a child who is learning to walk and taking those crucial first steps.

Dotty Fish have always been passionate about baby foot health and are keen to get the message out to parents on the benefits of wearing soft sole shoes. “We want to give people the information needed to make an informed choice when buying footwear for young children. We want to create a movement, one that looks at what is best for babies’ feet.” explains Helen Chapman, founder of Dotty Fish

The London Podiatry Centre has one of the most advanced dedicated podiatric gait facilities anywhere in the world and have a wealth of information when it comes to foot health especially paediatric foot health. This is the first time they have ever worked with a baby shoe brand to analyse a child taking those early steps wearing a soft sole baby shoe. “We are an evidence-based clinic and we use very advanced technology to help us determine if something helps biomechanically” explained Ron McCulloch, Consultant Podiatric Surgeon and Director at The London Podiatry Centre. “So far the results have been encouraging”.

For many years there has been a perception that a baby’s first shoe should be a structured shoe that will help keep them steady on their feet, but this is a misconception. Dotty Fish and The London Podiatry Centre hope to re-educate parents about the right kind of footwear they should be choosing for their children. In fact, the very best thing for a baby learning to walk and a toddler who is new to walking is to have bare feet but this isn’t always practical in the artificial, modern world we live in. The next best thing is to have an extremely lightweight flexible shoe with a thin, non-slip sole that protects a baby’s delicate foot and prevents slipping. This type of shoe will still give them all the benefits of walking barefoot whilst protecting their feet and allowing them to feel the floor beneath them.

“We want to educate parents and childcare professionals on why soft soled shoes are better for developing feet. The anatomy of a baby or toddler’s foot is different from an adult and we need to take this into account when buying those first few pairs of shoes,” explains Helen. “A baby’s foot doubles in size between birth and the age of 4 years. By their first birthday their foot is almost half the size it will be as an adult. Babies have 22 partially developed bones in their feet that are mostly cartilage while adults have 26 bones. This rapid growth and development needs to be kept in mind when choosing which shoes to buy.”

Shoes for young babies and children need to be:

Flexible so feet can move naturally

Lightweight allowing for natural ankle, knee and hip movement

Wide around the toes to allow the feet to spread when standing

Thin soled so children’s toes can grip the floor in the same way as if they were barefoot

A snug fit so they don’t come off but without restricting movement or growth

Made from a breathable material as babies’ feet sweat 2-3 times more than adults’ do

To find out more about the #softsolemovement, head over to :

https://www.facebook.com/dottyfishltd

https://twitter.com/dottyfishltd

https://www.instagram.com/dottyfish/

Dotty Fish have kindly offered to send a pair of their gorgeous soft sole shoes (you even get to choose the design) to one lucky Madhouse Family Reviews reader. Fill in your entries via the rafflecopter widget below.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

UK only. Closing date : 24/4/18

T & C's : Entries close at midnight on the closing date. Winners will be selected with a random number generator and announced on facebook and in the giveaway post subject line. Please note, you will be contacted by email and/or twitter and if I haven't heard from you after 28 days, I'll have to pick another winner. Prizes will be sent out by the companies or their PR directly to winners. Madhouse Family Reviews cannot be held responsible for any prizes that go astray ! Any personal data given as part of the competition entry is used for this purpose only and will not be shared with third parties, with the exception of the winners’ information. The winners' personal contact information will be passed on to the PR / Brand responsible and used only for delivery of their prize. 

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