slb@drutx.UUCP (Sue Brezden) (01/09/86)
>Do you allow yourself/your kids to go around the house >barefooted, or must they wear socks and/or slippers, and why? >My parents made walking around barefooted taboo, and I never understood >why. My parents always wore shoes, too. They think I'm weird because I refuse to wear shoes in the house. I think it is very uncivilized to wear shoes in a place where you are unlikely to encounter sharp rocks, asphalt, or doggy messes. I keep a place reserved for shoes inside the front door. I taught both my girls to remove their shoes, too. Why my parents felt that way, I never understood. I have always suspected that it had to do with some sort of strange ethic that says it is wrong to be comfortable. They also never wear jeans. And my mother wears a girdle. And makeup. And wore high heels before she got MS. She thinks it's horrible that I refused such things from the start. But back to barefoot. If you are like me and live in a moderately cold climate, and keep the house at 60 degrees to avoid paying more in heat than it would take to support a small country, you'd wear socks, too. My mother keeps pressing slippers on my daughters and me, hoping that we will *at least* have the sense to wear something close to shoes, but I prefer socks. They are less prone to produce static electricity, for one thing. By the way, small children *SHOULD* go barefoot. (Or in socks or some kind of booties if it's cold). The old custom of those white, hard baby shoes being on them all the time was found to hurt development of the feet. They need to really be able to move their feet, and feel with them--especially when they are just beginning to walk. Just get them some tennies for outdoors. (It's cheaper, too. It's amazing how fast those little feet grow.) -- Sue Brezden ihnp4!drutx!slb ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ To search for perfection is all very well, But to look for heaven is to live here in hell. --Sting ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
gdvsmit@watrose.UUCP (Riel Smit) (01/09/86)
I grew up barefooted. Until the age of about 14 I wore shoes once a week for 1.5 hours (when we went to church). The shoes were the last to go on and the first to go off - almost on the steps of the church, and we would run home, shoes, socks, tie and jacket in hand. Still don't like any of those four pieces of clothing! Our feet (the girls' included) were tough. We went mountain climbing and hiking through the bush with bare feet. Oh sure, sometimes you got thorns in them, or they got cut by the grass (that is grass that grow to a height of about 7 feet), or you'd loose a nail or two when you bumped your toes real hard against a rock while running down the mountain side, but there's nothing that a few drops of T.B.Co (Fryer's Balsam ?) would not cure (the medicine hurt more than the original injury!). I still go barefeet as much as possible (if it would not offend the "civilized" people around me), but it's tough going in Canada in winter! Riel Smit UUCP: watmath!watrose!gdvsmit BITNET: rs@watcsg