LAUSR

There is increasing interest in shoe sole softness in children’s footwear. Industry and health professionals have limited evidence to guide their recommendations on footwear for young children. Older children have demonstrated increased stride and step length when walking in footwear compared to walking barefoot. Older children have also demonstrated decreased cadence, with an increase in double support time and a longer stance time while wearing footwear (Wegener, Hunt, Vanwanseele, Burns, & Smith, 2011). Furthermore, another study examined the effects of the different footwear torsional flexibilities on gait in newly walking toddlers. It found that increased flexibility of the footwear sole resulted in a shorter stance time compared to barefoot. However, velocity and step length did not differ across different shoe flexibilities (Buckland, Slevin, Hafer, Choate, & Kraszewski, 2014). Clinicians only have these studies to guide their advice when recommending footwear for children under the age of six.