Podiatrist · Specialist in Biomechanics · Founder of VOLKAN
"When a child plays, they not only strengthen their muscles. They are building the movement that will accompany them throughout their life."
"Doctor, do they have flat feet?"
It is one of the most frequent questions I hear when parents come to consultation with their child.
The child walks in with absolute normality.
Runs.
Jumps.
Bends down.
Gets up.
Plays with any object they find.
Meanwhile, the parents observe something else.
The shape of the foot.
—We are worried that they have a very low arch.
I always try to reassure them before exploring.
Because a child's foot cannot be interpreted with the same criteria as an adult's.
We are not observing a finished structure.
We are observing an organism in the process of construction.
Growing also means learning to move.
When we think about child development, we often imagine bones that increase in size.
Muscles that gain strength.
Legs that lengthen.
But the most important change occurs elsewhere.
In the nervous system.
Every fall.
Every jump.
Every run.
Every imbalance.
Every different surface.
All of this provides information that the brain uses to learn.
Movement does not appear when development ends.
Development occurs because the child moves.
Play is an extraordinary training.
Adults tend to move to achieve a goal.
Getting to work.
Playing sports.
Climbing some stairs.
A child moves for a completely different reason.
Because exploring is their way of learning.
Runs without a destination.
Jumps without need.
Bends down to pick up a stone.
Climbs a wall.
Walks on a curb.
Goes back down.
And repeats the process over and over.
From the outside it looks like a game.
From a biomechanical perspective, it is an extraordinarily sophisticated training.
Each movement forces the brain to solve small problems.
And each problem solved improves the next response.
The foot changes as the child changes.
During the first years of life, the foot undergoes a continuous transformation.
The tissues mature.
The proportions change.
Coordination improves.
The arch of the foot appears progressively as a result of growth, neuromuscular maturation, and mechanical load, not as an event that happens overnight.
That is why it is so important to observe function before form.
A foot that appears flat can function perfectly.
And a foot with a well-defined arch can present significant difficulties.
Biomechanics always reminds us of the same lesson.
Form never tells the whole story.
The best stimulus often seems like a game.
There is a common characteristic in almost all children.
They learn without realizing it.
They do not perform equilibrium exercises because someone explained to them the importance of postural control.
They simply play.
They do not strengthen the foot because they want to improve stability.
They run after a ball.
They chase a friend.
They invent impossible courses.
Nature found a long time ago a very smart way to teach movement.
It called it game.
What does this have to do with barefoot?
A lot.
When we talk about children's footwear, we often focus on protection.
And, of course, protecting the foot when the environment requires it is important.
But development needs something more.
It needs the foot to be able to move.
That the toes have space.
That the joints participate.
That the nervous system continues to receive information from the ground.
That’s why children's footwear should interfere as little as possible with a foot that is still learning.
Not because barefoot is an obligation.
But because development needs opportunities to experience movement.
Always respecting the context, the age, the environment, and the needs of each child.
What I see every day in consultation
Many times parents come worried about the shape of the foot.
After exploring the child, we end up talking about something else.
About how much he plays.
About how much he runs.
About how much time he spends sitting.
About the surfaces he moves on.
Because, often, the most important answers are not solely in the foot.
They are in the life that foot leads every day.
An organism that explores, plays, and moves usually finds many opportunities to develop.
And that is excellent news.
What you can do starting today
If you have a child, a grandchild, or a child nearby, watch him play for a few minutes.
Don't just look at his feet.
Notice how he moves.
How he improvises.
How he resolves small imbalances.
How he changes direction without thinking.
You will see something fascinating.
He is not training.
He is learning.
And he is probably doing it much better than we imagine.
🔬 In a sentence
The development of the child's foot depends less on its initial shape and much more on the opportunities it has to move, explore, and adapt.
The most important idea
El pie de un niño no es una versión pequeña del pie de un adulto.
Es una estructura en constante transformación.
Su desarrollo depende de la interacción entre el crecimiento, el movimiento, la experiencia y el aprendizaje del sistema nervioso.
Por eso, antes de preocuparnos únicamente por la forma del arco plantar o por la apariencia del pie, conviene preguntarnos si ese niño dispone de suficientes oportunidades para correr, saltar, explorar y descubrir el mundo con su cuerpo.
Porque el desarrollo no ocurre sentado.
Ocurre mientras juega.
Y cada juego deja una huella que acompañará al movimiento durante muchos años.
Una pregunta para reflexionar
Piensa en tu infancia.
¿Recuerdas los zapatos que llevabas… o recuerdas los lugares donde corrías, trepabas, saltabas y jugabas?
Quizá el verdadero arquitecto de tus pies no fuera el calzado.
Quizá fuera el movimiento.
En el próximo artículo…
Cuando hablamos del pie infantil, una idea aparece con frecuencia.
"Mi hijo tiene los pies planos."
Pero ¿qué significa realmente tener un pie plano durante la infancia?
¿Es siempre un problema?
¿Debe corregirse?
¿O, en muchos casos, forma parte del desarrollo normal?
En el próximo capítulo descubriremos por qué el arco plantar no aparece porque llegue una determinada edad, sino porque el organismo madura, se mueve y aprende a utilizar sus pies.
Y veremos que, en pediatría, la paciencia suele ser una herramienta tan importante como cualquier tratamiento.