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Vibram FiveFingers and Children

by Rob Francis » on May 04, 2011 18

I’ve talked a fair bit about wearing my VFFs and most of the posts here have been from or for the adult perspective.  Dan previously wrote an earlier article about kids and FiveFingers which focused primarily on the costs and readers commented and tweeted in with their opinion. Today I’d like to give my take on kids and VFFs since I have two children of my own who have worn them.

If you watch children run around you’ll quickly notice how it seems so effortless and that they appear to never get tired.  Their running naturally mimics either the Chi Running or the POSE method, depending on which one you subscribe to.  The advantages of going barefoot (or almost barefoot) are well known to proponents of VFF so it only makes sense to provide our kids with a pair of footwear that allows them to run naturally without swaddling their feet in excessive amounts of shoe.  While we want the best for our kids, I have encountered a few things to think and debate about.

The Cool Factor

If they are “cool” or not will depend a lot on the opinion of your kids and their friends.  If your child and their friends and classmates likes the way FiveFingers look, then VFFs will be cool to wear.  So no problem.  On the other hand, if kids at school make fun of their shoes, then suddenly they become very un-cool and no amount of pleading will get your child to wear them.  Peer pressure and how other kids perceive your child can be extremely influential in your child’s decision making.

Initially my son was very keen to wear his new VFF KSOs.  He wore them consistently for about 2 months during the summer holiday before some smart-ass at school that fall made a snide comment about them and teased my son.  That was the end of my son wearing VFFs to school and the after-school program he was in.  He still wore them when at home and other places but he never wore them out in public where someone from his school could see him.  Any small positive or a negative opinions on VFFs from peers can ultimately influence your child’s willingness to wear them.

The Cost of Children’s FiveFingers

Children grow.  Children are hard on clothes.  It is a balancing act trying to find decently priced items that they won’t outgrow or wear out in a month at.  Shoes are no different.  There were two things I considered when buying VFFs for my son:  quality and cost.

First off, my own VFFs have lasted a long time and I use them a lot so I wasn’t worried about my kids wearing them out; they would most likely outgrow them first.  Quality wasn’t a factor I was worried about.

Go into most shoe stores, like Foot Locker or Sport Chek, and kids shoes range in prices from $40 to $90 or even more as your child gets older.  These are your typical running shoes – heavily padded with thick soles and a raised heel.  Everything you don’t want in your shoes, so why would you buy them for your kids, right?  Children’s KSO cost $60 from the VFF website so they are of a comparable price to regular kids shoes. I had spent similar amounts on shoes previously for my children so the cost was not an issue for me although I realize that other parents may not be as willing to pay this amount.

My Kids

My daughter doing a "Spider-Man" while rock climbing.

As I mentioned, I bought my son a pair of KSOs which after being teased about, he never wore to school again (although he continued to wear them with me when there was no chance of kids from school seeing him).  Since he has outgrown them, he hasn’t asked for another pair although I have offered to buy some if he wants.  My daughter initially couldn’t fit into adult sizes so she had to wait.  She has since inherited her brother’s KSOs and I wanted to see if she would wear them before committing to the pair of Sprints she wanted.  She has been wearing them rock climbing and around the yard now that the snow has gone, so she seems to like them.  Should she continue wearing them a lot and want another pair when she outgrows these KSOs, I’ll gladly shell out for some in her choice of color.

If my children never want another pair of VFFs, they are still going to benefit from them in a variety of ways.  The first is that they are going to be aware that footwear which swaddles the feet in foam are not beneficial and this knowledge will influence them to buy sensible shoes for the remainder of their lives.  The second is that while they may not buy VFFs, the impact that VFF has had on the footwear industry is evident with most shoe companies now introducing a minimalist shoe.  A good example of another minimalist shoe is the Merrell Barefoot collection.  The third is that their dad will hopefully be more fit and able to do physical activities with them and eventually their own children due to improved foot and overall health thanks to Vibram FiveFingers.  I’m sure there are many more benefits, but these three were the ones I felt were the most important.

I would like to hear if anyone else has bought VFFs for their children and what their experiences are.  Or even better yet, what your kids think about VFF.  I look forward to your questions and comments (and I can be followed on twitter at http://twitter.com/robchfr).

 

Submitted Comments

  1. Nate says:

    My daughter really wants a pair. But right now we dont spend more than 20$ on shoes. So, the cost off kids ksos are prohibitibly expensive. Thankfully she loves going barefoot so I hope shell still wants a pair (or some other min shoes) as she gets older.

  2. Angela says:

    You should check out Zem! Great barefoot “shoe” but for much cheaper. Getting some for my kids this summer.

  3. Melanie says:

    *gets on soapbox*

    Children’s feet are soft and unformed.

    Unnaturally-shaped shoes, such as high-heeled shoes and pointed toes, crush the foot into an equally unnatural shape. Over time, this can result in the foot’s development being retarded or misshapen.

    An extreme example is Chinese foot binding, but less extreme examples can be found in my sister, whose three smallest toes no longer bend after a youth spent in high heels, and my husband, whose two smallest toes are turned in from the formal shoes he was required to wear at school. When looking at pictures of barefoot models, I can often tell by looking at their feet whether they wore healthy shoes or not. Their feet show visible signs of damage.

    My own feet have natural space between every toe and full flexibility in every joint. When I was young, I hated uncomfortably clothing and steadfastly refused to wear anything but sweats and ratty old sneakers indoors, and bare feet outdoors. As you can imagine, this resulted in a lot of teasing. I don’t recommend it.

    However, I do recommend letting children’s feet be free. If your kids can’t or won’t wear five fingers, then at least encourage them to wear flip-flops or flat, rounded-toe shoes. Don’t crush their unformed feet in a way they will have to pay for later, no matter how fashionable it is. Tell your little girls it is okay to be short, they don’t need high heels to make themselves feel pretty.

    *climbs off soapbox*

    Seriously, though, I’m really glad I was a stubborn, unfashionable, uncool kid, because now I’m a stubborn, unfashionable, uncool adult with FUNCTIONAL FEET and, frankly, being unfashionable and uncool didn’t stop me from getting my college degree, a cool job, and a great family, so I don’t feel like I missed much.

  4. Dan says:

    My Son is practically begging for a pair of FiveFingers… Especially after he saw some of the Parkour/Free Running videos of people wearing them.

    They seem cool to him.

  5. Corey says:

    My 3 year old daughter can’t wait to get a pair. It’s just hard to justify the cost when she may or may not be able to wear them again in 3 or 4 months.

  6. kenny says:

    have you tried the Filas Skeletoes, a cheaper product like Vibram five Fingers, cause kids will outgrow them fast

  7. Kai says:

    Hi,

    I’ve got two kids (2.5yrs & 5.5yrs old) and both of them are crazy about vibrams.
    The only downside is the high cost and the very short period of time they can wear them. My little boy is like a penguin; feet grow first, then he shoots up, then feet grow again … there would be a lot of vibrams required to keep up with that.

    If the vibrams for kids were a lot cheaper I wouldn’t even think twice … the little material used for kids cannot be that expensive …

    Just my $0.02.

    —Kai

  8. Mr. Harbstrum says:

    Looking at these posts and taking some time to think about Kids and VFF’s. I start to think back to the days when I was playing baseball as a youngster (not that long ago, I’m only 26), But going through the younger leagues each year the league would hold a pant exchange because year to year, we wouldnt be able to fit into the previous seasons pants. So this way you only buy one pair of baseball pants, then you just swap it out for the size you need.

    My suggestion would be a Kids VFF exchange, perhaps through this site or whoever else could organize it. An open forum for people to trade and offer the VFF’s that their Kids have grown out of, this way essentially you only buy one pair of Kids VFF’s and all you have left is to pay shipping (or fuel costs) to pick up another pair.
    It may seem complicated, but I think if the Kids line of VFF’s gets popular enough, it would be a great way to keep the shoes on feet, rather than being worn for a few months and trashed, or left for the next twinkle in daddy’s eye.

    Just an idea.

  9. Rob says:

    Thanks for all the comments. Melanie I couldnt agree more with you on kids wearing shoes that hurt their feet. I hope my daughter never wants to buy high heels or any other shoe that will affect her feet negatively.

    I like the idea of the VFF swap for kids although not sure of how it would be arranged.

  10. Brian Patterson says:

    Good idea!!

  11. Kim Walker says:

    My son just got his first pair. He has always gone barefoot the entire time he’s home. He has not removed these vibrams all day. We do Crossfit and he can’t wait to show off at our Crossfit. Just wish they did Crossfit kids!

  12. vibram5bikila.com says:

    you can click my name to buy it

  13. Jen says:

    I love the idea of a VFF exchange for kids.

  14. Lisa says:

    My daughter begged for a pair for a year because they were not available in her size. We purchased a pair the first week they were available. SHE LOVES THEM! She was a little worries some kids might make fun of her at first, but she’s over it and loving her VFF!

  15. Will says:

    Just bought my 5 year old a pair the same day i bought mine. HE LOVES THEM!!! He does not even want to wear anything else. We just did a long day hiking and boulder hopping at Red Rock Canyon in NV… it was amazing in mine and his KSO’s. He faired better than me, i guess because im heavier? I got some stone bruises but thats more my fault than anything else. His confidence level went through the roof because of the grip these things have on rock! Buy your kids some!! Price is same as any other quality shoe.

  16. josh says:

    +1 on the exchange. Definitely someone get on that…I mean someone besides me :)

  17. VFF exchange for Kids lets do it! How would we organize it? This site? Facebook?

  18. Andi Collins says:

    My daughter has 3 pairs of vibrams at age 8. She absolutely loves them and could care less what kids at school think or say. She likes them and thats all that matters. The only problem we have with wearing them to school is she is required during days of physical education to change her shoes which is 3 times a week on those days she doesn’t like to wear the vibrams because she has trouble getting them on by herself sometimes. It is still winter here and once summer rolls around and school it out I expect that she will not wear anything else. Would definitely recommend, and shop around cause they can be bought for cheaper prices on ebay and other sets on sale :)

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