Does Your Child's Schoolwear Make the Grade?

by Dr. Steven Warfield

It's that time of year when the weather starts to cool, when football becomes a major source of conversation and the kids are back in school.  For many parents, this is also the time of year when their children start coming down with colds, along with any number of other physical complaints that are simply shrugged off as a rite of passage.  But what most parents do not realize is that the reason that many school age children wind up at home in bed instead of in the classroom has to do with a number of issues that can adversely affect their wellbeing.

If the Shoe Fits...

As far back as the 1990's shoe companies were in the habit of marketing shoes that were patently unhealthy

for children.  Playing on parental emotions as well as peer pressure from other children, the footwear industry continues to use such things as celebrity endorsements to sell footwear to a public that is unaware of the potential health hazards that can occur down the road due to inadequate shoes for their kids.
In the first place, the kind of shoes that are right for adults do not work well for children.  Believe it or not, going barefoot is actually the healthiest way for our children to be.  Since their linbs are still forming, shoes with arch supports or stiff sides can actually interfere with a child's gait or even deform the child's feet, both of which can lead to permanent problems down the road.

According to a report commissioned by Dr. Steve Maffetone, called Ticking Time Bomb: "During the first year following the acquisition of independent walking, most of the child’s gait activity, in particular, the neurological memories—the communication between brain and body—becomes well established. During this time, if the feet are not allowed to develop well, gait and balance disorders begin to occur. In many children, these irregularities are often subtle (the “clumsy kid”) while others more serious such as increased vulnerability to physical injury and various neurological imbalances anywhere in the body, including those associated with eye movement. When a shoe becomes absolutely necessary, it should be lightweight, flexible, shaped more or less quadrangularly, and should not have arch supports and stiff sides.

Backpack Blues

Another area of concern to school age children are backpacks.  While backpacks have evolved over the years to be more orthopedically correct, the problem is that most children do not don them correctly.  They also tend to overload them, which also causes stress on the shoulders, neck and spine.  If your child uses a backpack, the first thing you need to do is make sure they are being worn properly.  This means that the backpack needs to be on both shoulders, not simply slung off to one side.  More importantly, the waistbelt needs to be engaged, since this allows most of the weight to be carried on the hips as opposed to the shoulders.  Last but not least, you should take their fully laden backpack and place it on a bathroom scale.  The maximum weight that a child should be allowed to tote in a backpack should be 15% of the child's weight.

Also of concern to adults should be any of the following warning signs exhibited by their children:
Aching back or shoulders
Stooped posture
Tingling arms
Cold Feet
Persistant stumbling

If your child exhibits any of these symptoms or any foot-related condition, then I urge you to contact your chiropractor to take corrective measures before more serious problems occur.  The spine controls many functions in the body, all of which can be adversely affected by spinal misalignment.  If you want to help your kids succeed in school, then make sure that their attire doesn't get a failing grade.

Dr.’s Steven Warfield and Dave Edenfield offer the most advanced treatments for back pain, sciatica, neck pain, whiplash and headaches. They also treat auto accident victims with state-of-the-art technologies.  For more information visit http://endyourpain.org or http://chiropractor-jacksonville-fl.com