Benefits of urban kiddies soft soles for infant development

BENEFITS OF URBAN KIDDIES SOFT SOLE SHOES FOR INFANT DEVELOPMENT

Urban Kiddies soft soles are a worldwide favourite for little feet. Urban Kiddies Soft Sole is the original all-leather, ultra-soft shoe that gently protects and comforts babies’ growing feet without being restricting or rigid. Little feet need to be protected, but they also need the freedom to grow and develop naturally, the Urban Kiddies founders designed the Original Soft Sole almost 30 years ago to be like a second skin.

There are several benefits of Urban Kiddies soft sole shoes including:

• Protecting babies feet when out and about and on different surfaces
• Soft leather allows natural movement and growth
• Breathable and hygienic to prevent any smells
• Keeps baby’s feet warm – making them great pram shoes
• The character appliques and colourful styles encourage exploration, imagination and body awareness to be developed, including crossing the body’s midline. 

Below we dive deeper into why Urban Kiddies soft soles can contribute to baby development and milestones.

HELPING INFANTS WITH CROSSING THE BODY’S MIDLINE

Crossing the midline is an important developmental milestone for children to develop, as it contributes to being able to effectively complete tasks and control the body in life. “The body’s mid-line is an imaginary line down the centre of the body that divides the body into left and right” as defined by Kid Sense. Healthline defines crossing the midline as happening “when your child moves their hand or foot across this line to work on the opposite side of their body”.

Crossing the midline is essential to developing further skills such as writing, putting on shoes, hitting a ball with a bat and other fine motor skills. Crossing the midline starts as soon as babies start reaching with both their hands, usually at around 4-6 months of age, anc continues to develop until children reach 8-9 years of age.

Urban Kiddies character Soft Soles including the new Kiddies range is a great shoe that can help encourage babies to practice crossing the midline and develop an awareness of using both sides of their bodies. To help your baby cross the midline when wearing Urban Kiddies soft soles, encourage baby to reach for their feet with their hands both left and right. 

INSPIRING THE IMAGINATION AND STARTING CONVERSATIONS

Urban Kiddies soft sole baby shoes and the new Kiddies range is specially designed with unique character appliques and fun colours to spark the imagination from an early age. Parents can tell a story, practise animal sounds and animal identification and much more with their infant. Engaging with babies through speech is crucial to their speaking and language development.

Asking questions, repeating expressions and reciting simple rhymes and songs involving animals and colours are great ways to engage children. The Kiddies range includes cute Snap, Gruff, Koko characters to spark little minds. Find the cutest baby girl shoes and baby boy shoes and start sparking their imagination!

PROTECTING BABY’S FEET

When babies are beginning to crawl about the house or playground, they may need light protection for their feet. Urban Kiddies soft soles are perfect for this. Shielding feet from potentially abrasive surfaces and preventing grazes and scratches. Even though babies feet need protection, this does not mean they need hard shoes. Babies need to be able to move their feet and not be weighed down. 

Additionally, Urban Kiddies soft soles make excellent pram shoes to keep little feet warm and protected when walking shoes are not yet required. Nothing is cuter than seeing those little soft soles poke out from the pram or under a blanket!

ENCOURAGING HEALTHY FOOT DEVELOPMENT AND SAFE USE OF MUSCLES

Babies feet are delicate and constantly growing, with vital bones and muscles forming in the first few years of life. Ensuring that babies feet can move freely is important to allow natural development of the foot including the bones, muscles, ligaments and other features such as the arch and foot shape. Babies are born without bones in their feet, just soft and sponge-like cartilage that ossifies over time into the full 26 bones and 33 joints found in an adult foot! That’s a lot of growing and development that is not complete until age 18. This emphasises the importance of babies and kids having the right footwear so they can develop naturally. Babies feet are super delicate, in the first few months of life, therefore protecting them while allowing them to develop is at utmost importance. 

Urban Kiddies soft soles are designed for just that, featuring super soft leather and a flexible sole that is lightweight. Babies feet can move freely without being confined, therefore enabling the foot to develop. Urban Kiddies shoes are podiatrist approved, and the best shoes for growing feet!

SUPPORT HEALTH DEVELOPMENT WITH URBAN KIDDIES SOFT SOLES

Dive into the world of Urban Kiddies soft soles, and discover the many benefits. Not just for feet but for overall infant development. Shop the range online today and discover more helpful articles and information on the Urban Kiddies blog: