POSERS ABOUT SHOES

New Zealand Listener, Volume 37, Issue 945, 20 September 1957, Page 22

POSERS ABOUT SHOES

This is the text of a talk on health broadcast recently from .ZB, ZA, YA and YZ stations of the NZBS

by DR

H. B.

TURBOTT

Deputy

Director-General of Health

"T WO questions posed to me in recent letters, and of interest to many parents, deserve as wide a circulation as possible in the answering, so here goes, _ When te ‘no shoes for my children, in view of radiation risk, should I let them stand on the X-ray machine to check the shoe-fitting? There are about 70 X-ray shoefitting machines in operation in this country. They are checked from the safety angle by the Dominion X-ray and Radium Laboratory, They are made for use by all ages and the opening for feet must be big enough for adults, This leaves a lot of space around a toddler’s or pre-school child’s feet, and still plenty around primary-school-age feet. Through this space it is possible for scattered X-rays to reach the upper thigh level in small children. The Dominion Radiological Advisory Council considered the possibility of radiation damage from X-ray shoe-fit-ting machines at a recent meeting, and decided that, while safe enough for adults, their use was not advisable in children of primary school ages and under, You may not have seen the statement of that Council, It was based on the fact that there was possible danger of irradiation in young children, and that the use of X-rays in shoe fitting was an unnecessary procedure. This last is perfectly true. Shoe fitting can be done accurately without X-rays, and I suggest you follow the advice of the Radiological Advisory Council, and keep young children off these machines, Now for the next question: My primary school boy knocks out a pair of shoes about every five or six months. Round .about four months they could well be half-soled and made to do longer, but I am afraid to have them repaired in case in two or three months more they will become too short in length for the growing foot. How do you get around this difficulty, and tell whether it is worth while having the shoes of growing children repaired? Children’s shoes are readily checked as to the advisability of repairs. It would never do to half-sole shoes which are already only just long enough, Here is an easy way to make sure the shoes are not already too short or haven't enough leeway to justify repairs. Let the child stand barefoot on a piece of cardboard. Make a pencil mark at the end of the longest toe and another at the back of the heel. Cut out between these marks a half inch wide strip of the cardboard. Put this strip inside the shoe and push one end up to the toe. The other end should be at least half an inch short of the back of the shoe. If there is this leeway, and the shoes warrant it, there is time for repairs and a few months’ more wear from these shoes. You can use the same method for testing the suitability of shoes being bought, making sure in the case of new shoes, that there is at least three quarters of an inch to spare in length at purchase time, While shoes are being worn, if you are wondering if they are really long enough, use the same cardboard strip method to ensure there is enough space for growth. This business of ensuring plenty of room in growing children’s shoes is terribly important. There aso few foot troubles that do not have their origin in the continued wearing of ill-fitting ‘shoes, It has been calculated that the average schoolgirl, of say, about 7 stone weight, walks and runs about 1114 miles a dav. and a boy of similar size

anything from 10 to 14 miles. The shoes have to give freedom to the foot to lengthen as the weight comes down on the arches in all this walking and running. That is why three-quarter-inch for new shoes, and half an inch for: shoes to be repaired, is necessary in spare length at purchase or repair time. If you disregard this safety rule, you set the scene for hammertoes, corns, pushing the big toe outwards, cramping the other toes, and generally laying the foundation for foot troubles in later life, Sufficient length is a. vitally important matter in a shoe. Other points are a_ straight inner border, and not a pointed toe; sufficient width so that the little toe is not pulled in or the foot cramped across the widest part on standing; adequate blocking or height in the toe of the shoe allowing free toe movement; and finally, sufficient flexibility so that the child can stand or walk naturally and comfortably. Care in these matters will give your children lifetime good feet.

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