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>At the age of 3 Rita is already remarkably routined in >walking barefoot not just at home and in the garden >but all around the small town where we live. We still >warn her of broken glass and other unpleasant things >on the ground but often she sees them herself and >points them out. > >So yesterday we took her to the big city. Just in case >we need them, we took sandals along but as she is, she >refused to put them on and preferred to walk barefoot >on roads, sidewalks and the pavement in the pedestrian >zone. We took the metro, riding the escalators, went >to shops. She happily walked along with us everywhere, >her little bare feet avoiding uneven pavement, dog >droppings, occasional rubbish, pieces of broken glass, >she discovered those before we even saw them. Soon her >bare soles were black all over (her arches haven't >formed completely yet), quite a sight to behold. Of >course she especially enjoyed it when we got to a park >where my husband and I also took off our shoes to >enjoy the soft grass together. >As we went home I helped her clean her feet and >checked them, no injury aside from a little >superficial scratch that will be forgotten in a day. > >Is it daring to let a 3-year-old run around barefoot >all around a city, with all that can be on the ground? >Risky? Foolish? For her it's an achievement to be >proud of, we of course took cleaning materials and a >first aid kit along just in case, but fortunately >didn't need them. I think it's very educational too >and the important thing is of course not to make those >city walks too long (when you're tired you make >mistakes and that's when accidents happen). Exploring >all the ground textures is great fun to her and as >parents we're quite proud of what she's capable of, >considering most adults wouldn't consider the city a >nice place to go barefoot - she does! > >So given this experience we're totally going to do >this again in all kinds of places. When she was >younger I often went barefoot with her to experience >the same things that she does, I still do that in >parks, meadows and the like, but I now trust her to go >barefoot safely in places where I wear my shoes (also >children get away with a lot more, we weren't refused >access anywhere just because she was barefoot).

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