Children’s Feet – When to see your Geelong Podiatrist

As parents, we hope that our children are able to grow to their full and healthiest potential. At Podiatry@Belmont, your Geelong podiatrists, we are able to assess and advise you in regards to any concerns or questions that you may have about your families feet.

Ossification (which is the natural process of bone hardening) is a biological process that naturally occurs in the body until age 18-20. With this in mind, it is clear that the foot is an ever changing and complex element of the body. The 26 bones that comprise a foot develop in different ways for every child, and it is this that can lead to issues within your own child’s feet. It is important that if you have any concerns to contact us and we will do all that we can to alleviate any concerns that you may have.

Young children’s feet develop in different ways even before the first attempts at walking are made, at times curly toes or overriding toes can be seen. If you think you can see this happening in your child’s feet, simple changes can be made such as:

• Different footwear
• Stability socks
• Growth suits
• Taping

It is common for a child to begin walking between 8- 18 months and during the initial stages of walking they will stand with their legs wide apart for stability.  The appearance of flat feet in a child occurs due to a number of reasons. The first being that standing with legs wide apart is the only way that a young child can find balance as they work towards being able to walk with stability. An additional factor is that during the early years of life, the foot has low muscle tone and ligament laxity, this along with a generous fat pad under the foot enhances the appearance of flat feet in young children. As your child is able to master walking or running, along with being able to balance without widespread legs, the muscles and ligaments in the foot strengthen and the fat pad becomes less pronounced.

At Podiatry@Belmont, we understand that no two feet are the same and will work with you and your child to create resolutions for any issues or concerns that you may have.

Feel free to contact us to make an appointment with our podiatry team.