Why You Shouldn’t Let Your Pre-teen Wear Heels
You might have spotted your little girl stepping into your stilettos trying to walk in them, perhaps mimicking your walking style. As funny as it seems even from picturing it in your mind, it is not an unusual occurrence. As a matter of fact, pre-teen girls start admiring adult fashion while still pretty young, and some parents tend to allow them to get and wear what they want.
According to a past CBS publication, Diana Points says that parents should wait until their little girls are at least 12 or get into teenagehood. So, is your tween daughter or relative insisting on wearing heels?
These reasons might convince you to make them wait a little longer.
Safety Issues
For starters, walking in high heels has an impact on the wearer’s balance, especially for someone who is just getting started – your little girl in this case! Reduced balance also means reduced stability, because she will be mostly walking using the ball of the foot. As a result, the toes tend to grasp and crunch on the ground, which could cause the plantar fascia and Achilles tendon to shorten.
Over time, this could lead to knee pain, toe-curling, joint pain, and lower back pain. Bunion deformities and hammertoes are a possibility as well, not forgetting that reduced balance also means a heightened risk of injuries from falls. While all these safety concerns may also apply to adults, the risks are by far higher on tweens who wear heels.
Physical Development
As your little girl is approaching her teenage years, her growth is rapid. However, wearing heels often can tamper with the growth process, especially in her legs as well as the spine. Walking comfortably in high heels is hard for most adults, never mind a developing child. If she starts experiencing some of the problems associated with wearing high heels at her age, her physical development might be tampered with in a potentially irreversible way.
The Sexualization Issue
Some schools of thought also suggest that high heels are somewhat immoral. While your tween may look cute in them, some people consider it inappropriate, with some even citing it as the sexualization of children. Well, this is mostly a matter of perception, but you cannot rule out the possibility.
Alternatives to High Heels for Preteens
As you may already know, tweens can be really stubborn and persistent at getting what they want. This is more so for things they see with their friends, peers, or role models via the media. If you’re a parent to a preteen girl who insists they want heels, it is overly crucial to educate them about the risks they face by wearing them.
You could also present them with safer alternatives of fashionable shoes that are still cool and trendy, such as wedges. There are lots of options online, and the Golden Goose collection could be a great place to start if your little girl would rather go for some really trendy sneakers.
The main idea is to pick comfortable shoes that distribute weight properly to avoid balance and stability problems alongside the other health issues mentioned above.
We’ve all seen kids wearing adult shoes, especially pre-teenage girls. As long as they’re comfortable and don’t cause health issues, it might be okay to let your tween wear them every once in a while. However, heels should particularly be avoided to protect your tween, and some of the reasons are mentioned above.
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