There are only a few things in life that I despise more than watching women disfigure their feet for the sake of fashion. One of them is people who deliberately park badly so no one can park near their shiny new car and the other is parents who don’t pay attention to their children outgrowing their sneakers causing young kids to develop hammer toe.
You heard me correctly. Cases of hammer toe in children is extremely prevalent, but who would know unless you are the child of a parent who neglects to keep up with your growth spurts? It is one thing to choose to disfigure your own feet for the sake of the fashion statement you are trying to make, but it is an entirely different thing to put kids at risk for hammer toe.
Now, I can totally side with parents when their kids kick, scream and complain they need new sneakers because little Bobby at school has them and they light up. But what differentiates that temper tantrum from their actual need for better fitting sneaks?
Because I don’t have any kids of my own, I will give leeway to those parents to who don’t neglect their children, but rather don’t give in to a temper tantrum over the light-ups that cost $15 more. However, I cannot and do not tolerate parents who are neglectful to bend down once in a while and check the sneaker to toe ratio on their child.
Parents who put their kid at risk for a preventable medical condition such as hammer toe can leave a child with permanent physical and mental distress. You are not only disfiguring their ever-growing little bodies, but you are showing your child that you don’t pay enough attention to their needs. Lucky for the child, most young cases of hammer toe can mend themselves if corrected in a timely fashion. However, there are many cases where surgery is the only option to correct this unfortunate situation.
Don’t get me wrong -– I understand and know that many cases of hammer toe in children are hereditary based. But genes are not the point I am trying to make in this case. Neglect is. Genes aside, hammer toe is preventable.
I do not urge you to go out and buy your children the most expensive state of the art sneakers that create a light show for the 3rd grade, rather be mindful that children are ever-growing and well-fitting sneakers are a staple to proper growth. Don’t punish kids for growing to fast –- embrace it. You never know if they will grow up to be the next Usain Bolt or Kobe Bryant. And if they do, they will have you to thank for the "light show" in the third grade.