Flip flops are bad for you for any number of reasons, many of which I have written about before. Of course, it is only fitting that I lead off this post with a picture of my kids new flip flops. What can you do?
(As an aside, numerous arguments along the line of the flip flop dynamic play out across the spectrums of parenting. I have been prepping my children lately about conversations twenty years from now that will begin with the question “what were you thinking when you let me behave like that?)
Flip flops are not shoes– they are a thin piece of rubber between your feet and the earth, held on to those feet in an injurious fashion (you have to constantly grip your toes to keep them on when walking).
Even though flip flops are bad for you they are easy to get on and off which I have to think is the overwhelming reason that people wear them.
I can relate. I like ease. My favorite pair of shoes for years has been Merrell’s Encore line with half of the height at the heels. They come on and off with no effort which I love, but they are still shoes that don’t force my feet to engage to keep them on.
My standard rap used to be that even though flip flops are bad for you it was fine to wear them while at the beach but that tune has changed. Shower shoes with the band across the middle that spans the whole foot are moderately better options.
Personally, I think they are both unpleasant options but that is me.
Here is the big question. Why not go barefoot? How much difference is there between a flip flop and nothing? Well, the flip flop could hurt you while walking barefoot can only make you stronger.
I am providing an infographic that I found online and a link to another one. They have interesting information but I don’t necessarily by into everything they say. Where I diverge from much anti-flip flop info is in going barefoot. Many people who tell others not to wear flip flips do so because of a lack of arch support which doesn’t bother me at all. There is no particular benefit to supporting an arch if we walk correctly.
