Flip-flops might help kids’ feet
The results indicate that thongs are not necessarily bad for children's development and in could in fact be better than other shoes. Image: 101cats/iStockphoto Australia's favourite footwear is under the spotlight, with a new world-first study from the University of Sydney indicating thongs may not be as bad for children's feet as their reputation suggests.Angus Chard, from the University's Footwear Research Group within the Faculty of Health Sciences, examined the motions of children walking and jogging in thongs and found their foot and ankle motion to be more similar to bare foot motion than other shoes.The results, presented yesterday at the International Foot and Ankle Biomechanics (i-FAB) Conference at the University of Sydney, indicate thongs are not necessarily bad for children's development and could in fact be better than other shoes."There's a lot of anecdotal opinion that thongs are bad for children's feet, but contrary to that we've found that walking and...