Is Wood Flooring Harmful to Baby Feet?

That sounds like hogwash to me - we have all ceramic tile floors throughout our house because carpet can harbor so many unhealthy things (dust, mites, mold) and you don't want your baby's face (or your pet's) near that, breathing it all the time, just for the sake of padding under the feet. Doctors don't tell you that - they just want you to keep bringing the kid sick with respiratory problems in for treatment meds. The medical industry is very corrupt and trusting doctors is risky. If you are really concerned about developing feet get good supportive, well-fitting shoes for the child, and you can use area rugs that can be regularly washed or taken outside and beaten (or vacuumed with a HEPA filter) for your "traffic" and living areas - or in the kids' room(s) - but my opinion about flooring is the easier it is to keep clean the healthier environment you are creating - for everyone.

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Craziness is all that is! My babies did fine on concrete, linolium and wood laminate flooring from birth to age 7!
I don't think, though, that you should keep shoes on their feet. That's going to lead to problems, either in the growth of the foot or their sensory perception. Keep them barefoot and fancy free :)

Hi L.,

We have wood laminate and it is definitely harder on the feet and joints than carpet, but I personally do not believe that it will hurt the development of your son or daugther's feet. I was worried that my son wouldn't crawl or move around because of the hard floors, but he does just fine. You might try placing some area rugs throughout the house so there are soft places for them to play. We also found that wearing slippers around the house seems to help, too. Carpet wasn't always a popular option for flooring....most of the older homes have hardwood floors underneath the carpet!

i would think that wood floors would be better for kids. it is easier to walk on because there is no drag especially for first time walkers. it is more sanitary than carpet. no matter how much you vacuum there is always junk on the bottom. i thought our carpets were spotless . i steam cleaned once a month and vacuumed daily but when they otre otu the carpet to install the laminate i was soembarrassed. the floor installers told me that iw very common. also there are the allergy things , carpets hang on to all kinds of stuf. i f you are still worried, talk to yoru pediatrician. a lot of things get lost in translation especially after the third or fourth time being told. monitor you kids and see how they feel. just because it happened to one kid doesnt mean it will happen to all of them. i never put shoes on my kids when they were small because their little feet need room to grow and develop. i tend to think that these days parents are putting shoes on their babies because they are cute and it ruins their feet. maybe that si what is wrong with that other kid. my grandson wears socks around the house the kind with rubber letters on the bottom to prevent slipping , only because i dont want his feet to get cold. regualr socks make him slip. we only wear shoes when he is going outside but if we are itn the sandbox we both take our shoes off. he has very tough feet and often walks in the dirt and grass with no shoes but it is cold where we live so hehas to wear shoes. in the summer we go barefoot al over the place. alos laminate floors are not that hard . if you watch them install it, there is a foam underlay that gives quite a bit. the floor has to be installed with a 1/4 inch aroudn the edeges so that it will "give". its jsut common sense but maybe some peopel including the pediatrician he saw dont have much of it. i am a nruse and i have seen so many times where doctors dont make good decisions and sometimes just tell pateints what they want to hear of the easiest answer regardless of any studies being done to prove things.

?????!

My son did just fine on our wood laminate flooring! Oh sure tile (which is harder than wood) or wood flooring is harder on their little noggins if they fall down on it instead of carpet but feet?

If you're worried, then get good shoes (like Stride-Rite) and wear socks. (I loved Old Navy's socks with the sizes "written" on the bottom in non-slip material - they didnt slide off like other socks and I didn't worry about him slipping on our wood floors.)

I hear that flip-flops are AWFUL for feet, but look how many are worn everyday anyhow! I dont think wood flooring does as much or more damage than flipflops do!

I am sorry but that is the most rediculous thing I have ever heard. If you are worried about it though, get your son a good pair of shoes to wear around the house.

Hi L., the house we are currently renting has saltillo tiles, concrete and hardwood floors throughout the house...no carpet at all. My kids are older so I don't know if/how that can affect their feet or walking development, but I can tell you that the hardness of the floor does cause foot pain. It's happened with all of us. We now wear shoes in the house and MINIMUM the kids wear socks. So this probably didn't help, but wanted to share that I have noticed a difference in my feet hurting since we don't have carpet anymore. Put shoes and/or sock on him, maybe that will help! Good luck!!!

I have had infants and toddlers learn to walk on tile, saltillo tile, hard wood and laminate. No experience like that at all.

Forgive me if i am wrong, laminate flooring is installed with a cushioning (foam sheeting) layer if installed correctly so it actually is "bouncy" a little thus great on the legs and feet. Tile floor, though easy to maintain is definately hard and feet/legs get tired quicker (and hurts when you hit your head on it! So...no socks in the house unless shoes are on the feet.

Hi L.,
As an OT, I can't say I've ever heard of this being a problem for most kids. Maybe your husband's friend's son is a special case for some reason (???)

A hard surface would be uncomfortable to anyone, in general, but not necessarily to the point of affecting a baby's development of walking skills.

My second baby just started walking in Oct, and I encourage him to walk barefoot on a variety of surfaces (for several reasons, but that's another story), including our tile and laminate floors.

Cheers, and happy pregnancy :))
T

That sounds pretty ridiculous to me. A quick search on the internet didn't come up with anything remotely close to that either. It sounds like the pediatrician is over reacting (as if we don't have enough to worry about!) or there is more to the story then just the floors. I imagine this must be related to just a hard surface on a soft foot. If your concerned just put down a few area rugs for your little one. You can get them pretty cheap at WalMart or Target. :)

I have tile floors and have not had any problems, but I also have an are for my daughter that is padded that she has the option to play on. She mixes with the tile floor, the padded area and she has a table that is her size with chairs and she sits on the couch. I also keep shoes on her when she is awake.

Hi L.,

I suppose all the people in developing nations around the world all have crippled feet (and we just have not heard about this enormous tragedy for some reason )because they can't afford cushy floors for their little toddlers. The doc is well-meaning, but not really thinking his answer through.
Now, I agree that it is very helpful for a young child to walk on a VARIETY of surfaces...textured and not always flat, for excellent physical development, but hard floors by themselves should not be a big issue.
Maybe a podiatrist is in order, to make sure there are not bone problems or something not readily seen. An experiment is easily done..if the child walks on carpet all day (with the usual padding) and still has feet that hurt, something unusual is up.

We have hardwood flooring & tile throughout our home & have neever heard of anything like that. I know it roughs there knee's when crawling but we just put little knee covers on them.. Good Luck