Barbara Bredell-Searle
“The human foot is a masterpiece of engineering and a work of art” – Leonardo da Vinci
What do you think about the above quote from Leonardo da Vinci? Well, I never thought of my foot/feet as a work of art when I was younger. During my younger years, I pounded my bare feet to the ground as I ran outside with my sister and cousins playing hide and seek or other games. As I got a bit older, I tried a lot of times to squeeze my size 10 feet into smaller size shoes because the shoes were so cute or on sale. However, now that I am older and a bit wiser, I can relate to the above quote.
As educators we are constantly on our feet from the time our shift begins each day. This does not include what we do after work hours. However, as a Program Quality Assessor, I have seen family child providers, teaching staff, administrators, and support staff on their feet constantly in their programs. I never realized how many steps that we can take in one day until I started researching on how I can take care of “my dear ole feet.” According to Dr. Scholl’s, “Most people take an average of around 6,000 steps per day which translate to over 2 million steps in a year. With each step, you may be placing 1-1.5 times your body weight on your feet.” Ouch! No wonder my feet hurt.
When we work with children, we are standing, walking, running, climbing and that is just the basic of what we are doing with our feet. Caring for your feet is essential, below are some suggestions from How to Keep Your Feet Healthy (webmd.com) that you can dip your feet into…
- Check them daily for cuts, sores, swelling and infected toenails.
- Give them a good cleaning in warm water but avoid soaking them because that may dry them out.
- Moisturize them every day with lotion, cream or petroleum jelly. Don’t put moisturizer between your toes. You want to keep the skin there dry to prevent infection.
- Avoid wearing tight fitting shoes. Your shoes should not hurt your feet.
- Skip the flip-plops and flats. They typically do not provide enough arch support.
- Rotate your shoes so you are not wearing the same pair every day.
- Trim you toenails straight across with a nail clipper. Then use an emery board or a nail file to smooth the corners, which will prevent the nail from growing into your skin.
Please note: If you are having serious issues with your feet, contact your primary care physician or your podiatrist so that you can receive professional medical attention.
Take care of those feet ladies and gentlemen and remember: “The human foot is a masterpiece of engineering and a work of art.”
