She Won't Keep Her Socks On

Alot of babies won't keep socks on. My advice would be, dont' worry about it, as long as she's walking inside the house, leave them off. If you are going outside put on shoes. If you are really concerned about it, just put shoes over the socks. Then they won't come off. I'm not a big proponent of shoes for kids until they are walking regularly outside as they get a lot of feedback from bare feet on the floor which helps their balance development. As long as her feet aren't freezing, I wouldn't be concerned.

If she wants them off, there's not much you can do! Make sure the house is warm, she doesn't really need them yet. I think walking barefoot is the best way to learn.

Nope E., I have no advice. I had the same problem. Spent several years putting socks and shoes back on over and over. Every time we where out in the car. Shoes off! Hang in there eventually she'll learn how to put the shoes back on and then she may decide the effort to put them back on isn't worth the freedom of loose toes! Buy shoes that pull on or have velcro closures; saves a lot of time.

J. L.

Ha! I agree with the others. There's really nothing you can do to keep them on. She's a free spirit! My daughter and I did the on/off dance for almost her entire first year. In fact, at 2 1/2 she still sheds them when she's in the car. Sigh.

Why do you need them on? For beginning walkers, it's much better for them to walk barefoot anyway--their foot muscles develop properly and they can balance better when the whole foot is in contact with the walking surface.

The only reason to have socks or shoes on is to keep their feet warm or to protect them from dangerous surfaces. Otherwise, just wash them off at the end of the day.

So my advice is to limit the struggle to the times when you really need to get her feet covered. You don't need more power struggles!