My husband and I have recently signed our daughter up to soccer. She’d been saying for months that she wanted to try a sport, since she was old enough now and all her friends were doing one. We sat down one night and went through a list with her, showing her videos of all the different types of sports she could do in our area. I really thought gymnastics was going to be picked, but in the end she chose soccer after talking to our local foot specialist. Cheltenham has a number of podiatry clinics, but we made friends with one a couple of years ago when my daughter was just learning to walk. She’s always had weirdly-shaped feet, but it wasn’t until she actually began taking her first steps that I realised they are quite flat.
I’ve struggled with flat feet all my life, so I know how difficult it can be to play sports when they are flaring up. I had to get orthotics in my teenage years. I am wary of committing to any foot surgeries, or even just more minor insoles until my daughter’s feet have grown to their full size. However, after speaking to the podiatrist I learned that it actually might be beneficial to get the problem seen to as soon as possible. I am going to buy her the best children’s orthotics Cheltenham has to offer. That way, when she is playing soccer and running around on the field, she’ll get used to the idea of wearing insoles, and her feet might correct themselves naturally.
If not, then at least we are making some sort of progress. Obviously, since my daughter is so young, she will only be playing sport at a really low level. It won’t be very intense. But I still want to ensure her feet receive the care they deserve, as she could become a really talented player and I don’t want to ruin that for her if she wants to go to a higher level.