Would somebody please explain to me what a seven month old baby needs with shoes? He can’t walk. It’s not cold enough to worry about keeping his feet warm. He has very good-looking socks. Why on god’s green earth would I bother to put shoes on him?
“Where are his shoes?”
“Next time you come back, wear your shoes.”
“Oh you’re so cute! Where are your shoes?”
“Look at that baby! He’s got no shoes on!”
“If you really cared about that baby, you’d put shoes on it.”
WTF? 
I had a freind that had the DHS checking them out for child abuse (TOTALLY unfounded reports by an ex who hated the kid).
she got written up for not haveing shoes, on a 6 month old, could have made her lose the kid! wrote it in her file as “neglect”.
apparently shoes are somehow vitally important to wear at all times… inside… dureing the summer.
I don’t recall ever seeing a child so small wearing shoes.
My family doctor as a child told me the best possible thing you could do for a child’s feet was to let them run around barefoot as much as possible. I don’t think I even bought shoes for my kids until they started to walk, and then only put them on them when they were in danger of hurting their feet if I didn’t.
I find the fact that people feel a need to comment on that unbelievably rude.
Green Bean - you have my own personal permission to slap the next person to say something like that to you right upside their ignorant head. And then tell them I said that the next time they feel the need to pull their heads outta their asses and opine, call Bill O’Reilly - you don’t need their particular brand o’bullshit.
PS - hope you n little bean and MrBean have a WONDERFUL holiday!! 
Exactly. Tell them to mind their fucking business.
I didn’t buy shoes for milliAmp until he started walking. It just doesn’t seem vital, and if it is cold I would think thick socks or a snowsuit would suffice.
Alright heres a stretch…perhaps the mentality is getting the baby prepared for wearing them later in life. Yea i know it’s still not in the “neglect” catagory but just a thought.
It has to do with economics. If you don’t support America’s shoe companies, y’know, the terrorists will win.
My ex MUTHA-in-law had a hang-up about shoes on babies, too. Personally, I love seeing a baby stick his little Flintstone feet in his mouth and smile! Much easier to do when you’re not wearing shoes!
I was also told by various child-care manuals (this would be 1980s) that toddlers learning to walk are best served by letting them run around barefoot, or with shoes that have very soft and flexible soles, like ballet slippers, not the usual hard-soled shoe.
When my kids were infants, I solved the problem of having people ask, “But where are her shoes?” by finding a couple of pairs of crocheted baby booties that looked like shoes at a garage sale–one pair looked like little cowboy boots and the other pair looked like little tennies.
Then of course I had to deal with the problem of people looking at the teeny crocheted cowboy boots and gasping, “Oh, those are adoooooorable! Did you make those?”
Um, no…
But there is something you can tell people, Bean. Tell them, “Oh, I never use those tiny baby shoes because they just fall off and get lost.” This is true–an infant’s foot is just a round little blob, and those eensy-weensy black patent leather Mary Janes or itty-bitty boys oxfords just do NOT stay on there. After a few minutes of Baby kicking his feet, invariably one shoesie has gone bye-bye, on the floor, or in the car seat somewhere.
I don’t wear shoes inside during the summer!
“Oh, he’s always pulling his shoes off, sticking them in his diaper and pooping on them. He must have done it again. Would you get them for me while I get another diaper?”
Tell them to stick in their ear! It’s your kid and if you say they need shoes, then fine. If you want to let them go barefoot,that’s your business. Ugh.
Although…
the babies-wearing-shoes people might blame my current love of barefooting on my parents,a couple of ex-hippies, who NEVER made me wear shoes if I didn’t want to…ever.
IDBB
I saw the title and wondered if you were in my brain, Green Bean. I don’t like shoes. I also don’t care if babies have them or not - hell, my kid wore real clothes only if we were having pictures taken or something, usually he was in jumpers or sleepers.
Green Bean– It sounds like you are being stalked by schills for the American Podiatrists’ Association:
“Oh, what a little darling! Why aren’t your feet being deformed yet?”
[Las Vegas]”Baby needs a new pair of shoes!”[/Las Vegas]
LOL
IDBB
You should probably wait until your family doctor grows up and gets his medical degree before you take any of his medical advice. Listening to your doctor as a child could get you into trouble. Unless he’s Doogie Howser.
Ok, I’m done now. 
Geesh. What’s the fun of a Pit rant if everyone agrees with ya? 
I was expecting someone to come here in support for shoes for babies. Oh well, I can still wait and hope.
Nope, I’m not gonna be the one to disagree. People always want to tell you how to deal with babies (why is it they feel this is acceptable? Most people who wouldn’t dream of telling you what you’re doing wrong with an older kid won’t hesitate to tell you how you’re screwing up your baby). My oldest was born in the middle of June, and for the first 3 months of her life, practically, wore nothing but a diaper and sleeveless undershirt. How many times did I hear “Oh, that poor thing must be freezing!!”? OTOH, the few times I did dress her up, several people said things like “Oh, she’s adorable, but she must be roasting in all those clothes!” This is a good reason to listen to Ricky Nelson: You can’t please everyone, so you’ve got to please yourself!