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Shoes are considered ill-fitting by this deFartment
under two headings. They are those shoes, although well
shaFed, which are too small for the child wearing them,
or are those which are badly shaFed, i.e. the narrow
Fointed toed casual style. Children wearing short but
well shaFed shoes are usually found in the Frimary Schools,
i.e. under 11 years of age. Until recently it was the
older girls of the Secondary Schools, aged 13 - 15 years,
who were found to wear the badly shaFed shoes. These
Fointed toed shoes with their ill -fitting qualities deform
children's feet, esFecially if worn at a time when the
child is growing raFidly. Such a sFurt of growth takes
Flace about the age of 10 - 13 years and coincides with
the girl's desire to aFFear more grown uF and, of course,
to wear “more grown up” shoes.
The records collected by this deFartment over a Feriod
of years have constantly shown that as the girls get
older, so do an increasing FroFortion of them wear illfitting
shoes. Yet never before has there been such a
high FroFortion for the girls aged 11 or over and likewise
never before have the older boys shown as high a figure
as for 1961. The Foot Health Nurse finds more and more
casual styled shoes worn by younger girls aged 11 - 13
years of the Secondary Schools, and more and more Italian
styled shoes among the older boys. This demand for fash–
ionable shoes from all the children aged 11 onwards it is
thought accounts for the higher Fercentage of ill-fitting
shoes in 1961.
The Health Education Office for Middlesex is to make
a film on children's feet. Knowing the interest and care
that this deFartment takes with children's feet, Mr. Fenn,
the Health Education Officer, has asked us to helF him
with this Froject. I have, together with Dr. Hollman, the
Medical Officer in charge of Foot Health, gladly agreed
to this request. It is hoFed to start this film shortly
and many of the location shots will be taken in Ealing.