<p>Love the Manolo.</p>
<p>So much misinformation in this thread along with seemingly good advice. Indians live in flip flops in the city without problems as I found out when I objected to my H wearing his on a trail because the noise was driving me crazy on my nature walk (I had switched to walking shoes after sitting around while he did not). Who cares about others’ ideas of fashion or any fashion police? You don’t need foot support- there’s a recent book out about a tribe of Mexican ultramarathoners who run the trails barefoot! I dislike the strap between the toes and so choose sandals without one. They certainly can’t be any worse than high heels considered appropriate for big cities- talk about gait distortion and zero practicality.</p>
<p>wis75, I agree about barefoot walking , but flip-flops =/= barefoot. Wearing flip-flops is much worse for your feet than walking barefoot (just like wearing any flat shoe without appropriate arch support). When you walk in flip-flops, your gait changes so the darn shower shoes don’t fall off as you walk. I wouldn’t walk barefoot in NYC or any other big city though (excessive human density = high concentration of pathogens), but I regularly walk barefoot in my backyard. And wearing high heels every day all day long… I just don’t get it.</p>
<p>^Rainbows now come in “double arch” style, which (I’ve heard, I don’t have a pair yet) are much more supportive.</p>
<p>I think a good pair of flip-flops (such as Rainbows) are the most comfortable shoes ever. The funniest thing I’ve ever seen is my group of friends after the summer, lined up one next to the other, with rainbow sandal tan lines on every single foot.</p>
<p>Pizzagirl - picture this…the backyard slide hasn’t been used for weeks, kid slides down full body flat, kid comes into my house rolls around on a sofa/carpet, and my kids like to put their face down on a sofa or carpet when they are watching TV. That’s why I have them strip down in the laundry room before they come in the house.</p>
<p>I have asked service people to either take off their shoes or wear surgical booty when they come in my house. Sometimes they won’t/can’t due to regulations.</p>
<p>I know it may be over the top, but my kids were generally healthy growing up with very few infections (pink eyes included). The down side was when D1 went to college, she was sick more than usual.</p>
<p>Love these: [FITFLOP</a> ? The Official Site](<a href=“http://www.fitflop.com/]FITFLOP”>http://www.fitflop.com/)</p>
<p>I used to wear flip flops all the time in my younger years and then switched to fit flops. They are much better. But, I can’t wear either anymore since I developed severe plantar fasciitis- sometimes known as heel spurs. Pain, Pain, pain. Now I can only wear supportive (usually closed toes shoes) that accomodate orthotics. Now all the shoes I wear must be ugly in order to provide the support needed from a lifetime of foot abuse.</p>
<p>As one who used to go barefoot in the barn (and just about every where else) in my much younger days; I think flip flops in the city is gross and dangerous.
I would think you would want to scrub the toesies good before bedtime.</p>
<p>I was never a big flip flop fan (prefer sandals with straps) until I bought a pair of those padded Adidas ones this summer. I am hooked. They are like walking on a cloud, but I wouldn’t wear them in the city.</p>
<p>Pipmom, try MBT shoes/sandals for the plantar fasciitis. They work wonders. Except, yeah, they are pretty ugly…</p>
<p>I wear sandals as LONG in the year as I can. The ones I buy are quite supportive…and I love them. I’m also quite sure they don’t cover or protect my feet any better than a pair of flip flops. Rainbows ARE quite nice…easier to find on the west coast, however.</p>
<p>I think there is a big difference between wearing flipflops (or going barefoot) on sand or grass, and wearing them all day on hard pavement. I think it’s bad for your feet. Perhaps it doesn’t matter if you don’t walk all that much.</p>
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<p>Oh. You’re talking about a one-time type of occurrence. I thought you meant that every time your kids or their friends played in the backyard, they had to strip down in the laundry room and you washed the friends’ clothes. Never mind, then. Carry on.</p>
<p>The flip-flops I wear all the time aren’t the 99 cent drugstore ones - I wear high quality ones with a near unbreakable strap, arch support, and tread on the bottom and a texturized surface for the foot to sit on. I can easily climb around mountain trails, etc. with them. But even though the flip-flop is safer from a structural and support perspective, just as much of the foot is exposed but even though it’s exposed, it’s not like the skin is directly contacting the ground anyway.</p>
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If someone did this to my kid without getting my permission first (and I wouldn’t grant it) it’d be the last time I’d let them go over to that house.</p>
<p>Pathogens, shmathogens.</p>
<p>In NYC, a good reason not to wear flip-flops IMHO is because on the subways at rush-hour, it’s SRO (standing room only). Someone can crunch down on your foot bones with a Bruno Magli or Rockport. You’ll spend the rest of the summer in a plaster cast and crutches. THEN you’ll get staph.</p>
<p>I also see young men wince in pain when the women’s stiletto heels miss their mark and give them eleven, not ten, toes.</p>
<p>Ouch. Wear shoes in NYC.</p>
<p>I never thought about encouraging my daughter not to wear flip flops because of germs - although it makes sense I guess. I am always nagging her about them because they are so bad for feet and legs and backs. She already has iffy knees and I’m sure the flip flops don’t help. I have read that heel problems are rampant in the flip flop generation too.</p>
<p>uscs dad - it’s a good thing our kids are not friends. I have cleaned up someone else kids vomit and washed their clothes in my house. The only way I knew how to do that was to strip them down. Maybe I should also call the parents to come over my house to clean them, better yet, send them home with their dirty clothes.</p>
<p>Flip-flops are great for long distance running!</p>
<p>[Life:</a> Catching up with the Flip-Flop Man](<a href=“http://www.sptimes.com/2007/10/04/Life/Catching_up_with_the_.shtml]Life:”>http://www.sptimes.com/2007/10/04/Life/Catching_up_with_the_.shtml)</p>
<p>oldfort - I responded to your original post on the cleaning - you portrayed it as if it was a matter of routine and even made a self-derecating comment. I wasn’t there though so of course I don’t know the details or your relationship with the person. I just took the post on its face.</p>
<p>But this is derailing from the topic of flip-flop bugs.</p>
<p>I don’t think any of us are questioning whether it is reasonable to clean up a kid who needs cleaning… but to “strip them down” seems extreme, especially without parental permission. </p>
<p>I have certainly handed kids a pair of sweat pants and a t-shirt and directed them toward a shower–hardly the same thing as forcing them to strip in the laundry room before entering the house.</p>