ARI SHAPIRO, HOST:
What is squishy, water-resistant and on kids' feet everywhere? The answer is Crocs. These clog-like shoes are a popular choice among kids and teens and even some parents. But are they bad for developing feet? NPR health correspondent Maria Godoy investigates.
MARIA GODOY, BYLINE: One, two, three.
I'm standing outside an elementary school in suburban Maryland...
Thirteen.
...Watching kids stream out at the end of the day...
Fourteen, 15, 16.
...Counting how many of them are...
Seventeen.
...Wearing Crocs.
Grown-up.
It's a lot.
Twenty-one pairs of Crocs in, like, two minutes or less.
Even as fall gets underway, kids and teens are still turning to Crocs as their footwear of choice. That includes 14-year-old high schooler Liliana Saunders.
LILIANA SAUNDERS: I'm wearing a black hoodie with black leggings and white socks with black Crocs.
GODOY: She says Crocs are her daily shoe.
LILIANA: Because they're comfortable, and I like - they're really easy and functional, especially, like, getting out of the house. And, like, it's very quick and easy.
GODOY: Dr. Pria Parthasarathy is a podiatrist in Silver Spring, Maryland, and a spokesperson for the American Podiatric Medical Association. As a mom of three, she says Crocs can be great for certain situations.
PRIA PARTHASARATHY: I say that Crocs are a godsend when you're trying to get out of the house because my 3-year-old can put them on independently, right?
GODOY: But as a podiatrist who sees many kids and teens, she's seeing issues that come from wearing Crocs all day, every day.
PARTHASARATHY: I've seen more, like, structural issues - you know, heel pain, arch pain, sometimes more hammer toes because you have to grip the shoe to keep them on, and so the toes are overworking.
GODOY: Parthasarathy is one of many podiatrists who say crocks aren't the best choice for all-day footwear for kids. She says one problem is that Crocs and their knockoffs are not particularly stable. While they do come with a heel strap, a lot of kids ignore it and wear them like slides. She says they also lack arch support, and they're not great at wicking away moisture, which can lead to blisters over time.
PARTHASARATHY: Those things combined - it doesn't make it a really good, stable form of footwear for all-day use.
GODOY: She's also seen kids with foot injuries after their Crocs slid off. Doctor Amiethab Aiyer is an orthopedic foot and ankle surgeon at Johns Hopkins. He says the problem with wearing any shoes that are a little too loose is that if you have to sort of shuffle in them when you walk, that can lead to subtle changes in your gait. And over time, these changes can take a toll on the foot, the ankle and even the rest of the body.
AMIETHAB AIYER: As silly as it might sound, you know, the foot bone connected to the ankle bone, if you will, from the nursery rhyme, so to speak. All these things are interlinked.
GODOY: We reached out to Crocs. They say they are unaware of any substantiated health complications from their products. Aiyer agrees there's not a lot of long-term data, and he's not coming for your Crocs. After all, his kids wear them, too.
AMIETHAB AIYER: Using them is great. They're comfortable, as many people describe, but they may have downstream effects if they're used - if they're the only type of shoewear that you're using.
GODOY: Ideally, kids would alternate their Crocs with other sturdier shoes, especially when running around. Podiatrist Pria Parthasarathy says that's particularly true for toddlers since they're still figuring out the whole walking thing. If kids refuse to wear anything else, Parthasarathy says keep an eye out for signs of foot discomfort, like complaints of tired or hurting feet. But as long as they seem OK, she says it's not worth fighting over Crocs.
PARTHASARATHY: Even if they wear them all day and they're not complaining of foot issues, no, it's not the worst thing in the world.
GODOY: After all, she says, parents have enough to worry about already. Maria Godoy, NPR News.
(SOUNDBITE OF A TRIBE CALLED QUEST SONG, "CAN I KICK IT?") Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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