Today a mom asked in my online parenting group about using second hand shoes for kids. What did the other mothers think? Okay or not okay? Many budget conscious mothers spoke up to say they definitely used hand me down shoes. So first let me confess I am in love with thrift store clothes. Goodwill is where most of the items in my closet come from but second hand shoes, especially for young kids, is not a good idea. Most shoes people wear quickly develop a wear pattern to the sole and the arch begins to subtly shape to the foot of the wearer. Race horses in America start their careers way too young before their bones and joints are fully developed. Growing bones need proper alignment of joint surfaces. Even a 1/16 of an inch on the bottom surface translates up the legs into knees, hip sockets, spine and in humans head alignments. From my years in the horse world I can tell you no horseman would reuse horseshoes worn by another horse. Why? Because it is imperative to protect the
Looking down into the pelvic bowl The bottom of the photo is the pubic bone Everyone's talking about pelvic floor strength. Without it they say you are doomed to a life time of leaking, varts and falling out parts. Vaginal weight lifting is being promoted online as a way to improve your sex life and the health of your pelvic floor. And then there are the "VaGenie Martini" events selling a Kegel exercise tracking App by urging women to "exercise their inner strength". They have a fun and creative ad showing a beautiful woman supposedly cracking a walnut with her vagina. Before we go Kegeling our brains out in order to be able to shoot ping pong balls across the room we need to ask ourselves some questions. What does strength mean when it comes to the female pelvic floor? Does tightness necessarily equate to the kind of strength we need to carry a baby for 9 months, then open for birth, and finally close again during the postpartum period? Is there a r