The wide toe box is a crucial point in minimalist shoes because “Minimalist” in this context means that there are minimal effects of the shoe on how your feet move and engage with the environment. 

Wide toe box means you can spread your toes out. Wide toe box means you can concentrate on being yourself, not physically distracted by the pain in your toes. Wide toe box means when you take off your shoes, your foot still feels good because it hasn’t been squeezed into a narrow space. Wide toe box means if you want to wiggle your toes, you can. 

Imagine forcing your children to wear shoes that constrict their foot movement and potentially foot development. Children need physical play and it starts by how they are supported from the ground up. Allowing the feet to grasp the ground and spread the toes are benefits of wearing shoes with a wide toe box. 

So here are the top 5 analogies illustrating - Wide toe box to conventional toe box/narrow toe box:

1. Riding a personal Uber to your birthday party vs riding the Tokyo subway during rush hour to your coworker’s gig with your luggage pressed against your legs.
2. When you have the whole aisle at the movie theatre to yourself vs squeezing into the last available seat.
3. When you have a good hiding spot all to yourself while playing hide and seek vs squishing into a tight space under your child’s bed with your other child breathing down your neck.
4. When you have the spacious king bed all to yourself in a peaceful vacation home vs when you sleep in a twin bed shared with your youngest child in the guest room because your in-laws are in town. 
5. When you get to ride first class to Hawaii with lots of room and are free to spread out vs economy class in the middle seat.

These are all silly examples, but it paints a picture. 

Wide toe box is better for allowing feet to support active play and also to support foot growth in the most natural, healthy way. Discover our full line of wide toe box, minimalist shoes for kids.

Can you think of any analogies of your own?