SHOES

It seems my children's growing feet are ready for new shoes faster than I need a new haircut. Currently Mckay's shoe of choice is a tan pair of Crocs. These shoes go everywhere with him, including church. At great expense his parents have purchased him nice Sunday shoes, as well as comfortable tennis shoes, but even in the winter weather, his Crocs are the favorite. Like his sister, Mckay likes to put his shoes on all by himself. And like his sister, they usually end up on the wrong foot. This continues to amaze me.

I am not one for mathematics or statistics, however even in my limited mathematics understanding, I know that when my son or daughter picks up a shoe, there are only two possibilities-Right Foot, or Left Foot. This would lead me to believe that each time one of my children picks up a shoe they have a 50-50 percent chance of getting it right. Averaged over weeks and months, they should be getting it right about half of the time, yet they are not.

I don't think my children are merely less intelligent than the average child, but in speaking with other parents with young children, this is a statistical epidemic that has plagued the lives of young children everywhere. If Las Vegas had a game where gamblers had to place bets on whether the child would get the left shoe on the left foot, I think the House would always win.


I have drawn some conclusions with my own children, only to have them proved wrong. One for example: Mckay gets it wrong because he always picks up a shoe and places it on his right foot first. He must, therefore, always pick up the left shoe first? Wrong. I have even placed both shoes in front of him with the appropriate shoe in front of each foot. He will reach down and pick up the right shoe and place it on his left foot.


His sister is no different. I have even gone so far to purchase shoes for her where the top strap attaches opposite the arch of her foot. I would then remind her. "When your feet are together, the strap goes on the outside edge, and not the inside edge." Result? No change. My ultimate conclusion-It doesn't matter the type of shoe, or the age of the child, putting shoes on the correct foot will always defy statistical probability. I guess I will live with it.