Orthotics & a 5 Yr Old

Children that age are more accepting of kids who are diferent than you think. A friend of mine has a child with a genetic skin disorder that requires her arms and legs to be constantly wrapped in bandages to prevent injury. Wen she starts a new school, he explains her condition to her teachers, and kids ask her why she has those bandages, she tells them, and it's all good.
As for damaging her mentally, there's no reason it should, nor is there any reason fo her to fel guilty about it. I certainly wouldn't tell her "We have to do this because you walked on tiptoe when you were a baby and damaged your feet." That would make her feel as though she had done somethng wrong. I'd simply tell her "Your feet don't want to work in the right direction, and this will teach them how." There's no reason to go into med school physiological detail as to why. If she asks why, just tell her that sometimes parts of people's bodies need help learning to work properly. At five, that's probably about all the explanation she can digest.

Hello, T.! Don't worry! My sister in law had to wear braces on her legs for the same reason. She always walked on her tippy toes! The braces came up to her calves. They helped to stretch the ligament or tendon or whatever it was that didn't grow properly. This happened around kindergarden age and she's around 19 now and she's fine. She does say that once in a while she catches herself on her toes and has to remind herself to put her whole foot down. She's a wonderful sister and she recently married a really great guy. Don't worry about it, she'll be fine too! Maybe she can be a ballerina when she grows up, we used to tell my sister that but she wasn't into dancing. LOL She just wants to be a SAHM like me. When you talk to her about it just be very matter of fact and let her know that it's only temporary, she won't have to wear them forever! Just like someone who has to wear braces on thier teeth!

I am 27 and have walked on my toes all my life. I have no arch left and am beginning to have knee and hip problems along with the weak ankles I have always had. My parents took me to a pediatrist when I was about your daughter's age, but didn't follow through with the treatment. Kids will have kindergaten traumas there is nothing you can do about that. You can try to protect her from it, but a lifetime of leg trouble is what you get in return. I was teased, it sucked, but I got over it. That said I would talk to another doctor, get a different opinion. New Balance makes specific tennis shoes to deal with collapsed arches. There are inserts and special shoes that you can get without going down the leg brace route.
As to explaining it to your daughter, she probably won't be happy about it. All you can say is that its a temporary thing. With a child that young they have difficulty understanding temporal relationships so get a calandar that shows her when they will come off and cross off the days with her or use gold stars. As long as she can understand there is a goal and she is getting closer she will be able to deal with it much better. Good luck, and if I can help answer any more questions please feel free to send me a direct message.

I would suggest looking into Physical Therapy. I work at a child care center. We also have a pediatric therapy center. I have seen many children come through with this issue. I am not a therapist so I can't say for certain that they could help, but it wouldn't hurt to try.