A mum who chooses not to wear shoes and allows her children to go barefoot insists it's not "dirty" and believes "shoes are a social construct". Brittany Balinski, 35, claims she has gone barefoot throughout her entire life and maintains that footwear is "unnatural" and "unsafe".

She says it causes wearers to get posture and sensory problems. She says her four children - aged nine, seven, five, and three - have "rejected" shoes, and now join family woodland walks without footwear.

They even pop into KFC for a meal whilst barefoot. Her husband, who had always favoured the concept, felt more confident in his barefoot lifestyle with Brittany's support, and now the pair walk without shoes together.

Brittany Balinski taking her kids to KFC with no shoes on(Image: Brittany Balinski / SWNS)

Brittany also maintains that youngsters instinctively resist wearing shoes, owing to their powerful understanding of what benefits them. The content creator from North Warwickshire insists she is a "very normal person, who tends to like walking without shoes", and that people rarely give her barefoot lifestyle a second glance.

She reveals she frequently drives without footwear, and often leaves home without considering whether she's wearing shoes or not. When Brittany does wear footwear, she opts for barefoot shoes - a style of flat footwear designed to replicate the natural foot shape, whilst maintaining ground sensation.

Brittany said: "I started going barefoot the day I was born, humans come out of the womb without shoes, we all started barefoot. Shoes aren't naturally shaped like your foot - which makes no sense to me.

Brittany Balinski on a train station platform(Image: Brittany Balinski© SWNS)

"You wouldn't have a cone on your head as a helmet - and you wouldn't put on mittens if you were doing something intricate - it just doesn't make sense. So why put shoes on?

"I don't wear them when we are out. I go on walks with the family around our town and into the woods, people look down at my feet - yes - but they then smile as if they respect it."

Brittany has no concerns about her children treading on sharp objects while barefoot. She explained: "No, I don't worry, that's what skin is for.

Brittany Balinski outside Euston Station(Image: Brittany Balinski© SWNS)

"People don't worry about dogs feet. We all have a risk assessment.

"What I have noticed online is there is a really indoctrinated fear of sharp things - and that sharp things mean death. I don't think my children are going to die [if they get some sharp in their foot].

"It's a non-issue. People think shoes are a necessity but actually they are an accessory."

Brittany maintains that going barefoot helps preserve better posture, as footwear displaces your toes, leading to an altered walking pattern. She said: "If you walk barefoot, you can move easier.

Brittany Balinski in a shop(Image: Brittany Balinski© SWNS)

"We ignore our needs as women when it comes to shoes as we are shoving our feet into shoes that make our feet smaller, because small feet being attractive is a social construct.

"Shoes are shaped nothing like your feet, the way your body moves changes drastically even with the smallest heel rise." Brittainy also highlights that we're lacking "ground feedback", where the nerve endings in our feet interpret information about the surfaces they tread on.

She explained: "Shoes have hard rubber soles and people's feet are unable to detect senses. There are so many nerve endings in our feet and when we cover them with card and foam footwear we desensitise the feeling between the floor and our feet."

She further suggests that children resist wearing shoes as they're exploring their senses. Brittany stated: "So many people's children don't like wearing shoes and it is no wonder - they are crying out to feel from their hands and feet because that is how they make sense of the world.

"They also change the child's feet into all different ways - it is unnatural. My children and I do not wear shoes out of choice, and if we do we wear barefoot shoes - and people online say it's dirty.

"There is literally no difference between my shoes and my feet. I wash my feet far more than anyone washes shoes. In the height of August you see people in sandals and flip flops - you can see 90% of the soles of their feet - how does that make mine gross?

"I could wear a piece of yarn around my toe and no one would notice that I am barefoot so how is that an issue. I have never been one to care about it - you have to not care - walking barefoot is a thing of self confidence."