Twinkle Toe Shoes cause epileptic seizures?

[onescgirl]

This is our 1st week back to school (5th grade)
I received a phone call yesterday from our school nurse asking me to bring another pair of shoes to school for my daughter because there was a complaint about her Twinkle Toe Shoes bothering them.
She said the lights on her shoes could cause migraines or epileptic seizures in a a child that has epilepsy.
I said, I wish I knew that before I bought them. These are the shoes that my daughter wanted for the new school year.
I told the nurse that I don't want to put any child in harm. Was the complaint legit from someone in her class or is it just a child passing her walking down the hallway. Because in a lighted area, you only notice the lights if you're looking at her feet. I couldn't understand if a child is just passing her to just look ahead & not at her feet.
The nurse said she couldn't give how the complaint came about or any information.
I have a hard time imagining another child complaining about lights on a shoe. But, then, I don't know much about migraines or epilepsy. I'm wondering if it was bothering the teacher or parent & not child?
My question is, do any of you have children that this would bother or know someone that it would.
I'm trying to figure out if it could be legit.

Here is the picture of her shoes if you don't know what Twinkle Toe shoes are. They are the "it" shoes for girls this year. I took this picture on my kids 1st day of school. They have lights on them that flash when walking.

 

[cabanafrau]

Incredible as it may seem, flashing lights can trigger seizures in those with disorders.

A boy in the group I was chaperoning on a field trip had a seizure on the bus back a few years ago. I was so shaken by what happened & how ignorant I was, I learned some facts about seizure disorders.

I feel your pain about the $, but trust me, replace the shoes & thank your lucky stars you're not dealing w/ the seizures.

 

[ccgirl]

Warning- this is a vent!

This is our 1st week back to school (5th grade)
I received a phone call yesterday from our school nurse asking me to bring another pair of shoes to school for my daughter because there was a complaint about her Twinkle Toe Shoes bothering them.
She said the lights on her shoes could cause migraines or epileptic seizures in a a child that has epilepsy.
I said, I wish I knew that before I bought them. These are the shoes that my daughter wanted for the new school year & they cost $43.
The more I thought about it, the more upset I was because she's worn them several times, I don't have my receipt to return them, and I now have to buy a new pair of shoes.
I told the nurse that I don't want to put any child in harm. Was the complaint legit from someone in her class or is it just a child passing her walking down the hallway. Because in a lighted area, you only notice the lights if you're looking at her feet. I couldn't understand if a child is just passing her to just look ahead & not at her feet.
The nurse said she couldn't give how the complaint came about or any information.
I have a hard time imagining another child complaining about lights on a shoe. But, then, I don't know much about migraines or epilepsy. I'm wondering if it was bothering the teacher & not child?
My question is, do any of you have children that this would bother or know someone that it would.
I'm trying to figure out if it could be legit & I need to be more compassionate instead of mad that I have to go spend more $ on shoes.

Here is the picture of her shoes if you don't know what Twinkle Toe shoes are. They are the "it" shoes for girls this year. I took this picture on my kids 1st day of school. They have lights on them that flash when walking.

Boy am I glad my DD's school has uniforms and we don't have to go through this. As the nurse indicated, she cannot give specifics of how the compaint came in. The flashing lights can, indeed, cause issues with someone with epilepsy. I would buy her a pair of new shoes and not be mad. Sorry you have to go through this!

 

[Familyof4lovesDW]

Warning- this is a vent!

This is our 1st week back to school (5th grade)
I received a phone call yesterday from our school nurse asking me to bring another pair of shoes to school for my daughter because there was a complaint about her Twinkle Toe Shoes bothering them.
She said the lights on her shoes could cause migraines or epileptic seizures in a a child that has epilepsy.
I said, I wish I knew that before I bought them. These are the shoes that my daughter wanted for the new school year & they cost $43.
The more I thought about it, the more upset I was because she's worn them several times, I don't have my receipt to return them, and I now have to buy a new pair of shoes.
I told the nurse that I don't want to put any child in harm. Was the complaint legit from someone in her class or is it just a child passing her walking down the hallway. Because in a lighted area, you only notice the lights if you're looking at her feet. I couldn't understand if a child is just passing her to just look ahead & not at her feet.
The nurse said she couldn't give how the complaint came about or any information.
I have a hard time imagining another child complaining about lights on a shoe. But, then, I don't know much about migraines or epilepsy. I'm wondering if it was bothering the teacher & not child?
My question is, do any of you have children that this would bother or know someone that it would.
I'm trying to figure out if it could be legit & I need to be more compassionate instead of mad that I have to go spend more $ on shoes.

Here is the picture of her shoes if you don't know what Twinkle Toe shoes are. They are the "it" shoes for girls this year. I took this picture on my kids 1st day of school. They have lights on them that flash when walking.

Wow! That is a new one! So are they just excluding your daughter, or everyone with twinkle toes or everyone with light up shoes? Technically, it should be all light up shoes if it is the flashing lights. Or is someone jealous their parent would not buy them so they complained.

Look at the student handbook, are shoes with lights listed as something against dress code? If not I say she can wear them.

I would ask her if any of her friends have those shoes and talk to their parents to see if anything was said to them.

I would be mad, too. Those shoes are expensive. I would do more investigating before I bought new shoes.

FWIW I know several kids wear them to school around here.

 

[disykat]

Even without the seizure issue, is it surprising to you that flashing lights on shoes could be a distraction?

 

[Mouse House Mama]

Flashing lights can cause seizures but imo twinkle toes will not. The kids are not sitting in the dark staring at the shoes. During the day you can barely tell that they are lighting up. The flashing lights of say a strobe light are more like what can cause a seizure. Maybe I am terrible but there is no way I would have brought another pair of shoes to school and I certainly wouldn't go out and buy a new pair of sneakers. That's because I don't sincerely think this is a problem at all. I think this is just snowflake/nutso parent issues.

 

[Mouse House Mama]

Even without the seizure issue, is it surprising to you that flashing lights on shoes could be a distraction?

Everything is a distraction to kids. You could send them to school in a burlap bag and they would be distracted.

 

[cabanafrau]

Wow! That is a new one! So are they just excluding your daughter, or everyone with twinkle toes or everyone with light up shoes? Technically, it should be all light up shoes if it is the flashing lights. Or is someone jealous their parent would not buy them so they complained.

Look at the student handbook, are shoes with lights listed as something against dress code? If not I say she can wear them.

I would ask her if any of her friends have those shoes and talk to their parents to see if anything was said to them.

I would be mad, too. Those shoes are expensive. I would do more investigating before I bought new shoes.

FWIW I know several kids wear them to school around here.

Really, just because the school may not have been quick enough on the trigger to specifically ban them in the dresscode it's just too bad for those who might have a legitimate medical disorder?

I get the OP's annoyance & I might have felt the same way a few years ago. I still feel sick when I think about what happened on that field trip & I am so thankful something made me realize that boy was in trouble, because I truly had no idea what a seizure might actually look like.

 

[MushyMushy]

Light up shoes have been in for years, but this is the first I'm hearing that anyone has had a problem with them.

But I will say that I've had several instances of finding out too late that my kids' shoes are not "gym appropriate" or that a skirt is too short (despite being perfectly within the handbook guidelines ).

 

[onescgirl]

Wow! That is a new one! So are they just excluding your daughter, or everyone with twinkle toes or everyone with light up shoes? Technically, it should be all light up shoes if it is the flashing lights. Or is someone jealous their parent would not buy them so they complained.

Look at the student handbook, are shoes with lights listed as something against dress code? If not I say she can wear them.

I would ask her if any of her friends have those shoes and talk to their parents to see if anything was said to them.

I would be mad, too. Those shoes are expensive. I would do more investigating before I bought new shoes.

FWIW I know several kids wear them to school around here.

It is not against school policy about light-up shoes. I'm interested to see if other's were notified about the shoes. There were other kids at school wearing them. I asked my daughter to see if they were wearing them today.
Again, if it's a legit problem with a kid in her classroom (& just not a child in the school that's not in her class) I understand more. Part of me tells myself to get over it, the other part of me wants to make an appt w/ Vice Principle & find out if it's legit or just a overprotective parent of a child that is not in my daughter's class.

Even without the seizure issue, is it surprising to you that flashing lights on shoes could be a distraction?

No, I don't think flashing lights on shoes would be a distraction because they're not having class in the dark. You don't notice it in light unless you're looking her feet & see the lights. It's not a strobe light attached to her shoes.

 

[Hannathy]

Flashing lights can cause seizures but imo twinkle toes will not. The kids are not sitting in the dark staring at the shoes. During the day you can barely tell that they are lighting up. The flashing lights of say a strobe light are more like what can cause a seizure. Maybe I am terrible but there is no way I would have brought another pair of shoes to school and I certainly wouldn't go out and buy a new pair of sneakers. That's because I don't sincerely think this is a problem at all. I think this is just snowflake/nutso parent issues.

I agree 100%

Seizures are triggered by rapidly firing lights like a strobe, video games, not the minor flashing from shoes!! There is no way I'd buy other shoes. Those shoes have been around for a very long time, my DD who is in college had them when she was little, if it was a real problem don't you think our media who sensationalizes everything wouldn't have had them banned by now?

The only flash when she walks and not the sustained rapidly flashing bright intensity needed for a seizure. If someone in that schools seizures are that fragile I have no idea how they are getting to school with any lights.

Before I would have her stop wearing them I would want documentation showing these shoes cause seizures.

Parents need to stop rolling over to all these unsubstantiated "rules" and requests from the schools. My DD would be wearing them as long as they fit.

 

[Toad_Passenger]

I would see if you can get something from the manufacturer of the shoe, if only to help settle the debate.

The company I work for deals with the traffic signal industry. Certain signal applications require a strobe light to be positioned so that people are more aware of the signal's location. These strobes are specifically designed so that they flash at a rate that will not cause a seizure in those prone to having them. They come with a specific document that explains this. Several times my company has had to produce this document when faced with people forcing the issue. Since it meets the guidelines, as laid out by experts in the field of epilepsy, the issue is then dropped.

I would be interested to see if the shoe manufacturers have to set the "flash rate" because of these guidelines. And, if they do, and you can prove it, then I see no reason why the shoes cannot be worn.

Just because something flashes, doesn't make it a seizure risk.

 

[Jennasis]

Heck if Mary Hart's voice can cause seizures then I can understand something as odd as shoes lights. Buy new shoes or cover the little lights.

 

[Hannathy]

Heck if Mary Hart's voice can cause seizures then I can understand something as odd as shoes lights. Buy new shoes or cover the little lights.

Why should she do that if it is a crock and totally false? Let the school prove they cause seizures(they don't) or be quiet or get it written into the dress code.

 

[RadioNate]

Flashing lights can absolutely cause seizures. I have a serious problem with strobe lights and have to look away and close my eyes when they use them in concerts or at clubs and I'm not even epileptic.

But shoes? Seems a bit of a stretch but if there is an epileptic in your DDs class I can see why the school would be extra cautious. There is no way they want a kid having a seizure while at school. They are going to everything possible to minimize that from happening.

What happened to just wearing normal shoes? I guess I'm the only parent who wouldn't buy light up shoes or heelies or fad footwear for school.

 

[Jennasis]

Why should she do that if it is a crock and totally false? Let the school prove they cause seizures(they don't) or be quiet or get it written into the dress code.

Because I am of the opinion that this is not a big deal (buying new shoes) and certainly not worth causing a potential medical problem for a student over. YMMV.

 

[mickeylove2]

No way would I go out and buy new shoes! Between my 2 DDs they have about 6 or 8 pairs of Twinkle Toe tennis shoes, some that light up and some that don't. Every single pair of their shoes are Sketchers, that's all they wear, even their flip flops. I would take it all the way up the chain if they tried to force your DD to wear different shoes.

 

[Debbie7452]

Seizures or not, if the entire toe area is lighting up they aren't exactly "school appropriate" IMO, whether they are the "in" thing or not. I mean heely's were the in thing a few years ago and they weren't appropriate for school either. They are cute shoes, but you don't have to throw them away or anything. Just tell her to wear them anywhere but school...

I guess I am an old curmudgeon!

 

[HsvTeacher]

Even without the seizure issue, is it surprising to you that flashing lights on shoes could be a distraction?

They are a HUGE distraction! Three girls in my class are wearing them today, and I feel like I'm at a disco.

No, I don't think flashing lights on shoes would be a distraction because they're not having class in the dark. You don't notice it in light unless you're looking her feet & see the lights. It's not a strobe light attached to her shoes.

We're not having class in the dark, but those lights are extremely bright. Several times, I've caught them out of the corner of my eye and thought the fire alarm was about to start ringing. So, yes, they can be a distraction, especially if multiple students are wearing them.


Disclaimer: My students are in Music right now, so I'm not checking out DIS while they're in the room.

 

[Hannathy]

Because I am of the opinion that this is not a big deal (buying new shoes) and certainly not worth causing a potential medical problem for a student over. YMMV.

Well to a lot of people right now it is a big deal to buy new shoes, many kids only get 1 pair of school shoes! and it isn't a potential medical problem. Until I see documentation I don't believe twinkling lights on a shoe are long enough or bright enough to cause a seizure.