My kids go barefoot everywhere here in Portland, year round, but we do
get comments and stares (just the other day at the airport) and a lot
of kids point out to their parents that my kids are barefoot (I assume
the thinking is either "why do I have to wear shoes if those kids
don't?" or "ooh, look, those kids are bad"). :) It was interesting
that on our recent 10-day trip to Seattle we didn't get any comments
or trouble from anyone (even in nice restaurants and museums).

My husband and I do wear shoes (as does our teenager) but the younger
three do not, ever. I do often bring shoes for the kids with me (in
the car, or in my purse) because some stores/restaurants actually DO
have a policy that states that everyone must wear shoes - but mostly
people just THINK that it's a law or a policy when it's really not.
And we can choose whether we want to shop there if our children are
not welcome with their feet. At Fred Meyer last year, an employee
told me the kids had to have shoes and I asked him if it was store
policy - he said yes and I asked to see the policy in writing - after
talking to several people, managers, etc. they could not produce it,
and it turns out that it's NOT a store policy. It's not a health
code, law, etc. and yes my child might step on a piece of glass now
and then but they have tough feet and a small cut is not life
threatening anyway - and barefooting is not dirty - first of all one
doesn't eat or open doors with their feet, and the bottom of my
child's feet are no more dirty than the bottom of their shoes would be
- actually the feet are probably cleaner because we wash them
frequently - I don't ever wash the bottom of my shoes! Anyway, I
could go on and on...I do want to make a little pamphlet explaining
that it's a personal choice, intentional, healthy and nothing for
people to worry about! :)

Emily