Katie defends putting Suri in high heels...but are they really safe?

Over the past few months, there's been quite a bruhaha over little Suri Cruise and her little high heels. It seems the three-year-old daughter of Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes likes the elevated lady shoes, she's been spotted wearing them often, and this has caused all sorts of outrage, usually in the vein of "that's so weird" or "celebs are so lame."

But now, things are getting a little more serious. Suri's parents are currently being criticized for allowing their daughter to wear high heels, not just because this is an odd footwear choice for a pre-schooler, but because the shoes may be dangerous as well.

"A common side effect of adults wearing heels too often is the tightening or shortening of the Achilles tendon," New York podiatrist Dr. Oliver Zong told Fox News. "At Suri's age, children are growing quickly, and you want everything growing at the same rate. If the tendon is not growing at the same rate as everything else, it could become a problem."

And on her website, Dr. Suzanne Levine, a NYC podiatrist (who's been known to actually encourage adult women to wear stilettos), suggests that heels-for-kids may be detrimental to a child's physical and psychological growth, because "playing adult" is bad for the psyche and "heels are unstable and dangerous for children. In addition to the obvious risk of tripping, a child could develop shortened heel chords or lose the padding in the bottom of their feet faster than normal."

But Holmes is defending the fashion choice for her kid, and says they're perfectly safe. She told "Access Hollywood,": "[Suri], like every little girl--she loves my high heels and wanted her own...They are actually ballroom dancing shoes for kids...I found them for her and she loves them."

We ask you: Would you let your young daughter wear heels?

Source: US Weekly