Treating adults like children?

Asking someone to remove their shoes is pretty commonplace where I live. We all have babies and when people walk into the house wearing shoes, they're simply spreading dirt and pesticides around the house. And then the baby gets to crawl through that. Fun!

No, they are not treating them like children. They are asking guests to respect their rules within their home, which is their right to do so. It's exactly the same as asking/telling guests not to smoke in the house.

We have a strictly non-smoking rule, with no exceptions in our household. People respect it, and us, for being frank about it. We don't have a no shoes rule for guests but we expect them to wipe their feet and to make sure the shoes they have on don't leave marks on the carpets. When our grow up children visit they always take off their shoes though. We taught them to do so because they were in the house a good part of the day, as children, and it saved on wear and tear on the floorings.

Don't think they are treating their guests like children, just not making them WELCOME. Never in a million years would I request guest to remove their shoes and I have as nice a house as anyone. As a family we do ourselves and if someone comes in and does this that's fair enough but to ask this never!!! If it was the culture of the country as in Japan I would abide by it and often myself remove my shoes when visiting others but here in the town I live in Scotland it would be considered really offensive to request such a thing. It's the best way to lose friends and lets facet to hoover/wipe a carpet or mop a wooden floor. Mine is a happy HOME, not a SHOWHOUSE and by the amount of people who come through my door I certainly think they must like coming.

I think it's very rude to ask that. And I tell people ahead of time that I won't come to a house where they have that culture and belief. My shoes are to protect my feet and socks. And they can learn to clean their carpet. And what they don't seem to realize is that since they walk around in their socks all day, their socks are as dirty as my shoes are.

On the other hand, if you lived on a farm, where there were animal droppings everywhere that you had to walk through, then by all means, people should remove their shoes. But other people can maintain their yards and maintain their floors so that people can stay dressed.

If this were an acceptable custom, what would people expect next? Should we ask people to take a shower before walking in their house? Will we be asked to don paper outfits like a person entering a "clean room" would? Should they have the right to douse us with Lysol as we enter the house? I should think not. And asking someone to undress before coming into ones home is just unacceptable behavior.

I have off white carpets and live in the middle of the forrest. (the carpets were here when we moved in and we haven't been able to afford new flooring yet). With 2 kids and a dog I am already having to steam clean them every 2 months ( a process which takes 1-2 days) I ask that people remove their shoes because I don't have the time to steam clean every week. People understand completely and most of the time I don't even ask, they just do it out of consideration.

To prevent misunderstanding, let me say the my answer should be understood in the context of a culture where it is not the norm to remove shoes. And my answer is:

Not necessarily. They are, however, putting their own convenience before their guests. And they may even be defeating their own purpose, since removing shoes will transfer bacteria from the guests' feet to their hands.

I don't think asking guests to remove their shoes is anything to do with treating them like children, its just hygiene. I always take my shoes off in my house and in any house that I visit, my boyfriend never did and it used to really annoy me because If you think about all the things you pick up on your shoes throughout the day, urine, feaces, chewing gum etc. Why would you want to bring these things into your house? I suppose if you have wood or laminate floors its not as bad as if you have carpet because it can be easily cleaned but I still think it is a good idea to take them off!!

Asking guests to remove their shoes, if done politely, is not treating them like children

some people just like to cut down on the time spent vacuuming or washing the floors...

I don't like taking my shoes of as I feel it would be even worse to take them off. For one feet smell, then you have less protection, anyone who has bashed there little toe against a door will know how much pain that will give, your feet will get cold and if you go into the kitchen you have a lot less grip on a smooth surface and you may slip over.

If however it has been raining outside and there shoes are full of mud then fine but not on a dry day.

Not really, they generally don't want dirt trodden into their carpet. They are the ones that will have to clean it. It is a perfectly normal thing to ask people to do. It has nothing to do with being adults or children. It is common courtesy to ask whether you need to remove your shoes before entering another person's house.