Buying new shoes for your children can be a stressful experience. The crowds, all the different types of shoes, the pressure to get in and get out quickly are enough to stress someone out!
Most of us rely heavily on a qualified shoe salesperson to help us, right? But what if there isn’t someone available to help you or what if you’re not sure they even know what they’re doing?
Here are a few tips from Podiatry Point that may help ensure you’re buying a correctly fitted shoe for your child.
- Check the length – They need room to grow or else you will be buying new shoes every few months at best, and potentially causing ingrown toenails and other foot issues. A good thumb width from the end of your child’s longest toe (not necessarily the big toe) is a good guide to size.
- Check the width – Does your child’s foot extend over the sole? Can you feel or see the foot falling over the edge? Does the shoe look strained at any part indicating tightness? You want the sides of the foot to be well within the sides of the sole.
- Get them moving – Have your child walk up and down the length of the store, and if possible try to get them to walk on tiles as well as carpet.
- Excessive heel counter movement – The heel counter (the back of the shoe) should move minimally, move up and down or side to side.
- Excessive gapping at the mouth of the shoe (where the foot enters the shoe) – If when the child walks, it distorts the mouth of the shoe and gapes excessively on one side, then this could result in instability, or indicate that the foot requires more support within the shoe.
- Ask your child how do they feel?
Still in doubt? Ask the salesperson if they allow exchanges or refunds if you return the shoe to them unworn and bring them into Podiatry Point for your Podiatrist’s opinion.