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Proper foot support is essential regardless of whether you’re an adult or a child. Your shoes should be comfortable, offer a relatively tight fit around the heel, and provide arch support. This will help to ensure your weight is balanced when you walk.
Getting this wrong can increase the risk of alignment problems and mobility issues as you age.
But, it is even more important to get the right shoes for your children. Their feet are still developing, this means they need support and room to grow. But, too much room will not give them the support they need, it’s a difficult balance between sizing the shoe and having to keep buying new ones, shoes are not cheap!
It’s worth noting that the problem can be even worse when looking at school shoes as you’ll find the range of shoes available is more limited, that’s why you should use a reputable school shoe wholesaler. They’ll have shoes specifically designed to accommodate children’s feet, keeping them comfortable and supported.
The Quick Answer
The good news is that there is a simple answer. Experts recommend that you leave between 1 and 1.5cm of space for growth when buying shoes. This is enough to allow growth without compromising support.
However, you should note that the top end of this scale applies to boots and the lower end to more relaxed or open shoes.
Sizing Your Child
The issue isn’t knowing how much space to leave, it’s knowing how big your child’s foot is. This will allow you to ensure they have the extra space they need.
The first step in this process is sizing your child’s foot properly.
For this, you’ll need to have your child remove their shoes and socks then stand upright with their feet next to each other. It’s important that your child stands against the wall while they are doing this, with their feet flat and their heels against the wall.
You can then measure from the back of their foot, which is the wall, to the front of their longest toe. It’s important to measure both feet as it is very common for one foot to be a different size to the other. You should measure them in centimeters.
To this figure, you can then add & to 1.5cms. This will give you the length of the shoe you need for your child. You can then compare this length to the standard sizing chart and get the right size shoe for your child.
But, you also need to check the width of your child’s foot. You can measure this while your child is stood against the wall. This measurement can then be compared to the width of any shoe you’re considering. However, you may also find that the soul of a shoe can be removed.
If it can, place it on the floor and get your child to put their foot on it, if it stays within the borders of the soul then the shoe is wide enough.
Don’t forget that children’s feet grow quickly, you’ll need to measure regularly to ensure they have the best possible shoes.
