How to choose shoes for a child?

Choosing the right footwear for a child is often a challenge for parents - this is mainly due to the fact that currently the market offers us a multitude of models, colors and types of footwear available. Although the aesthetic aspect is important (especially in older children, who actively participate in this choice), there are a few elements to keep in mind.

Our kids spend a lot of time wearing footwear, so they should be treated as an investment in proper development. What shoes should I buy for a 9-month-old child, and what for a one-year-old? What shoe size is right for a one-year-old child? Should you buy shoes with a larger size or rather fitted? We answer!

What shoes for a child, or 10 rules of shoe selection

Correctly selected size

Every parent will find out about how quickly a child's foot grows as soon as they start buying them shoes. Therefore, every few weeks, check if your child has the right shoe size. One-year-old child's feet grow rapidly. A preschool child should have the size checked even every 3 months, unless he or she reports discomfort or a foot pain in the shoe beforehand.

Shoe heel

It should be stiffer than the other elements of the shoe, but it must bend under the pressure of our fingers - then it will stabilize the heel while allowing it to move while walking, running and playing. In healthy children, there is no need to cover the "ankle" with a shoe (the so-called high-upped shoes).

Pay attention to the sole

When trying to twist the sole in different directions, it should yield to this movement without much effort on our part. The sole of the shoe should bend in length (from the toe side) to allow the child to roll the foot in the correct mechanism.

Appropriately wide toe of the shoe

It is essential, that the fingers can work freely and are not pinched. The height of the space between the sole and the shoe arch is also important - in children with slightly thicker feet, it is worth considering a Velcro fastening that allows adjustment.

Shoe contoured insole is not needed

In most cases, your child will not need a shaped insole. However, there may be times when a specialist recommends otherwise in a specific case.

Smooth shoe interior

All kinds of seams and folds of the fabric will irritate the child's sensitive foot. Pay special attention to this when it seems that the size of the footwear is correctly selected, and yet the child reports discomfort during the measurement.

Remember that shoes should be light and made of breathable materials

Heavy footwear will provoke misalignment of the lower limbs while walking (e.g. walking with the feet turned inwards).

Baby shoes should be new

Each of us has our own individual gait stereotype and a characteristic way of moving. Therefore, shoes previously used by older siblings or a friend / colleague, despite the correct size, may have some wear features and provoke incorrect positioning of the feet in the shoe.

Lace-up, Velcro or slip-on?

If your child has not yet mastered tying shoelaces, it is worth choosing Velcro-fastened or slip-on shoes. For heavier feet, choose a shoe model with longer Velcro fasteners. Remember that by including the child in everyday activities such as putting on and taking off shoes, we teach them independence.

Shoes are not everything!

Whenever conditions permit, give your child the ability to walk barefoot on various textures such as soft sand, earth, grass, carpet, slippery floor, rough tiles. Shoes for a 9-month-old baby are a piece of clothing that should not be abused. Toddlers discover the world, different temperatures and surfaces through the sensory receptors in their feet, which has a positive effect on shaping the correct body posture.

What baby shoes?

Some parents start thinking about the first shoes for a toddler right after his birth. They often ask which baby shoes to choose. Such footwear should rather be called foot protectors or warmers, or a purely decorative element of clothing, because it does not actually protect the feet in contact with the ground. It often makes sense (depending on the pace of a child's development) to think what shoe size will be appropriate for a one-year-old child.

If we decide to buy shoes for babies, the so-called let's not - remember that your toddler should not stay in them for too long. They should be soft and made of the highest quality certified raw materials, and in addition, they should not under any circumstances pressure or hurt the child.

What shoes for a 9-month-old babywho is starting to walk?

So we already know what baby shoes can be taken into account, remembering that they are not necessary as long as the baby is lying, sitting or crawling. Also, during the first attempts to stand on their feet or take their first steps at home, without shoes, it will be easier for a toddler to feel the ground and maintain balance. It is different when our child starts to walk on its own for good - then without shoes, no move! It is indicated that the baby begins to walk between 8 and 18 months of age.

At this stage, shoes, e.g. for a 9-month-old child, may already be needed for going outside, to protect the foot from the cold and to secure it in contact with hard ground. The choice of shoes for a child who is starting to walk will determine their health and proper development. It is therefore worth remembering all the above rules, paying special attention to the heel stabilization, the flexibility of the sole and space for the toes.

What shoes for a one-year-old child?

If you are wondering what shoes for a one-year-old child to choose, answer the question if your child is already able to walk independently. Babies develop at different rates - a healthy child has time to acquire this skill up to the age of 18 months. However, the first shoes are often needed for a 9-month-old child. A one-year-old toddler who has already started to take his first steps will need shoes if we go outside with him. Good shoes for a one-year-old child must have the appropriate shoe size, be easy to put on and take off, but most of all to secure the feet without hindering mobility - their proper development depends on it.

A separate issue is buying slippers for young children. Do they really need them, and if so, which slippers for a one-year-old child are appropriate? Experts agree that non-slip socks are better at home. But what if it is necessary to wear slippers, e.g. in a nursery?

How to choose shoe size for little e.g. a one-year-old child?

Here are some practical tips that will help you find out which shoe size will be suitable, for example, for a one-year-old child.

If you are buying baby shoes on your own or you decide to buy online, make an outline of the child's bare feet on the carton (necessarily in a standing position, with an even load on both feet). will tell us if the shoes on the foot fit.

Then measure: 

• insole length - from the tip of the longest toe to the heel;
• insert width - the widest place on the box.

Approximately 5 mm should be added to the measured length. Thanks to this, the foot will work freely in the shoe.

• Remember to consider how fast your baby's foot grows: A child's foot grows around 1,5 mm / month in toddlers who start walking and around 1 mm / month in older children. If you do not want the shoes to hit the bottom of the wardrobe after a month, it is worth adding another 5 mm of extra to the length of the foot's outline. This tip will be great if you have a problem with determining the shoe size of your one-year-old child.

WAY TO GO! You already know what dimensions a shoe insert should have for your child. Use the above measurements to buy shoes online by checking the manufacturer's description or take the cut cardboard boxes with you to the store (they should fit in the shoe you plan to buy). Even if you know what shoe size to buy, for example for a one-year-old child, it would be ideal if you could take your toddler with you to the store, where you can calmly measure a few available pairs of shoes.

• It is good for your child to test the shoes while moving, and not just passively standing: Encourage them to walk in new shoes, a few jumps, and squats. If you experience discomfort with movement, shoes are slipping off your feet, or you find that your child is not moving freely in them, consider resizing.
• The child should always measure both shoes: It happens that one foot is slightly different from the other.
• The matter of putting on and taking off shoes: It is worth choosing footwear so that the child can easily put them on and take them off. If your toddler has not yet mastered the binding skills, go for Velcro shoes.

What shoe size for a one-year-old child?

You do not know which shoe size for a one-year-old child will be the best? The way to correctly select the size is to outline the foot of a standing child on a piece of paper and apply the cut out drawing to the shoe insert. Thanks to this the easiest way is to make sure what shoe size our one-year-old child actually has. Method for the so-called a stick, i.e. inserting a stick cut to the length of a child's foot into a shoe, is not recommended because it does not take into account the width of the foot,

What else can you do if you don't know what shoe size a one-year-old child is? Some children's shoe stores offer you to check the size with gauges to measure the feet and determine the shoe number. In order to precisely choose the size of a child's shoe, one of the producers created stencils with an open front - thanks to which the position of the toes can be clearly seen in them. That is why it is worth asking sellers about the available amenities when checking the size of a child's shoe.

Why is the right shoe size for a child so important?

Matching shoes for a child is a real challenge. What shoe size a one-year-old child is is not so obvious. It is all the more important to do this process correctly. Shoes have a huge impact on the development of a baby's foot!

An improperly adjusted size can cause pain, muscle tension and, over time, even deformation of the foot. So when choosing footwear for a child, it is worth considering not only the comfort, but also the baby's health.

In addition, regardless of age, our kids should buy shoes that they really need. Children develop at different rates and it will not always be necessary to buy shoes, e.g. for a 9-month-old child. Being aware of how quickly a child's foot grows and how important it is to choose the right footwear, it is worth taking the time to find a good product - is an investment in health and proper development.