Have your children outgrown their school shoes?

You can measure your children’s feet yourself at home. It doesn’t matter if they are six or sixteen (or sixty), correct fit is important for anyone at any age. Read on.

When children’s feet grow, they grow quickly.

In a child’s first three to four years, their feet grow about two sizes a year, although by the time they are school age, at five years old, it has slowed to around a size a year. Of course, rate of increase varies from child to child.

You can’t currently have feet measured professionally because shoe shops are currently closed and ordering online has become a necessity.

You can take the guesswork out of it by taking measurements at home. Here is how to do it.

It is essential to get your children’s shoe size right first time.

Shoes being too big can be as bad for your children’s feet as being too small.

Of course, every child’s foot is unique, but a well-fitting shoe not only protects foot development, keeping growing feet comfortable and healthy but gives children the confidence as they work and play.

How does home measurement work?

All you need is a printable foot gauge. Click here – and follow the instructions.

• make sure your printer is set to 100% and not to scale
• once it has printed use a ruler to check it’s correct
• place the paper gauge on a flat, hard floor
• ensure the heel is level with the ‘base line’
• make sure your child is standing with both feet taking even weight
• measure both feet, it is common for one foot to be a bit bigger than the other
• note down the size to their largest toe (this isn’t always the big toe).
• repeat on the other foot.
• for the width, cut the width measure off the right side and wrap it around the thickest part of the foot – diagonally from the ball joint on their little toe to the ball joint on their big toe
• buy a shoe with approximately 2cm growth room

If you don’t have a printer, you can use a piece of A4 paper and a ruler/tape to get the measurements.

What type of shoe should you choose for school?

With children recently spending so much time at home and no time at school they will have been wearing all sorts of shoes, wellingtons, crocs or no shoes at all.

It will be quite a contrast but they will benefit from leather shoes that are supportive, correctly measured, and that fasten securely to the their foot.

It is also a good idea for them to wear them around the house for a few hours in the days leading up to them going back to school.

How to check if your child’s shoes fit correctly?

Once you receive the new shoes – try them on, then –

• do the check in the afternoon as feet can swell as the day passes
• fastened them
• make sure your child is standing
• ensure the back of the foot is snugly against the heel of the shoe
• press your thumb firmly down sideways on the front of your child’s shoe to see where their toes are
• If you can’t feel the toe through the shoe, get your child to wiggle their foot
• With the foot firmly against the back of the shoe there should be a gap of about 2cm or a thumbs width for growth
• check the width is just right using a finger and thumb.
• remember that sizes vary between brands.

Finally, give the shoe a tug as if trying to pull it off. If there is a little give, but it stays on then you know it is fitting correctly. In any case, your child will soon tell you if the shoe isn’t comfortable.

If you would like more information or an appointment with one of our Podiatrists, give us a call on 01628 773588 or email info@maidenheadpodiatry.co.uk.