The right choice of footwear for a fast-growing foot is not an easy task. We advise on how to find shoes that the child will love and that will not ruin the parents' wallet. How to buy the perfect baby shoes?
Howto buy baby shoesso that small feet develop properly? Having to buy another pair of shoes every few months can be a challenge for the household budget. Many people, looking for savings, buy footwear several sizes larger, hoping that the child will be able to walk in it longer.
Is it worth buying oversized shoes for a child?
Yes and no. Every parent knows that choosing shoes for a child is different than buying a pair for an adult. When the foot stops growing, we can afford shoes that fit our size. A small margin is necessary for a child. During a visit to the store, it is worth checking whether there is still about 10 - 15 mm of "reserve" left after putting on the shoe. Thanks to this, the footwear will not become too tight after a month or two, and at the same time, the foot will remain stable and will not move while walking.
Buying shoes that are two or three sizes larger is not a good idea, however. Why? All you need to do is do a simple experiment and try on an oversized pair yourself when visiting a shoe store. Walking becomes uncomfortable. Even with tight lacing of the shoe, when taking steps, the foot moves forward and backward. Running or climbing over various obstacles becomes a daunting task.
Orthopedists also advise against putting your child on the shoes of older siblings. The individual shape of the foot and the way of walking make the shoes adapt to their owner. A couple inherited from a brother or sister can distort the feet of the next user. This, in turn, has a negative impact on the comfort of walking and may contribute to posture defects.
The optimal solution seems to be shoes that grow with the child's foot. For obvious reasons, it is not possible to produce such footwear, but manufacturers are still looking for solutions that extend the time of wearing one pair. One of such solutions is the Big-Fit system, developed by Hi-Tec. The system consists of two inserts: the first one provides the foot with comfort and adequate shock absorption, the second is modeled in such a way as to compensate forthe difference between the size of the foot and the shoe and is removed when the child's foot grows. This way you can "enlarge" the shoe by up to 2/3 of the size.
How to buy the perfect baby shoes?
When looking for the right size of shoes for a child, the golden mean rule once again comes true. The same is true for the price. Children grow out of shoes quickly, so buying a pair for, for example, PLN 200 is quite an expense. On the other hand, cheap footwear from unknown manufacturers poses a certain risk to the comfort and even he alth of the child. Such shoes are often made of materials that do not provide proper foot ventilation, and the soles leave much to be desired in terms of ergonomics.
Good quality shoes should be made of grain leather, nubuck or suede. In the case of footwear intended for hiking or playing in the field, manufacturers use mesh inserts to improve ventilation. The upper edge of the upper should be rounded and contoured so as not to compress the Achilles tendon.
It is worth paying attention to the stiffened heel counter ensuring the correct position of the heel and the entire foot. The toecaps in shoes play a similar role. They should not be too soft, the child must be able to move his fingers up and down. Additional leather or rubber wraps around the tip protect against quick wear.
Choosing shoes for our growing child is not an easy task. However, it is worth following a few simple rules and taking a critical look at the "folk wisdom" that recommend buying oversized shoes. Thanks to this, we will avoid unnecessary expenses and ensure he althy development of the child.