Ideal first shoes for a child: how to choose and when to buy?

The pur­chase of the first pair of shoes for a baby who is just start­ing to take his steps is an impor­tant event for new par­ents. How­ev­er, here many ques­tions arise relat­ed to the choice of shoe mate­r­i­al, its type, the stiff­ness of the sole and the type of fas­ten­ers. All this real­ly needs to be tak­en into account when choos­ing chil­dren’s shoes, since the health of the baby large­ly depends on such tri­fles.

We want to share proven tips on the age at which it is rec­om­mend­ed to buy shoes for a child and what you should pay atten­tion to when choos­ing chil­dren’s shoes.

The first shoes are bought for the baby at about 9–12 months, when he begins to walk con­fi­dent­ly. Most experts rec­om­mend learn­ing to walk bare­foot or in non-slip thick socks. Thus, the load on the mus­cles of the legs is even­ly dis­trib­uted, the lig­a­men­tous appa­ra­tus is devel­oped and the foot is cor­rect­ly formed. In the apart­ment, it is still rec­om­mend­ed to wear soft booties so that the baby does not catch a cold from a slight draft.

Rigid ortho­pe­dic shoes and boots with arch sup­port are pre­ven­tive and some­times ther­a­peu­tic shoes. Walk­ing in such shoes for a 2–3‑hour walk a cou­ple of times a day is good for the baby’s legs, but you can only walk around the apart­ment in such shoes all day if pre­scribed by an ortho­pe­dist.

Advice

“Depend­ing on the sea­son, san­dals or boots will be the first shoes. Check the flex­i­bil­i­ty of the sole: grab the heel and toe and bend the shoe. If only the front of the sole bends at the lev­el of the fin­gers, do not take this mod­el. The baby will be uncom­fort­able, he may stum­ble, fall. The sole should flex eas­i­ly from where the heel ends to the toe.”

When choosing shoes, consider the following points:

• Prop­er shoes should have a high enough heel. It is desir­able that it cov­ers the ankle and is tight­ly fixed on the ankle;

• It is con­ve­nient if the shoes are on laces or Vel­cro. So it is eas­i­er to adjust its width exact­ly to the leg;

• Chil­dren’s shoes should be light so as not to over­load the child’s mus­cles.

Only an ortho­pe­dic doc­tor will be able to deter­mine if your child needs shoes with a small heel and a spe­cial ortho­pe­dic insole. Con­sult with a spe­cial­ist.

Important!

It is very impor­tant to choose the right shoe size. To do this, put the baby’s foot on a piece of paper and cir­cle the foot. Make sure that the child’s fin­gers lie relaxed, not tucked in. Add 0.5–1 cm to the length between the heel and toes. This will be the cor­rect shoe size in length.

Cut out the con­tour of the foot and check the width of the insole at the front of the shoe. If the insole is even slight­ly nar­row­er than the con­tour, such shoes can­not be bought, because it will com­press and deform the fin­gers.

Easy Steps!