‘Back to school’ shoes
As parents it can often seem a daunting prospect going school shoe shopping with your children! They might be attracted to shoes in a particular style and colour that may not necessarily be the most sensible or best option for their growing feet. It’s vitally important for children to wear correctly fitting footwear right from their first pair of shoes, through to becoming an adult, as their feet are still developing until the age of 18 years old.
When babies are born, they have super delicate, soft, squishy feet, containing cartilage which develops into 26 bones and 33 joints in each foot by adulthood. 25% of the bones in our body are found in the feet, as well as joints, muscles, ligaments and tendons. Our feet support the rest of the body, so it’s important to look after them! By not looking after our feet, wearing inappropriate footwear or the wrong size cannot only lead to foot problems but can cause other misalignments further up the body too.
Here are some interesting quotes from the Children’s Foot Health Register1:
‘Around 70% of foot problems come from wearing the wrong footwear or ill-fitting shoes. The majority of these are caused by ill-fitting footwear worn as a child’.
‘Over £30 million is spent annually on chiropody services for the over 60s and most of these foot problems can be attributed to badly fitting shoes or unsuitable footwear in childhood’.
‘The foot has 250,000 sweat glands releasing about a quarter pint of perspiration every day’.
‘Leonardo da Vinci called the foot a masterpiece of engineering. Each foot has 26 bones, 19 muscles, over 100 ligaments and thousands of nerve endings’.
We all have different shaped feet and no two feet are the same! It’s worthwhile spending the time and money investing in good quality, well-fitting shoes for children, that will be comfortable for all the running around they’ll be doing and to also allow for growth. Buying shoes made of leather or canvas will allow the feet to breath.
As well as being uncomfortable, ill-fitting shoes can cause blisters, in growing toenails, corns, callouses and misshapen feet, amongst other problems. Children’s feet can have growth spurts as often as every three to four months, so it’s important to have feet properly measured by a reputable trained shoe fitter, where they have half sizes, different shapes, widths and styles of shoes, to suit the individual feet of the child. Wearing the wrong size or fit can affect the growth and development of children’s feet and affect the way they walk which could cause problems later in life.
· Shoes need to grip well at the heel and shouldn’t be loose
· There shouldn’t be a gap between the heel and the back of the shoe
· The shoe should not rub on the ankle bone
· There should be a finger's width between the tip of the longest toe and the end of the shoe, to allow for growing room
· The toe box should flex easily, but the arch of the shoe should not bend
· The shoe should have cushioning and arch support
· Shoes should fasten with laces, buckles or a strap, so that they can be adjusted to fit
· Shapes and sizes vary between manufactures, always take your child with you to try shoes on, as they may not be the same size from one brand to another
· The heel counter of the shoe should be stiff and supportive
· There should not be any tightness or pressure on the width of the foot in the shoe
· Make sure, when getting shoes fitted, that your child is wearing the type/thickness of socks/tights that they’ll normally wear once they have their new shoes
Children’s feet are constantly growing, developing and changing shape throughout their childhood, so it might seem like their shoes last no time at all before they need a new pair. Buying good quality, properly fitted, supportive and durable shoes is essential for their feet to be comfortable, and to allow their bones to grow and develop properly. Wearing good footwear affects overall health and enables us to enjoy many activities.
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