Buying The Right Shoe For Young Children
Shoes for kids come in all kinds of cute styles with fancy designs and charming adornments. It can be easy to make shoes purchases for children based on how cute the shoe, especially young children.
While it is not necessary to spend a lot of money on a child’s shoe considering how fast they are likely to outgrow them, it is still important to purchase a shoes with supportive qualities.
Feet are actually designed to walk on the soft surfaces nature provided. Man made surfaces are harsh on big feet and little feet alike. A shoe should be designed to protect against the effects of these hard and unnatural surfaces. Just because a shoe is adorable doesn’t mean it is a good pick for a small child’s tender foot.
When purchasing a shoe for a small child, several factors of the shoe should be taken into consideration. Ample cushioning will help to provide impact protection from the hard surfaces we spend our lives walking on. A shoe with too little cushioning will not provide adequate protection or shock absorption.
Children’s shoes need to provide a good arch support, allowing the foot to naturally conform to the sole of the shoe. Too much arch support can be painful while too little arch support will encourage the arches to fall and become flat feet.
A shoe that is too stiff will make it difficult for a young child to walk. Being able to bend the shoe in your hands is a good sign that the shoe will not be too difficult to break in. The bend should happen at the natural positioning for the ball of the foot.
Always have the child try the shoe on before purchasing. There should be enough room in the front of the shoe for the child to be able to easily wiggle their toes. A shoe that is smack up against the toes will not allow the child to grow at all and it will only be a mater of days to weeks before the sizing issue will create pain. Children grow out of shoes quickly, but it is not beneficial to buy shoes a bit big and allow them to grow into them.
Even though a small child will probably have outgrown a properly fitting shoe within a few months, the shoes should still be durable. A well constructed shoe is more likely to last until the child has outgrown them. A flimsy, poorly constructed shoe will not only wear our before the child has outgrown them, but will not provide adequate support either.