It’s that time of year again! The back-to-school rush is in full swing. While we may be preoccupied with the essentials; notebooks, pencils, lunch bags, backpacks and the ever-important first-day look. Back-to-school shoes are an important piece of their wardrobe that should be given more attention to ensure comfort and style all year!
Yes, kids can be rough on their shoes and grow out of them, but properly fitting shoes can solve many causes of foot pain, keeping kids active and happy.
Why is it helpful for kids to have supportive footwear?
You may wonder, with their constant growth and activity – why bother getting them good shoes if they’ll wear them out so quickly? The truth is, kids need supportive footwear for the same reasons we adults do. We need to keep our feet happy, healthy and pain-free. Because of their growth spurts, kids are more prone to lower leg issues and injuries such as shin splints, ankle and knee instability and soreness at the growth plates. Proper fitting shoes can help to negate the pain of these conditions, keeping them pain-free as they grow.
One way we often deal with childhood’s rapid growth is to buy slightly oversized shoes. We hope this will make them last longer. The phrase ‘they’ll grow into them’ is common, but it is not always a good practice.
Children’s shoes that are too big can leave room in the shoe for their feet to slide around, causing blisters to develop. If we wait too long to replace their shoes as they outgrow them…
Toes can curl and grow crooked from being crammed together.
Callusing and corns can form in areas of higher pressure.
Children are active. They wear through footwear quickly with life on the playground. They need more support to prevent injury. More stability on the ground gives children a foundation to run, jump and climb! Therefore, replacing your children’s shoes when they show signs of wear and tear is a necessity.
Now that we looked at why proper fitting and supportive footwear is essential. Let’s look at how to select footwear that meets these criteria in time for back to school.
What to look for in children’s shoes?
Support
Supportive footwear refers to shoes that provide foot and ankle stability and firmness. Footwear of this type has the following features:
1. A firm heel counter
Unable to push the back of the heel down with your fingers.
2. Firm arch support
The shoe shouldn’t wring it out like a dishcloth or bend in half.
3. Flexibility at the ball of the shoe
A forefoot rocker, or a pitch that increases as you get closer to the toe, helps offload the ball of the foot.
4. Cushioning in the sole of the shoe
Of course, there is cushioning, but it should not compress drastically. They typically have a thicker midsole (between the rubber tread and the upper fabric part of the shoe).
Support ensures the foot is stable inside the shoe. This support spreads to stabilize and absorb shock for the ankle and knees. Also, stabilizing the foot decreases jarring forces from jumping and running. These forces are not limited to just the foot as they can travel up the leg and cause pain in the knees, hips and back.
Children’s feet are also typically quite flexible as the bones and supporting structures are still growing and stretching. Therefore, giving these structures the support they need is essential to the healthy growth and development of their feet.
When a child’s foot moves beyond what we expect, it can cause pain, causing the muscles to try to support the bones; footwear that takes that weight allows the feet to relax and reduces the likelihood of sore and achy feet.
Getting the proper fit for your children’s shoes.
Let’s talk footwear tips!
The temptation is always there to buy larger sizes because we know they will outgrow them by the end of the school year. When looking for the proper fit for your child, ensure that the foot is not flopping and sliding around in the shoe. The squeeze test along the sides looks at the width to indicate whether or not the shoe hugs the foot. If there is too much excess fabric along the whole of the foot or if the base of the shoe is significantly wider than the child’s foot, the shoe is too sloppy. Resulting in too much room for lateral sliding back and forth in the shoe.
The second factor to consider is the shoe’s length on the foot. A child should be able to wiggle their toes comfortably. The toes should not touch the end of the shoe. Between the tip of the toe and the front end of the shoe, half a finger’s width to an entire finger’s width is acceptable if you want the child to have room to grow.
To check the fit, have the child walk and run up and down a hallway or aisle to make sure the shoes don’t fly off.
Next, have the child stand still and hold the heel of the shoe in your hand on the ground and ask the child to lift their heel. A slight sliding of the heel is normal, but it should stay in the shoe and not pop out. Keeping the same grip ask the child to slide their foot side to side and front to back. They should have some room to move for comfort, but you should not be able to stick your finger into the heel cup when they slide the foot forward.
Making sure the footwear fits the child properly prevents blistering from loose-fitting shoes and slippage.
It prevents pain, particularly in the toes if the shoe is too tight as they crush together and curl to the shoe. A properly sized shoe can also help reduce toenail disorders such as ingrown toenails, caused by footwear that is too tight.
