How to Choose the Best Toddler Shoes for Your Baby?
For a mother, who wants everything perfect for her kid, it’s tough to choose the right shoe for her baby, if you don’t know the details. A child often gets many shoes as gifts before they even learn to walk. But when they start learning to walk and you need to protect his feet, the question comes which shoe would you choose. Here we have given all the details to find the right shoes for your baby.
The right time to go buy shoes
If your kid is not walking, boots and socks will serve the job of keeping their feet warm. But, once your baby starts walking outside, you need to get the best shoes for toddlers to protect their feet from any injuries. When they are just learning to walk, go for rubber soles or non-skid shoes, which will help them balance.
Also, medical associations say that your baby doesn’t need any shoes while he or she is walking indoors. Moreover, their shoes must be flexible enough for you to sense their toes from above the shoe. The shoe material must be breathable like canvas, leather, or cloth and never plastic.
Why are the Perfect Shoes Important for Your Toddler?
The feet of babies are tender and flexible as their bones are super soft and they have fat padding in their feet as well. Their feet can grow up to half a size every 2 months. But ill-fitting shoes can provide adverse effects on their feet and even contort their feet too.
A toddler’s shoes need to be supportive and must help them balance rather than giving them a flat foot. During the learning stage, the baby’s feet must feel where are they stepping on, as this will help them have a proper muscle and bone structure.
How to choose the right shoe?
Go for a pair that will provide the tiny feet support and flexibility and yet be lighter on feet. Also, don’t buy very cheap shoes just because your toddler won’t walk much, as bad shoes can cause deformation. But don’t go super expensive like $100 also, as you will be frequently buying shoes till 3 to 6 years as their feet will grow fast.
If you are investing in a moderately expensive shoe, be sure that the shoe is scientifically made with high-quality materials. Furthermore, choose the ones that have broad toe space with square or round at the front.
What does the construction of the toddler shoe needs?
Shoes consist of 4 parts- the upper part, outer sole, the insole, and the heel. The upper part of the shoe should be made of breathable materials like mesh materials, canvas, or leather. As children sweat more, they need porous materials and not plastic. The outer sole is supposed to provide flexibility, cushioning and traction, thus shun those which are thick or sticky.
Wrong outer soles will not provide the correct balance, and the toddler can fall. Buy the shoes with an absorbent insole or a padded insole. If your kid is below 16 months, he doesn’t need any special arch support or heel in his shoes.
How to find the correct shoe size?
Always measure their feet before buying a shoe, even better if a professional does that. As the kid has never worn any shoes before, it might feel uncomfortable, but the right fit of the shoe will only help him. Find the correct size so that your toddler’s feet can get enough space and support and his feet can thus develop properly.
Moreover, a toddler may not have fully developed nerve endings so he might not feel pain with a tight shoe. So, you have to notice his comfortable fit and whether his toes are not getting curled, etc.
Where to buy the shoes from?
You can buy it from anywhere they sell toddlers shoes, but for the perfect fit carry your kid to the store. Make him wear and check for the right feet with the help of a professional if possible. It will be better if you can avoid buying your baby’s shoes for the first time online. But if you wish to, you will get measuring guides there also which will help you place the order.
Try to compare with these guidelines while buying your toddler’s shoes as a slight wrong can affect your kid.
Thank you,
Glenda, Charlie and David Cates
