Tips for Buying New School Shoes

It’s time for back-to-school shopping and that means new shoes. How do parents and kids pick the best footwear?

According to John Walter, DPM, a podiatrist at Temple University School of Podiatric Medicine, because children’s feet continue to grow and develop into the teen years, good, supportive shoes are critical for foot health.

He offers the following tips when shopping for children’s shoes.
• Because of growth spurts, especially over the summer, children’s shoes should be checked every 4 to 6 months for proper fit. You can tell your child has outgrown a shoe when it’s harder to put on or walking is painful.
• Look for sturdy shoes with good heel strength and support that will withstand the wear and tear of childhood.
• Make sure the shoe fits properly. There should be a thumb’s width between the end of the big toe and the end of the shoe.
• The shoe has to be the proper length AND width. You can get greater width with greater length. Also shoes can be stretched by a shoe tree or shoe maker.
• The suggestion to buy shoes in the afternoon or evening, when the feet have swollen, applies to children as well as adults.
• Try shoes on with a good supportive sock, such as cotton, which is important for a bit of cushion and absorption of moisture.

“A lot of the sneakers out now are really quite good as long as they fit well,” Walter said. “For support and to keep dirt and foreign objects from entering the shoe, children’s sneakers and shoes should always be tied. This will also help prevent kids from coming out of their shoes and spraining an ankle.”

If needed for extra support, inexpensive foot insoles or inserts, available at drug stores, grocery stores and athletic stores, can be added to any children’s shoe.

When over-the-counter shoe inserts don’t suffice however, children’s feet should be evaluated by a specialist. Foot problems, such as “toeing in” or “toeing out,” or walking on the instep or tiptoes, could indicate a more serious condition that might not be seen as significant if you don’t get to the right doctor. Podiatrists can identify such problems and design custom orthotics, or shoe inserts. Other remedies include braces, casts and special shoes.

Children’s foot health has long-term implications.

“Often, the painful knee and hip problems we see in adults have developed over several decades of poor foot and postural mechanics that were never addressed earlier with the proper shoes or orthotics,” said Walter.

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