Hello everyone!
Fitting Children’s Shoes is a passionate company on a mission to help children find the correct pair of shoes around the globe. The company was founded 10 years ago inspired by my experience working at a local shoe store in Maryland, United States. This first-hand exposure made me realize the important role that shoes play in a child’s life, especially at an early stage. That is why, FCS’ mission since then has been to help parents all over the world find the right shoes for their children, regardless of whether they have a specific foot condition or shape.
I am passionate about fitting children’s shoes as I truly believe that the correct type of shoes can be life changing. Children’s feet are constantly developing, and what happens to their feet during their childhood will affect their physique as they grow older. I never needed a degree or a certification to fit children’s shoes, but I had a moral obligation to provide children with the best fitting shoes.
You won’t believe the number of families who take their children to healthcare practitioners with a specific concern (e.g., flat feet, toe walking, overpronation) and often find themselves dismissed by medical professionals who believe that the child will simply outgrow the condition. There are certain shoe styles that will help treat and prevent the foot conditions mentioned above by allowing your child to walk and run straighter, improving your child’s overall posture.
As part of my role, I always urge parents to trust their instincts especially if they notice something wrong with their child’s feet and even if the medical professional dismisses their concern, seek a second opinion, and have a proactive approach. Parents need to keep in mind that they have a limited window of opportunity to make a significant change in their child’s foot structure and gait mechanics, as the older the child gets, the harder the condition is to manage.
I believe that it takes a great responsibility and conscientious effort on my part to fit children’s shoes, since the future health and development of the child’s foot is my personal responsibility and parents are placing their complete trust in me.
I encourage parents to contact me through the comments section on the website or through e-mail to help them find the correct shoes for their children. This service involves suggesting specific shoe types or styles, as well as determining the correct size for their child via an online tool I created. Through this resource, I assist families retrieve their child’s exact foot length and shape (i.e., narrow, medium, wide, extra wide), as well as identify possible foot conditions.
This resource was developed since I noticed that most specialized children’s shoe stores have closed, and those that remain open don’t usually have staff properly trained on how to measure kids’ feet.
Families are always guaranteed an excellent service response of 24 hours or less and this is completely free of charge. On a daily basis, I take the time to go over each of the messages received and provide tailored recommendations considering the child’s specific needs.
In short, FCS’ mission and core values are based on delivering exceptional customer service and thereby my commitment and dedication to families goes beyond mere transactions. As a matter of fact, while my website’s readers and subscribers are mainly based in the United States, I also help families in Canada, India, Australia, and the United Kingdom, even though these are not being monetized. I truly believe that every interaction with my readers is an opportunity to make a positive impact.
Sincerely,
Juan Pablo
Founder of: fittingchildrenshoes.com
email: customerservice@fittingchildrenshoes.com
Should you wish to endorse the efforts of Fitting Children’s Shoes, you can Donate Here. Your support helps ensure that families around the world can find the correct shoes for their children, regardless of their foot shape or condition.
hi I just wanna say thankyou for what you said on your blog she’s ago about boys having really narrow feet which I am one and being very self conscious about it. I am still self conscious about them but not as much and I got my mom to order my trainers in the make you said which are much better fitting for me. She doesn’t know I am self conscious about my narrow feet but at least the trainers don’t look that narrow and obvs they are better for me and stay on with out slipping when I also wear thicker socks. It sounds stupid being self conscious about having really narrow feet but because it’s not that common in boys I think I just want to ‘fit in with everyone’. So thankyou very much
Hello,
Thank you for sharing your experiences. There’s a lot of boys out there with narrow feet so I wouldn’t worry about it too much.
Kind regards.
This was the absolutely best $10 I’ve ever spent when it comes to shoes for my child! I could tell that my 10 year old had flat feet but in this time of the pandemic and low inventory in stores, good luck finding anyone to help you get the right size shoe for a child with wide, flat feet. Juan gave us a size and made a few suggestions for waterproof shoes for my child. They arrived from Amazon today and my son loved his shoes so much, he didn’t want to take them off. He wore them indoors all day just to make sure they fit correctly – and they were perfect. Thanks for such a great service for all of us parents!
Hello,
I am happy to hear that!
Hello,
My daughter has flat feet (just like dad! Lucky her!) but she’s never complained about the shoes she wears. I usually buy her See Kai Run or Stride right because they seem better quality and seem to have more support.
Do you recommend any other brand that would be good for her to wear? I was thinking about Vans but I’m not sure they’re as comfortable as the shoes I’ve been buying her since she began walking.
Hello Annie,
Flat feet are believed to be hereditary. In addition to See Kai Run and Stride Rite, you can try New Balance, Saucony, and Asics. Which brands and shoe styles will work best for your daughter’s feet directly depends on her individual foot shape (narrow, medium, wide, extra wide). For example, New Balance and Saucony will work best if your daughter has medium, wide, or extra wide feet. Asics will work best if she has narrow feet.
I don’t recommend Vans for children with flat feet. If she really wants a pair of Vans she can wear them, but I strongly suggest limiting the wear to no more than 4 hours a day.
Let me know if you have any other questions.
Thanks for the prompt reply!
I am not sure if she has medium or wide feet. The shoes I’ve purchased have always fit just fine. Do you have information I can reference in trying to determine if she has narrow/medium/wide feet? She’s only 4 so I haven’t encountered very many issues but do want her to be comfortable given she has flat feet and in daycare throughout the day. Once I determine what type of feet she has, I will look into the brands you recommended. Thanks again. I appreciate your help!
Hello Annie,
Please follow the instructions on this article to retrieve your daughter’s exact foot shape and length: How to Measure Your Kids’ Foot – 2 Simple Steps to Determine Foot Length and Foot Width
Hi Juan. I am in need of some help finding shoes for my Son. He is a Primordial Dwarf and his feet are extremely narrow. He is 5 years old but is wearing size 2 toddler shoes which are far too wide even in the narrowest size available. Would it be possible to contact you and pick your brains on what might work for him? Hope that’s ok
Kindest regards
Hello David,
I am happy to help. Please follow the instructions on this resource as this will help me get a better idea of your son’s exact foot length and shape: How to Measure Your Kids’ Foot – 2 Simple Steps to Determine Foot Length and Foot Width
Hello. Thank you for your time and consideration. I am an adult woman with a child’s size foot. Standing on my ruler, my larger foot is 21 cm long. Width wise, I’m just over 8 cm at the widest part of my foot. I do not have high arches. It’s hard to find a good fitting sandal that doesn’t look like a child’s shoe, and that I can run around town in comfortably. I’m hoping you will have some good recommendations.
Hello Mrs Pulsipher,
Based on the measurements that you sent me you should wear a kids’ shoe size 3 1/2 which translates to a women’s shoe size 5. However, this depends on whether the shoes fit long, short, or true to size.
Before I can recommend specific sandals I need to know whether you have narrow, medium, wide, or extra wide feet.
Hi Juan! My grandson is 12 and walks on top toes. From what I’ve read this could be very serious. I came across your orthotics. What are your suggestions.
Hello Angelita,
I suggest that we start by retrieving your grandson’s exact foot length and shape. Based on that I will be able to recommend specific shoes for his feet. Please follow the instructions on this article: How to Measure Your Kids’ Foot – 2 Simple Steps to Determine Foot Length and Foot Width
Hi Juan,
Thanks so much for your offer to help! I don’t know if my sons feet would be considered pronated or not since he does look flat footed or have the obvious bend I see in the photos you shared. I took a few pictures I could send you. His issue is that he often tends to point the front of his feet out (like a V) rather than straight ahead when running, going downstairs, on his bike pedals. I would love some tips on choosing the right sneakers that could help with that – if such a thing is possible. Thank you!
Hello Lynnette,
I am happy to help. Please email me the images along with your son’s foot measurements so I can tell you exactly what shoe size to order. I suggest that you follow the instructions on this article: How to Measure Your Kids’ Foot – 2 Simple Steps to Determine Foot Length and Foot Width
Juan this is so awesome.
Thank you Carmela, I am happy to be able to help!
Finding Juan’s website was just wonderful ! David, 4 years old , had just gotten his first AFO, shoe stores were closed due to Covid concerns and it was a challenge to determine a proper shoe size, let alone style that was best, Thought he would need 2 different sizes at first given the size of the AFO. Juan takes the time to review pictures of the child’s foot measurements and the AFO dimensions then gives specific styles and size to purchase.
Thanks to Juan’s expert advice David has great new shoes and can run and play without any problems. Juan provides his expertise free and I am so grateful.
I am glad I was able to help David! Keep in touch.
I am looking for someone to train me in on children’s fittings in melbourne, Australia. Do you know of anyone by any chance? I am not having any luck finding someone, besides for Clarksville who won’t train me since I don’t sell their brand.
I mean Clarks. Computer decided Clarksville!
Emma,
I don’t know anyone who can do this in Australia. What are you trying to accomplish? Are you looking to see if your kids shoes fit? Are you opening your own shoe store? Please clarify.
Hi Juan
The industry gold standard here in the UK (and EMEA / rest of globe) is Society of Shoe Fitters. I’m aware there aren’t many members outside of the UK however, they offer an industry recognised Qualification in Footwear Fitting and can offer this remotely. We see many Podiatry clinicians qualify in order to support clinical care.
https://www.shoefitters-uk.org
Your site is very informative. As a Qualified Shoe Fitter myself, great info on foot health and fitting. Keep flying the flag! 🙂
Thanks,
Sam
Hi Sam,
Thank you for reaching out. I actually tried to reach out to them several months ago about joining one of their courses but I never received a response.Do you live in the UK? Would you be able to help me get in contact with them?
Great info Juan! I totally agree so many people do not understand the importance of a good fitting shoe or sneaker (tennis shoe to some). Children have a tendency to just accept what ever their parents say. If they are given the chance to give their opinions, they will. Their poor little feet need to be able to be given a chance to be comfortable and grow! I hope many parents take this site seriously.
The site looks really nice and is easy to maneuver on. Well done.
Rebecca,
The purpose of the website is to inform the parents about the importance of wearing the right type of shoe. That way they can make the most informative decision. I am glad that you found the website informative!
Juan, Very nice and informative website. I did not know that there were so much to know about your feet. This site is very good for parents and their children.
You have set up a website, for parents that have been wanting to know information about their feet and there children.
I wish you all the best and success!
Keep up the good work and now I know where to go for information about feet! I am going to tell my daughter. She has two small children.
Linda:))
Linda,
Awesome! The purpose of the website is to be a source of information about children’s feet. I am glad you find it informative.
Hello Juan, thank you for you site. Really valuable information that none of us think about. We take our feet for granted until they don’t work so well for us anymore. Thank you so much for sharing your knowledge in such an easy way to understand. Its a site that I keep coming back to every time I want to know something about my feet and shoes.
Jenene,
The purpose of the site is to provide you with valuable information. Feel free to ask any specific questions you might have.
I think your website looks excellent,with good advice for parents for the children.You have good experience and you should learn a lot from the other staff,I wish you well in your journey.Mark…
Mark,
Thank you for your kind words. I definitely learn something new from coworkers that have been in the business for over twenty years.
I come from a day when I was told I needed orthopedic shoes and they had exray machines to check your shoe fit. In the movie “Forest Gump” he was fit with braces and it turned out that he was a very fast runner.
I think they may have over reacted in that day and the pendulum swung to far the other way.It is good to see
some one knowledgeable in the needs of children’s feet. I personally have a wide bone that caused my shoes to gap. I will share your site for my grand kids.
Marty
Marty,
I hope that you are wearing shoes that are wide enough and that they are accommodating your wide bone. Sometimes individuals tend to compensate the width with the length and that might be the cause why your shoe is gaping so much.
Hi Juan,
Thanks for sharing your expertise. I never thought there is so much to learn about our feet. I have two grandchildren. One is about four months. This will definitely be a great source of information when she begins to learn how to walk. I will have to share your website to my children. And I’m pretty sure this is going to be helpful to a lot of parents. Keep sharing!
More blessings to you,
Betcha
Betcha,
I am glad you found my webpage informative. My goal is to help parents understand the importance of fitting shoes and make the most informative decision.