Best Sandals for Heel Pain – Let’s Treat Your Child’s Heel Pain During the Summer!
Parents are often confused as to how they can treat and prevent their children’s heel pain during the summer. If your child wears summer sandals that don’t provide adequate support to the heels, your child will feel uncomfortable and in pain for most of the summer. I have put together a selection of the best sandals for heel pain, and I will show you these sandals shortly.
Keep in mind that when heel pain is left untreated, it can lead to difficulty in walking which will require complicated therapy. There is a very small selection of sandals that provide targeted cushion and support to the heel area, but the good news is that I will help you find them.
Pro Tip: If you’re pressed for time here is a list of the most supportive sandals for heel pain.
What Causes Heel Pain in Children?
Your kids’ heel’s growth plate is sensitive to repeated running and pounding on hard surfaces, resulting in muscle strain and inflamed tissue. In simple words, when there is too much repetitive stress on the growth plate, inflammation can develop.
One of the most common reasons why children experience heel pain is from having Sever’s disease, which is a condition that might take your child out of sports and out of gym classes for several years. Sever’s disease, also known as Calcaneal apophysitis, is the most common cause of heel pain in children.
It doesn’t matter if your child is wearing supportive shoes and orthotics throughout most of the year, if your child doesn’t wear supportive sandals during the summer, you can do serious damage to your child’s feet.
Do Kids’ Sandals Provide Good Support?
Most off-the-shelf sandals provide minimal support and stability for the arch, heel, and forefoot.
Your kids’ feet are their body’s major shock-absorbing system, and without supportive shoes, they can develop foot, leg knee, hip, and lower back pain.
Because of the way that more sandals are designed, they can cause your kids’ toes to grab down, which can lead to making their plantar fascia tighter, increasing the chances of developing plantar fasciitis.
What Makes the Sandals I Recommend Effective for Kids with Heel Pain?
There are 2 key features that the sandals I recommend provide that help treat and prevent heel pain:
1️⃣ Heel Support: One of the reasons why the sandals that I recommend are so effective in significantly reducing or fully eliminating your kids’ heel pain is that the sandals feature extra padding around the heel area to promote equal weight distribution and enhance proper gait. This will take unnecessary pressure off your kid’s plantar fascia, relieving your kids’ heel pain and allowing your child to walk comfortably.
The sandals I recommend provide targeted cushion and support around the heel area. This will help treat and significantly reduce or fully eliminate your child’s heel pain during the summer.
2️⃣ Substantial Outsoles: The sandals come with an internal support mechanism to absorb shock and provide extra cushion around the heel area to keep the heel supported. Notice how much thicker the sole of the Keen sandals is compared to the sandal on the left.
One additional feature that I love about this sandal is that even though it’s supportive, it’s lightweight and flexible at the same time, which will prevent your kids’ feet from easily getting tired.
Now that you know what features this sandal provides, let’s take a look at a selection I have put together of the best sandals for kids with heel pain. Disclosure: Some links in this post may be affiliate links and we may receive a small commission (at no extra cost to you) when you click our links and make purchases.
I only review shoes that I have fitted before since that is the only way for me to tell how well-made the shoes are, the amount of support that they provide, and how they fit.
The Best Sandals for Kids with Heel Pain
Many of the sandals featured below come in several color options, so if your child likes a specific model, please make sure to click through and see if they have the desired color.
Toddler Sizes (0 to 10)
- Sandal style Newport H2 by Keen
- Fits medium and wide feet (fits high insteps)
- This internal support mechanism is anatomically engineered to provide excellent arch support
- Machine washable
- Order this sandal half a size larger than your toddler’s current foot size
- Sandal style Newport H2 by Keen
- Fits medium and wide feet (fits high insteps)
- This internal support mechanism is anatomically engineered to provide excellent arch support
- Machine washable
- Order this sandal half a size larger than your toddler’s current foot size
- Sandal style Pedro by Memo
- Fits medium and wide feet
- Thermoplastic asymmetric stiff heel counter for proper feet protection and support
- This is an orthopedic sandal
- Genuine leather lining
- Order this sandal half a size larger than your toddler’s current foot size
- Sandal style Betti by Memo
- Fits medium and wide feet
- This is an orthopedic sandal
- Thermoplastic asymmetric stiff heel counter for proper feet protection and support
- Genuine leather lining
- Order this sandal half a size larger than your toddler’s current foot size
- Sandal style Psyclone by Teva
- Fits medium, wide, and extra wide feet
- Eva foam footbed cushions and softly supports
- Rubber outsole for great traction
- Order this sandal half a size larger than your toddler’s current foot size
- Sandal style Psyclone by Teva
- Fits medium, wide, and extra wide feet
- Two adjustable velcro straps
- Eva foam footbed cushions and softly supports
- Rubber outsole for great traction
- Order this sandal half a size larger than your toddler’s current foot size
- Sandal style Apakowa
- Fits medium and wide feet
- Leather insole with arch support
- Two points of adjustability
- Order this sandal a whole size larger than your toddler’s current foot size
- Sandal style Apakowa
- Fits medium and wide feet
- Leather insole with arch support
- Two points of adjustability
- Order this sandal a whole size larger than your toddler’s current foot size
- Sandal style Lucky Brand
- Fits medium and wide feet (fits high insteps)
- Supportive footbed
- Adjustable buckles at the front and velcro strap at the back for easy on and off
- Order this sandal half a size larger than your toddler’s current foot size
- Sandal style Mogami by Birkenstock
- Fits medium and wide feet
- EVA foam footbed cushions and softly supports for all-day comfort
- Rigid at the toe box
- Order this sandal half a size larger than your toddler’s current foot size
Little/Big Kid Sizes (10.5 to 7)
- Sandal style Agnes by Memo
- Fits medium, wide, and extra wide feet
- 100% leather made
- Extra depth to accommodate orthotics, AFOS, and internal modifications
- Ability to adjust the Hook and Loop strap length to the different feet width
- This is an orthopedic sandal
- Order this sandal a whole size larger than your child’s current foot size
- Sandal style Michael by Memo
- Fits medium, wide, and extra wide feet
- 100% leather made
- Extra depth to accommodate orthotics, AFOS, and internal modifications
- Ability to adjust the Hook and Loop strap length to the different feet width
- This is an orthopedic sandal
- Order this sandal a whole size larger than your child’s current foot size
- Sandal style Newport H2 by Keen
- Fits medium and wide feet
- This internal support mechanism is anatomically engineered to provide excellent arch support
- Machine washable
- Order this sandal half a size larger than your child’s current foot size
- Sandal style Newport H2 by Keen
- Fits medium and wide feet
- EVA insole with arch support for all-day comfort
- Machine washable
- Order this sandal half a size larger than your child’s current foot size
- Sandal style Hurricane by Teva
- Fits medium and wide feet
- Eva foam footbed cushions and softly supports for all day comfort
- Rigid at the toe box
- Order this sandal half a size larger than your child’s current foot size
- Sandal style Hurricane by Teva
- Fits medium and wide feet
- Eva foam footbed cushions and softly supports for all day comfort
- Rigid at the toe box
- Order this sandal half a size larger than your child’s current foot size
- Sandal style Rio by Birkenstock
- Fits medium and wide feet
- Suede-lined cork footbed offers excellent arch support, a deep heel cup, roomy toe box, and molds to the shape of each individual’s foot
- Flexible and lightweight EVA outsole is durable and shock-resisting
- Order this sandal a whole size larger than your child’s current foot size
- Sandal style Arizona by Birkenstock
- Fits medium and wide feet
- Suede-lined cork footbed offers excellent arch support, a deep heel cup, roomy toe box, and molds to the shape of each individual’s foot
- Flexible and lightweight EVA outsole is durable and shock-resisting
- Order this sandal a whole size larger than your child’s current foot size
- Sandal style Newport H2 by Keen
- Fits medium and wide feet
- EVA insole with arch support for all-day comfort
- Machine washable
- Order this sandal half a size larger than your child’s current foot size
- Sandal style Newport H2 by Keen
- Fits medium and wide feet
- This internal support mechanism is anatomically engineered to provide excellent arch support
- Machine washable
- Order this sandal half a size larger than your child’s current foot size
What Sandal Size Should You Order?
It’s important to note that most sandals are not available in half sizes; they are available in whole sizes only. This factor plays a key role in determining the final size that you will end up ordering for your child.
To allow for growing room, I highly recommend that parents order these sandals half a size larger than their child’s current foot size. This translates to 3/16 of an inch or 0.4 centimeters of space between your child’s longest toe and the end of the sandals.
Shoes can fit short, long, or true to size, and depending on how they fit you have to adjust the final size that you get for your child.
The sandals that I recommend fit true to size, so let’s take a look at a couple of different scenarios that will help you identify which sandal size your child should wear:
- If your child measures a foot size 7, I recommend ordering the sandal in a size 8 to allow for growing room.
- If your child measures a foot size 7 ½, I recommend ordering the sandal also in a size 8 to allow for growing room.
Makes sense?
Always keep a close eye on your kids’ feet for the following symptoms:
- Swelling and redness on your child’s heels
- Check if your child is limping or walking on his/her toes
- Check if your child complains about stiffness in the feet when waking up
- Check if your child complains about pain when you squeeze the heel on both sides
How to Retrieve Your Child’s Exact Foot Length and Shape
If you want to be 100% sure about what shoe size to order online, I suggest that you follow the instructions in this article.
Kindly note that
Make sure that your child stretches regularly since stretching can help reduce the pain.
What Are the Best Sneakers for Kids with Heel Pain?
Before you leave, I wanted to leave with a different article that describes the best sneakers for children with heel pain.
Allow your kids to have a pain-free summer with sandals that support their feet!
Have you tried any of the sandals that I recommend? Have you found a particular sandal that has been effective in reducing or fully eliminating your child’s heel pain? Please share your findings below so other parents can benefit from your experiences.
