Has your child been complaining about pain in his or her toes? Did you know that the most common cause of toe pain is wearing shoes that are too short or too narrow?
Furthermore, did you know that most kids that experience foot problems often go undiagnosed?
I have been fitting children’s shoes and orthotics for ten years at a premier specialty children’s shoe store, a leader in proper fit for over forty years. We specialize in fitting children with foot and leg problems as well as providing regular shoe fittings for all children, whichever their needs are.
The shoes that you buy for your child have a direct impact in keeping their feet and legs healthy and if your child complains about toe pain, the first step is to check the shoes that they are wearing.
Shoes that are too short or too narrow will cramp your kids’ toes and lead to painful blisters, calluses, and corns. On the other hand, shoes that are too long or too wide will allow your child’s feet to move too much inside the shoes and that constant friction between the toes and the shoes will also lead to the same foot issues mentioned above.
This is the main reason why you have to fit your kids’ shoes just RIGHT!
Shoes come in different widths such as narrow, medium, wide, and extra wide. If your child has been complaining about toe pain, a shoe that comes with a wide toe box and that is deep will be most effective in reducing, or fully eliminating the pain that your child is experiencing.
New Balance is the shoe brand I go to when a child needs a deeper or wider shoe. I have fitted most of their shoe styles before and I can confidently tell you they are much deeper and wider than other shoe brands.
I have spoken with several parents who have taken their children to see a specialist about their toe pain, but they haven’t managed to identify the problem.
While there might be several reasons why your child might be experiencing foot pain, the FIRST STEP is to check that the shoes are not the ones causing the issue.
One common mistake I have noticed that parents make is not providing their kids with a certain shoe style because they are not aware that it exists in a particular size or width.
For example, I have helped several parents find soccer and baseball cleats for their children in extra wide widths, or summer sandals for children that need them in narrow widths. So please keep in mind that:
It doesn’t matter how narrow or how wide your kids’ feet are, there is at least one particular shoe style out there that will fit the shape of their perfectly, and I will HELP YOU find it!
In this article, I will describe the best shoes for children with foot pain in the toes, but let’s first take a look at what features a good shoe must have and how you can make sure your child is wearing the correct shoe size.
Supportive, Deep, and Wide— Important Shoe Features
As I mentioned earlier, it is important to find a shoe that is deep but that it also comes with a wide toe box. Additionally, there are other features that the shoes must provide in order to keep your kids’ feet healthy.
The shoes must also be supportive, lightweight, and flexible.
A shoe that is supportive will minimize the impact that your child’s feet take every time they come in contact with the ground.
A shoe that is lightweight and flexible will prevent your kids’ feet and legs from easily getting tired.
Now, it doesn’t matter how many good features a shoe provides to your child’s feet, if the shoes are not fitted properly, your child won’t get any of the benefits that the shoes have to offer.
How can you make sure that your child is wearing the correct shoe size? Let’s take a look at the most effective way to measure your kids’ feet from home.
Finding the Correct Shoe Size- Keep Your Kids’ Feet Healthy
I always recommend parents to take their children to their local children’s shoe store, where a shoe fitter can properly measure their feet and find shoes accordingly. However, I get frequently contacted by parents asking me how to measure their kids’ feet from home since they don’t have a local children’s shoe store that they TRUST or that they aware that is nearby.
If you feel identified with this, please START by reading an article that will show you how to make sure your child is wearing the correct shoe size. You can find that article here:
How To Measure Kids Shoe Size From Home – In Less Than 30 Seconds!
Now that you know what are the features a good shoe must have for your child and how to make sure your child is wearing the correct shoe size, let’s take a look at a selection of the best shoes for children with foot pain in the toes.
The Best Shoes for Kids With Toe Pain— Let’s STOP the Pain!
Every time I recommend a particular shoe style is because I have fitted that shoe style before, since that is the only way for me to know the features that the shoe styles provides and how it fits (long, short, narrow, wide).
Here you can find a selection of the best shoes for children with foot pain in the toes:
All of these shoe styles fit “true to size”, which means that you need to go a half a size longer of the size that your child measures in the shoe measuring scale in order to allow space for growing room.
Socks for Kids With Toe Pain – Seamless Socks!
While shoes remain the number one contributing factor to toe pain, socks play a key role in keeping our kids’ feet and toes healthy as well. Let’s put it this way, the shoes and socks work together in keeping your kids’feet healthy.
One important factor that parents tend to oversee is the importance of wearing the correct type of sock (seamless) and the correct sock size.
The main purpose of socks is to act as a barrier between our kids’ feet and the shoes, preventing the formation of bacteria inside the shoes.
You must provide your child with the correct sock size in order for the toes not to get cramped and rub against each other. Socks that are too small can constrict toe movement and make your kids’ toes to overlap each other, leading to toe pain.
If you want to learn more about the best seamless socks for children and how to make sure you get the correct sock size, take a look at an article I wrote called:
Seamless Socks For Kids – Stop The Struggle Of Putting Socks On!
What to Do When the Shoes Fit and The Pain Persists?
There might be cases that even though the child is wearing the correct type of shoe and the correct type of socks, the pain is still there.
If your kids’ toes seem to be particularly in pain when you touch them, walk or run, and they are struggling to sleep because of the pain or can’t do their everyday activities that they normally enjoy, then I would recommend that you take your child to a specialist.
I met a family with a child that was wearing the correct type of shoes and socks, and had blood work done in order to rule out iron or vitamin deficiencies, diabetes, gout or juvenile rheumatoid arthritis.
When the family took the child to a different specialist, he identified the problem as limb length discrepancy (one leg longer than the other).
The family returned to the shoe store and I fitted the child in a pair of shoes with an extra thick insole to put in the right foot to compensate for the discrepancy and the pain has completely gone!
After that experience I decided to write an article for children with leg discrepancy for those parents who need guidance in that subject and you can find that article here:
Heel Lifts For Leg Length Discrepancy – The Best Solution To Your Kids’Leg Length Discrepancy!
Do you happen to know of a children’s shoe store in your area that you TRUST? I get contacted by parents daily asking me if I know about a good children’s shoe store in their area.
That is the reason why, I recently created an article that showcases the best children’s shoe stores by state, so if you want to know whether you have a children’s shoe store in your area that you can TRUST please refer to an article I wrote called:
The Best Kids’ Shoe Stores In The United States – Where To Go For Proper Fittings
If you happen to know of a good children’s shoe store in your area, please let us know in the comments section below so we can all benefit from your experience.
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