Are you concerned that your kid’s shoes are too wide? Have you noticed a lot of extra space around your child’s ankles and in the front part of the shoes as well?
Wearing shoes that are too wide can create several foot issues to your child’s feet such as blisters, calluses, and corns. When a shoe is too wide, it allows for too much foot movement inside the shoes, which leads to a constant friction between the feet and the shoes. That constant friction and rubbing between the feet and the shoes usually leads to the foot issues mentioned above. In addition, shoes that are too wide can cause instability and make your child more prone to falling down.
Below you can find an example a shoe that is too wide for that particular child’s foot:
It’s important to make sure that your kids’ shoes are not too wide for their feet, and I will show you the simplest, yet most effective method to check this.
I have been working for a specialized children’s shoe store for over 10 years now, and I handle approximately two hundred shoe fittings and try-ons per week. I have fitted hundreds of children’s shoes, and I am familiar with which shoe brands and which shoe styles are better than others. We specialize in children with foot and leg problems, but we provide regular shoe fittings as well.
Since I have been fitting children’s shoes for so long, I consider myself an expert in this area, and I have different methods I use to check if the child’s shoes are fitting correctly.
Please keep in mind that I always encourage parents to take their children to be properly fitted for shoes at their local kids’ shoe store, where a shoe fitter can measure their feet and properly check if the shoes are fitting correctly.
Let’s by taking a look at a map I created to check whether you have a good fitting children’s shoe store in your area or not:
The Best Kids’ Shoe Stores In The United States – Where To Go For Proper Fittings
If you don’t have a store in your area, then keep on reading so you can find out how to check if your kids’ shoes are too wide.
Most Common Sign that Your Kids’ Shoes are Too Wide – Revealed!
If your child is wearing a pair of velcro sneakers, you can check if the shoes are too wide by checking if the velcro straps align properly. If the velcro straps go way over where they are supposed to meet, then it means that the shoes are too wide. Take a look at the picture below for clarification:
Do you notice how the velcro straps are going way pass to where they are supposed to meet? Another sign that the shoes are too wide.
How to Check if Your Kids’ Shoes are too Wide – 4 Simple Steps
✅ The 1st STEP is to put your child’s shoes on and make sure to either tie the shoelaces properly or pull the velcro strap of the shoe tightly.
✅ The 2nd STEP is to have your children stand up straight and make sure that they are looking straight ahead.
✅ The 3rdSTEP is to check if there is extra space around your child’s heels. I want you to slide your finger around the heel counter of the shoe and check how much space there is. There should be enough room that the shoes are not too tight, but if you can fit two fingers around the heel counter area or more, that means that there is too much extra space and that the shoes are too wide.. Take a look at the picture below for clarification purposes:
There is too much extra space around the heels meaning that the shoes are too wide for the child’s feet.
✅ The 4thSTEP is to check if there is too much extra material in the front of the shoes. If you notice there is extra material around the toe-box — take a look at the picture below for clarification — then the shoes are too wide for your child’s feet.
These 4 steps are very simple to follow, but if you have any doubts about any of these steps please don’t hesitate to contact me.
Now, let’s say that you checked all these 4 steps and the shoes are too wide for your child’s feet. This doesn’t automatically means that your child has narrow feet. Maybe you got your child’s shoes too long or too wide — you might have chosen the wrong width to begin with — that’s why I want you to take a look at an article I created where I describe the simplest, yet most effective way to figure out your child’s foot size from home:
How to Measure Your Kids Foot – 2 Simple Steps to Determine Foot Length and Foot Width
Fitting shoes for kids can be a headache, made even worse by the fact that you have to re-fit them every couple of months. However, the majority of podiatry problems in adulthood are caused by ill-fitting footwear in childhood that’s why it’s important that you always make sure that your child is wearing the correct type of shoes in the correct size.
If your child happens to have narrow feet, then we need to find a different shoe style that will fit the shape of your child’s feet better. I have written several articles for children with narrow feet but there is one that covers everything that you need to know. Go to the link below:
The Best Shoes For Kids With Narrow Feet – Stop Hurting Your Kids Feet!
It’s really important to provide your child with narrow feet with the correct type of shoes, otherwise you will create several foot issues to his/her feet as well as foot and leg pain.
I have put together a selection of the best narrow fitting sneakers for kids that I have fitted before
Best Sneakers for Kids with Narrow Feet ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Below you can find a selection of the best sneakers for children with narrow feet. Disclosure: Keep in mind that we may receive commissions when you click our links and make purchases.
Toddler Shoes
Toddler ShoesLittle KidLittle KidBig KidsBig Kids
All of these shoe styles fit “short”, which means that you need to get a whole size longer of the size that your child measures in the standard shoe measuring scale (Brannock device) in order to allow for growing room.
Please keep in mind that if your child has narrow feet and you can’t seem to find any sneakers that fit, it’s always better to find a pair of shoes that come with shoelaces instead of velcro closure, as shoelaces help push your kids’ heels back, securing them against the back of the shoes.
Do you have a favorite shoe brand or a favorite shoe style for children with narrow feet? Please share your thoughts below so other parents can benefit from your experiences.
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