Kids’ Shoe Size Chart – Why They Are Irrelevant
Struggling to figure out your child’s correct shoe size? While kids’ shoe size charts are a popular go-to for parents, most only measure foot length—ignoring key factors like width and instep height. This often results in poor-fitting shoes that can cause discomfort or foot problems. In this guide, I’ll explain why traditional size charts fall short and how to ensure your child gets a shoe that truly fits—beyond just the number.
Why Are Kids Shoe Size Charts Irrelevant
Even the most popular kids’ shoe size charts—like the widely used Stride Rite chart—fall short because they only measure foot length. They don’t account for crucial factors like your child’s instep height, which can make all the difference in finding a truly comfortable and supportive shoe.
You can’t truly find the right shoe size for your child without knowing if they have a high instep.
Variability in Shoe Brands
Another factor contributing to the irrelevance of size charts is the inconsistency between different shoe brands. Just like adult footwear, children’s shoes can vary in size from one brand to another. A size 5 in one brand might be equivalent to a size 6 in another. This discrepancy makes it challenging for size charts to provide a one-size-fits-all solution. The best approach is to try on shoes from different brands to find the best fit for your child.
This is mainly because children’s shoes can run short, long, narrow, or wide, and depending on how they run, you will need to adjust the final shoe size that you get for your child. Sometimes children might end up getting a whole size longer or a whole size smaller than the size that they measured on the foot measuring scale.
How to Retrieve Your Child’s Exact Shoe Size and Shape
Ideally, parents should visit a trusted local children’s shoe store where expert fitters can measure their kids’ feet accurately and recommend the best shoes. However, with many stores closing, more parents are turning to online shopping. That’s perfectly fine—but to order the right size online, you need to know your child’s exact foot measurements and shape.
As a passionate shoe fitter, I developed the most effective way to determine your child’s exact foot size from your home and will personally assist you with a custom fitting tailored to your child’s individual needs. My virtual shoe fitting service allows parents to determine:
- Correct length, width (narrow, medium, wide, or extra wide), and instep height.
- Identify possible foot conditions such as flat feet and degree of pronation.
Step One: Measure Your Child’s Foot Length for Shoe Size
Ensure your child is standing straight and measure both feet, as one may be larger than the other. Measure up to the tip of your child’s longest toe, which may not be the big toe—it could be the second or even the third toe. Record the measurements or email the image to prevent any confusion.
We will input your child’s foot measurements in the standard foot measuring tool (Brannock device) to retrieve your child’s exact foot length.
You can follow the instructions in this video for better visualization purposes.
Step Two: Video or Images to Determine Foot Width
Create a brief video to assess if your child has narrow, medium, wide, or extra-wide feet, along with high insteps. I will also be able to determine if your child has a foot condition such as flat feet. Below you can find a sample of how the video should look like:
If you’d prefer not to record a video, you can take three photos of your child’s feet as shown below. However, please note that the video will provide a more accurate assessment of your child’s exact foot shape.
This image helps determine whether your child is flat footed and whether your child has a high instep or not.
This image helps determine whether your child has narrow, medium, wide, or extra wide feet.
This image helps determine whether your child has rolled ankles or not.
➡️ Recap – What to Include in Your Email
- Your child’s foot length measurements (or an image of their foot length measurements)
- Sample video (or three images of your child’s feet)
- The country you live in case you need specific shoe recommendations
Feel free to include in your email any additional information I should know about your child’s feet:
customerservice@fittingchildrenshoes.com
According to research done by the shoe company Clarks, at least four million children are walking around wearing the wrong shoe size. Parents do not realize that by having their children wear the wrong-sized shoe, they are making their children more prone to developing foot, leg and back problems that may last a lifetime. Some of the short-term issues include blisters, calluses and ingrown toenails, while foot deformities, knee and posture are some of the long-term problems.
I have Learnt something very valuable today. I never really thought about that. I too was one of those parents who would go and buy a pair of shoes either a size bigger or a half size bigger because I didn’t want to have to be visiting the shoes store anytime soon. It is good to know that there are people out there with this type of knowledge and is passionate enough to share it with the world.
Reneea,
Getting shoes that are too long can create several complications to your children feet. You are not just compromising their stability, but you are also making them more prone to getting blisters.
I love that you mention the importance of forgoing the fashion trend and wearing shoes that are supportive. My younger sister used to only wear shoes that were “fashionable”and now as an adult, she has extreme issues with her feet that require her to visit a podiatrist every month for the rest of her life.
Amberlee,
It is important. Just like your sister, I met a lot of people who did not wear good supportive shoes as children, and now are facing back and leg problems. This is not the case for every individual, but why take a chance when it comes to our children feet? Thank you for sharing!
Hi Juan,
Thank you for the interesting article. There were few times when I did buy shoes for my son basing on the size, and nearly all of those times I had to change these to other size. Consequently, now I buy shoes for him only when he tries the shoes on. For us this is proven to be the wisest thing to do to avoid changing sizes back and forth.
Looking forward for more interesting articles!
Arta,
I agree 100% with you! The only way to know whether they fit or not, is to try them on.
This article is very helpful for me at least. I am a kind of a parent that used to bring the kids shoes a size bigger so they can wear them for longer and also to be comfortable for them, i didn’t know that wearing a size bigger can cause a problem. i would like to know whether the cheap shoes found on line or in the supermarkets harmful for their feet even though if they were the right size and how to know exactly if the shoes my kids wearing are of the right size or not?
Ahmed,
I am glad that you know now the consequences of wearing a shoe that is too long. We definitely want to leave some growing room for children to grow into the shoe, but we don’t want too much growing room since that can compromise their stability and create a myriad of problems. The reason why online shoes might be cheaper is that you might be looking at an older style, which means that there is nothing wrong the shoe itself. In order for the shoe to be the right size, it must fit width and length wise. You want to make sure there is no pressure around the small toe, and there should be certain amount of space between the end of the longest toe and the end of the shoe. Hope this helps!
I can understand why some manufacturers are generous wiht dress clothes sizes in order the flatter the wearer into thinking they’ve lost weight, but there seems no logical reason to keep sizings so different from one brand to the next – or is it just a ploy to get us to go back to them because we know how their shoes fit? One of my children has had sevearl ops on his feet and finding shoes to fit is often a challenge – if we could know that the same size ‘fits all’ we coudl buy on line but it is currently impossible without ordering several different sizes and sending back what doesn’t fit (thereby inceasing costs for us and the sender).
Sarah,
Even if you have found a brand that fits your kids foot well, that doesn’t mean that every single shoe from that brands fits the same. Every shoe style in the same brand fits different! Big online retailers are offering free shipping, but it can be a waste of time and money to keep shipping shoes back and forth. If there is a particular shoe style that you are not sure about how it fits, you can always contact me, since I am familiar with all brands and styles,