Kids’ Shoes for Supination – Stop Your Kids Foot and Leg Pain!
Do you have a child that has been complaining about foot and leg pain? Has your child been diagnosed with supination? Foot and leg pain is never normal, and if your children have been complaining about foot or leg pain, you should always start by checking the shoes that they are wearing. If your child is wearing rigid, ill-fitting shoes all the time it will lead to foot and leg problems. I have put together a list of the best kids’ shoes for supination based on my many years of shoe fitting experience.
Have you noticed your children walking and running differently? When children supinate, their feet turn outwards and this can throw their entire body out of alignment. This leads to them placing stress on parts of their bodies where they are not supposed to.
The type of shoes that you want to provide for your children are the ones that have a high arch since this will help distribute the pressure on your kids’ feet more evenly.
What Is Supination?
Let’s start by clarifying what supination is. Supination is the opposite of pronation and refers to the outward rolling of the foot during normal motion. Simply speaking, supination occurs when your kids’ feet roll outward as they walk.
When children don’t supinate or pronate, the body weight is evenly distributed throughout the width of the foot. The problem arises when they place weight on the inside or the outside of their feet when walking or running since it creates stress points that will affect their feet, ankles, knees, hips, and even lower back.
The biggest issue with supination is the extra stress that kids place on the outside of the foot with each step they take. If children are walking or running long distances, they will experience foot and leg pain. Sometimes even standing for long time periods of time can cause foot pain or foot fatigue.
I know which shoes are more effective in treating children with supination from having fitted them before. Let me prove it to you!
Before and After Images: Barefoot and with Supportive Shoes
Let’s take a look at an image of a child with supination standing barefoot. Do you notice how the child is placing weight on the outside of the feet?
Now let’s take a look at an image of the same child wearing a pair of supportive shoes I recommend. Do you notice how straighter the feet are?
If you have noticed your children walking or running differently, or if your children have been complaining of their feet and legs feeling tired, you should take them to your pediatrician or physical therapist to have their feet checked. However, if you already took your child to your pediatrician and were told that your child will “outgrow” their foot and leg pain, you came to the right place.
Before I show you a selection of the best shoes for kids with supination, let’s make sure that your child is indeed a supinator.
How to Tell If Your Child is Supinating? – Follow These Easy Steps!
Supination is believed to be hereditary. One of the causes of supination is having a high foot arch, which tends to force kids to walk on the outer edge of their feet.
Supination may also be caused by weakness in certain muscles of your child’s feet and this lack of strength might be a result of wearing shoes that don’t provide enough support or that don’t fit properly.
If you notice a wear pattern on the outside of your kids’ shoes from heel to forefoot, it’s likely that they supinate. But let’s break down the steps you can take to figure out if your child has supination or not:
➡️ First Method
1️⃣ Grab a pair of your kids’ everyday shoes —it can be an old pair or a pair that your child has been wearing for more than a month— Take a close look at the wear pattern on the outsoles of their shoes.
2️⃣ If you notice excessive wear on the outer edge of the sole, your child may be a supinator.
➡️ Second Method
There is another popular method you can use to figure out whether your child is a supinator or not.
1️⃣ Take off your kids’ shoes and socks.
2️⃣ Wet your kids’ feet and with their entire weight make them step on a surface where you can see their footprint (such as a brown paper bag).
3️⃣ If very little or none of the arch is outlined, your child is most likely a supinator.
The Issues with Supination – Learn the Facts!
It’s important that you provide your child with a pair of quality supportive shoes because supination can lead to the following foot conditions:
- Calluses
- Foot rigidity
- Hammer toes
- Ankle sprain and foot instability
- Hammer toes and claw toes
- Plantar Fasciitis
- Back and hip pain
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, how much support they provide, and how well they fit. Without further ado, let’s take a look at the best kids’ shoes for supination. 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.
The Best Kids’ Shoes for Supination
Below you can find a selection of the best kids’ shoes for supination that can fit a child with medium (M), wide (W), or extra wide (XW) feet.
Toddler Shoe Sizes (0 to 10)
- The New Balance shoe style 990V6 is available for toddlers, little, and big kids
- Available in medium, wide, and extra wide widths
- Lace-up closure
- Strong rubber outsole and cushioned midsoles
- Suede/mesh upper provides durability and breathability
- Order this shoe half a size larger than your toddler’s current foot size
- The New Balance shoe style 990V6 is available for toddlers, little, and big kids
- Available in laces and velcro
- Fits children with medium, wide, or extra wide feet
- Synthetic/mesh upper provides durability and breathability
- Order this shoe half a size larger than your toddler’s current foot size
- Shoe style SRT Elliot by Stride Rite
- Lace-up closure
- Strong rubber outsole and a cushioned midsole
- 100% leather made
- Order this shoe half a size larger than your toddler’s current foot size
- Shoe style SRT Emilia by Stride Rite
- Lace-up closure
- Strong rubber outsole and a cushioned midsole
- 100% leather made
- Order this shoe a whole size larger than your toddler’s current foot size
- Shoe style 990v4 by New Balance
- Velcro closure
- Generous toe box and instep to accommodate and support your toddler walker’s needs
- Extra deep
- Order this shoe a whole size larger than your toddler’s current foot size
- Shoe style 990v6 by New Balance
- Velcro closure
- ABZORB midsole absorbs impact through a combination of cushioning and compression resistance
- Removable insoles
- Extra deep
- Order this shoe a half size larger than your toddler’s current foot size
- Shoe style Gabi by Memo
- Genuine leather and breathable mesh
- Thermoplastic asymmetric stiff heel counter for proper feet protection and stabilization
- Stiff and high ankle support
- Order this shoe half a size larger than your toddler’s current foot size
- Shoe style Gabi by Memo
- Genuine leather and breathable mesh
- Thermoplastic asymmetric stiff heel counter for proper feet protection and stabilization
- Stiff and high ankle support
- Order this shoe half a size larger than your toddler’s current foot size
Little and Big Kid Shoe Sizes (10.5 to 7)
- Shoe style GT-1000 by Asics
- Fits narrow and medium feet
- Velcro closure
- Padded collar and tongue for added comfort
- GEL Technology – Cushioning provides excellent shock absorption
- Removable insoles
- Order this shoe a whole size larger than your child’s current foot size
- Shoe style GT-1000 by Asics
- Fits narrow and medium feet
- Velcro closure
- Padded collar and tongue for added comfort
- GEL Technology – Cushioning provides excellent shock absorption
- Removable insoles
- Order this shoe a whole size larger than your child’s current foot size
- Shoe style Contend 8 PS by Asics
- Fits narrow and medium feet
- Velcro closure
- Supportive leather and mesh upper for breathability and durability
- Removable insoles
- Order this shoe a half size larger than your child’s current foot size
- Shoe style GT-1000 11 PS by Asics
- Fits narrow and medium feet
- Velcro closure
- Supportive leather and mesh upper for breathability and durability
- Removable insoles
- Order this shoe a half size larger than your child’s current foot size
- The Saucony shoe style Kinvara LTT is available for little and big kids
- Lace-up closure
- Fits children with medium or wide feet
- Cushioned footbed
- Order this shoe a whole size larger than your child’s current foot size
- The Saucony shoe style Shadow 6000 is available for little and big kids
- Lace-up closure
- Fits children with medium or wide feet
- Cushioned footbed
- Order this shoe half a size larger than your child’s current foot size
- The New Balance shoe style 574 is available for little and big kids
- Lace-up closure
- Fits children with medium or wide feet
- ENCAP midsole cushioning provides good arch and heel support
- Order this shoe half a size larger than your child’s current foot size
- The New Balance shoe style 327 is available for little and big kids
- Lace-up closure
- Fits children with medium or wide feet
- Suede and mesh upper
- Order this shoe a whole size larger than your child’s current foot size
- The New Balance shoe style Fresh Foam X 1080v13 is available for big kids
- Lace-up closure
- Fits children with medium or wide feet
- Suede and mesh upper
- Order this shoe half a size larger than your child’s current foot size
- The New Balance shoe style Fresh Foam X 1080v13 is available for big kids
- Lace-up closure
- Fits children with medium or wide feet
- Suede and mesh upper
- Order this shoe half a size larger than your child’s current foot size
Looking for Other Shoe Recommendations? – Get a Personalized Suggestion
Do not hesitate to contact me directly at my e-mail if your child has narrow feet. My e-mail address is: [email protected]
Please keep in mind that shoes that come with shoelaces always provide better support and more stability than shoes that come with a velcro closure. That is because shoelaces will hug your kids’ feet better, secure their heels, and allow them to walk and run with more confidence.
If your child hasn’t learned how to tie his or her shoes yet, there is an article that I wrote where I describe the best method to teach a child how to tie his or her shoes.
Are You 100% Sure of Your Child’s Foot Size? – Let’s Find Out!
I always recommend parents take their children to their local children’s shoe store, where a shoe fitter can properly measure your kids’ feet and find shoes accordingly. Chances are that if you are reading this article you don’t have a shoe store in your area, and you must purchase your kids’ shoes online.
Start by reading an article I wrote where I describe the simplest, yet most effective way to figure out your child’s foot size from home. In that article I help parents determine their child’s exact foot size and whether the child has narrow, medium, wide, or extra wide feet. I also will be able to tell you whether your child has a high instep or not.
Now, if you have tried a pair of well-fitting and supportive shoes but your child still complains about foot and leg pain, you might need to provide extra support in the shoes such as an orthotic.
This is nothing to stress over since we have a lot of children that come to the shoe store referred by their pediatricians to be fitted for orthotics. I have fitted some of the best orthotics for children that have pronation or supination, and they generally help in aligning their entire body and in eliminating their foot and leg pain. However, you must always start by trying a pair of properly fitted, supportive shoes.
Orthotics for Kids with Supination – Keep Your Kids’ Feet Healthy!
If the shoes that you provide for your child are not reducing or fully eliminating the foot or leg pain that your child has been experiencing, the next step is to try an orthotic.
The correct type of orthotic will help align your child’s feet and legs and help them walk and run straighter. A good-fitting orthotic also reduces the stress that your children were putting in parts of their body where they were not supposed to.
While I can’t get into too much detail in this article about the best orthotics for children with supination, there is another article I wrote that will explain to you everything you need to know about the best orthotics for supination.
You will find everything you need to know about the best orthotics for children who supinate, but if you are left with any doubts please do not hesitate to contact me.
Do you happen to have foot and leg pain due to supination as well? There is a different website that describes the best women’s shoes for supination.
Providing your child with the correct type of shoes will keep his/her feet healthy, and prevent numerous foot issues such as foot and leg pain, blisters, calluses, and corns.
Keep in mind that your children don’t consciously supinate, it happens naturally as they walk. The main problem with supination is that all of your child’s weight and the stress of their gait is placed on their heels and the outside edge of their feet as they walk or run.
Have you found a particular pair of shoes that have worked well for your child with supination? Have you tried a particular orthotic that has improved the way your child walks and runs? Please share your thoughts below so other parents can learn and benefit from your experiences.
