Sandals for Kids with Flat Feet – Supportive, Lightweight, Flexible, and Durable!

Do you have a child with flat feet that is complaining about foot and leg pain? Are you having a hard time finding a pair of supportive sandals for your child to wear during the summer? There is a small selection of sandals for kids with flat feet, but the good news is that I will help you find them. I have been fitting children’s shoes for many years, and over the years I became familiar with which sandals provide better support than others.

Finding a pair of supportive sandals can be a frustrating and time-consuming experience if you don’t know what sandals to look for. Most sandals don’t provide any support whatsoever, which can lead to your child having to deal with foot and leg pain during the summer.

Children impose an enormous amount of stress on their feet and legs, and the most effective way to minimize the impact that your kids’ feet and legs take every time they come in contact with the ground is by wearing supportive footwear. In addition, wearing a pair of supportive sandals helps align your kids’ feet and legs, allowing them to walk and run straighter.

Pro Tip: If you’re pressed for time, you can go straight to the selection of the sandals for kids with flat feet.

How Do the Feet of a Child with Flat Feet Look Like?

When children have flat feet their feet collapse and turn inwards, and this throws their whole body out of alignment. Let’s take a look at a picture of a flat-footed child. Do you notice how the child’s feet are turning inwards as there is no arch to prevent the feet from collapsing?

I am always telling parents that something so simple such as providing children with the correct pair of shoes can help straighten their feet and legs, and allow them to walk and run straighter. Don’t just take my word for it, let me prove it to you!

What a Difference The Correct Type of Sandals Can Make!

Let’s first take a look at a picture of a flat-footed child. Do you notice how the child’s feet are collapsing and turning inwards?

Before Image: Child with Flat Feet Standing Barefoot

Now let’s take a look at a picture of the same child wearing a pair of the supportive sandals that I recommend. Do you notice how straighter the feet are?

After Image: Same Child with Flat Feet Wearing Supportive Sandals

Let’s take a look at an image of the child’s feet from the front:

The correct types of sandals can help prevent your child’s feet from collapsing and turning inwards. The issue is that there are very few kids’ sandals that come with a substantial outsole with arch support. The good news is that I will help you find them!

Helping Children with Flat Feet Discover Suitable Sandals

For more than a decade, I’ve been working a specialized shoe store dedicated to addressing foot and leg issues, including flat feet. I have personally assisted many families in the quest to finding suitable sandals for their children who have flat feet. In addition, I have acquired a thorough understanding of which shoe brands and styles are better than others, which is the perfect segue to my next point.

What Are the Most Supportive Sandals for Kids with Flat Feet? 

My go-to shoe brands that manufacture supportive sandals for kids are:

• Keen
• Teva
• Memo

All of these shoe brands manufacture some of the most supportive summer sandals for children. In addition to being supportive, the sandals are also lightweight, flexible, durable, and they provide great traction.

Let me help you visualize what I mean by supportive sandals. Do you notice how the sandal on the right  image (Keen) has a much thicker and supportive outsole than the sandal on the left image?

The sandals that I recommend have a footbed that provides an internal support mechanism that is anatomically engineered to provide excellent arch support and cradle the natural contours of the foot.

Before I provide you with a selection of the best sandals for kids with flat feet, I want to dig a little deeper into what features the sandals that I recommend provide and how you can figure out your child’s exact foot size from home.

Best Sandals for Kids with Flat Feet – The 5 Most Important Features!

1️⃣ Substantial Outsole: This feature helps prevent your child’s feet from collapsing and allows your child to walk and run straighter. A substantial outsole also helps attenuate the impact that your kids’ feet and legs take every time they come in contact with the ground. This feature also allows your child to be able to wear these sandals for longer periods of time — I still recommend your child switching to a pair of sneakers throughout the day — Do you notice how thick and supportive the sole of the sandal is?

2️⃣ Lightweight and Flexible: These features help prevent your kid’s feet and legs from easily getting tired. In addition, depending on the age of your child, he/she might not have the strength to bend a harder sole. Your kids’ sandals should always bend at the ball of the foot but not any further.

3️⃣ Traction: This feature helps minimize the likelihood of your child slipping and falling, especially when walking on wet, slippery surfaces.

4️⃣ Fast Drying: The sandals come with a quick-drying webbing that is perfect when kids are in and out of the water and everywhere else.

5️⃣ Easy On & Off: The elastic cord lace and adjustable hook and loop strap allow children to put them on and take them off by themselves.

I am always emphasizing to parents that it doesn’t matter how many features a particular shoe provides, if the shoes don’t fit the shape of the child’s feet perfectly, your child won’t get any of the benefits that the shoes have to offer.

If the sandals are too long, your child’s foot will end up moving too much inside the sandals, and that constant movement and rubbing might lead to blisters. On the other hand, if the sandals are too short, you will end up cramping your kids’ toes and make them rub against each other or the side of the sandals, which might also create foot issues.

This brings me to this next question: Are you 100% sure of your child’s foot size?

Let’s Figure Out Your Child’s Exact Foot Size – In 2 Simple Steps!

I always recommend parents take their children to their local children’s shoe store, the issue is that most stores have been closing down and parents need to end up buying their kids’ shoes online. There is nothing wrong with this, but you must know your child’s exact foot size to know what size to order. For this reason, I created a resource that showcases the best fitting children’s shoe stores by state.

If after looking at that resource you still can’t seem to identify a shoe store in your area, then proceed to take a look at an article I created that describes 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 length 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 that you know what features Keen sandals provide and how to figure out your child’s foot size from home, you are ready to take a look at the best sandals for kids with flat feet.

Below you can find a selection of the best sandals for kids with flat feet. 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 Sandals for Kids with Flat Feet

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.

Are Any Other Sandal Choices Available?

If none of these sandals are available in your child’s shoe size or if you need the sandals to be made of a specific color don’t hesitate to contact me via email.

The sandals that I recommend above are the best sandals for children with flat feet. I have fitted these sandals for hundreds of different children who were experiencing foot and leg pain during the summer, and in most cases, the pain was significantly reduced or completely disappeared.

Now that you know which are the best sandals for kids with flat feet, you are ready to keep their feet and legs healthy during the summer season.

What Are the Best Sneakers for Kids with Flat Feet?

If you happen to need a different pair of shoes for your child with flat feet, you may find helpful this post on flat feet footwear.

Is there any other sandal style that you can recommend for children with flat feet? Please share your experiences in the comments section below so other parents can benefit from them.