Sandals for Toddlers with Pronation – Let’s Help Your Toddler Balance During the Summer!
Do you have a toddler who has been diagnosed with flat feet? Did your physical/occupational therapist recommend supportive sneakers but you are wondering about what shoes your toddler should wear during the summer season? I have created several different resources for toddlers with flat feet and pronation, and in this specific one, I will show you a list of the best sandals for toddlers with pronation.
Are Flat Feet and Pronation Normal in Toddlers?
It’s important to understand that we all have a certain degree of pronation, and most issues arise when pronation becomes excessive. As I mentioned in other articles, pronation is also referred to as flat feet, and when pronation becomes excessive it’s referred to as overpronation.
The main issue with overpronation is how it can throw your toddler’s whole body out of alignment, leading your toddler to put extra pressure on the feet and knees, which often leads to foot, leg, hip, and back pain in the later years.
Can Shoes Help Treat and Prevent Your Toddler’s Overpronation?
Certain sneakers and orthotics will help treat and prevent your toddler’s overpronation, but parents are often confused when it comes to what shoes they should get during the summer. Unfortunately, there aren’t many summer sandals that will help address this foot condition.
You should always avoid providing your toddler with sandals that provide no arch support because they can make your toddler’s feet vulnerable to injury and various foot, knee, hip, and back problems down the road. Sandals that don’t provide arch support force your toddler’s full body weight to pressure only on the heel and forefoot instead of distributing the force more evenly across the entire foot.
Key Features of Supportive Sandals for Toddlers
The sandals that I recommend provide an internal support mechanism that is anatomically engineered to provide excellent arch support and prevent the flattening of the arch. This is how the outsole of the sandals looks like:
What a Difference the Correct Pair of Sandals Can Make!
Let’s take a look at an image of a flat-footed child standing barefoot. Do you notice how the child’s feet are collapsing and turning inwards?
Before Image
Now let’s take a look at an image of the same child standing in the pair of sandals that I recommend. Do you notice how much straighter the child’s feet are?
After Image
Wow! What a difference the correct types of sandals can make! The internal support mechanism of the sandal is preventing the child’s feet from collapsing and turning inwards.
Will the Sandals that I Recommend Improve Your Toddler’s Foot Posture?
How effective the sandals will be in improving your toddlers’ gait and posture depends on the degree of pronation that your toddler has.
Now that you know what features your toddlers’ sandals must provide, you are ready to take a look at a selection of the best sandals for toddlers with pronation. 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.
Supportive Sandals for Toddlers with Pronation
These sandals below will help improve your toddler’s posture and help treat and prevent overpronation.
Boys
- Order the sandal style Newport H2 by Keen on Zappos
- Fits toddlers with medium and wide feet (fits high insteps)
- This internal support mechanism is anatomically engineered to provide excellent arch support
- Machine washable
- I suggest that you get this sandal a half size larger than your child’s current foot size
- Order the sandal style Apakowa on Amazon
- Fits toddlers with medium and wide feet
- Leather insole with arch support
- Two points of adjustability
- I suggest that you get this sandal a whole size larger than your child’s current foot size
- Order the sandal style Psyclone by Teva on Zappos
- Fits toddlers with medium, wide, and extra wide feet (fits high insteps)
- Eva foam footbed cushions and softly supports
- Rubber outsole for great traction
- I suggest that you get this sandal a whole size larger than your child’s current foot size
- Order the sandal style Aldus by Carter on Amazon
- Fits toddlers with medium and wide feet
- Double adjustable straps
- Anatomically shaped footbed
- I suggest that you get this sandal a half size larger than your child’s current foot size
- Order the sandal style Miki by Memo on Amazon
- Fits toddlers with medium and wide feet
- This is an orthopedic sandal
- The stiff heel cup prevents the foot deformities; it is placed vertically to the shoe base, and holds the foot in the appropriate position
- High heel design provides better support and helps with lateral movements
- I suggest that you get this sandal a half size larger than your child’s current foot size
- Order the sandal style Arizona by Birkenstock on Zappos
- Fits toddlers with medium and wide feet
- Double adjustable straps
- EVA outsole
- I suggest that you get this sandal a half size larger than your child’s current foot size
- Order the sandal style Pedro by Memo on Amazon
- Fits toddlers with medium and wide feet
- Thermoplastic asymmetric stiff heel counter for proper feet protection and support
- This is an orthopedic sandal
- Genuine leather lining
- I suggest that you get this sandal a half size larger than your child’s current foot size
Girls
- Order the sandal style Newport H2 by Keen on Zappos
- Fits toddlers with medium and wide feet (fits high insteps)
- This internal support mechanism is anatomically engineered to provide excellent arch support
- Machine washable
- I suggest that you get this sandal a half size larger than your child’s current foot size
- Order the sandal style Apakowa on Amazon
- Fits toddlers with medium and wide feet
- Leather insole with arch support
- Two points of adjustability
- I suggest that you get this sandal a whole size larger than your child’s current foot size
- Order the sandal style Psyclone by Teva on Zappos
- Fits toddlers with medium, wide, and extra wide feet (fits high insteps)
- Eva foam footbed cushions and softly supports
- Rubber outsole for great traction
- I suggest that you get this sandal a whole size larger than your child’s current foot size
- Order the sandal style Kristina by Memo on Amazon
- Fits toddlers with medium and wide feet
- This is an orthopedic sandal
- The thermoplastic sturdy heel counter, Thomas heel for flat feet prevention and treatment
- 100% genuine breathable leather
- High heel design provides better support and helps with lateral movements
- I suggest that you get this sandal a half size larger than your child’s current foot size
- Order the sandal style Duncan by Carter on Amazon
- Fits toddlers with medium and wide feet
- Double adjustable straps
- Anatomically shaped footbed
- I suggest that you get this sandal a half size larger than your child’s current foot size
- Order the sandal style Doris by Memo on Amazon
- Fits toddlers with medium and wide feet
- This is an orthopedic sandal
- Thermoplastic asymmetric stiff heel counter for proper feet protection and support
- Genuine leather lining
- I suggest that you get this sandal a half size larger than your child’s current foot size
- Order the sandal style Betti by Memo on Amazon
- Fits toddlers with medium and wide feet
- This is an orthopedic sandal
- Thermoplastic asymmetric stiff heel counter for proper feet protection and support
- Genuine leather lining
- I suggest that you get this sandal a half size larger than your child’s current foot size
It’s important to provide your toddler with a certain amount of growing room, but sandals that are too long might compromise your toddler’s stability, making your toddler more prone to developing foot issues such as blisters, calluses, and corns.
How to Figure Out What Sandal Size You Should Order?
As a standard rule, we always want to provide children with a half a size larger — 3/16 of an inch or 0.4 centimeters — of space between the longest toe and the end of the shoes.
Keen sandals are not available in half sizes, they are available in whole sizes only. Let’s take a look at a couple of scenarios that will help you determine what sandal size to order for your toddler:
- If your toddler measures a foot size 5, you will order the size 6 and your toddler will still get the correct amount of growing room.
- If your toddler measures a foot size 5 ½, you will order the size 6 and your toddler will get the correct amount of growing room.
How to Retrieve Your Toddler’s Exact Foot Length and Shape
To be able to figure out your toddler’s correct sandal size, you need to know your toddler’s exact foot size. I created a virtual shoe fitting service that will help you retrieve your child’s shoe 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.
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 reach out via email.
Finding children’s sandals with arch support has proven to be a challenging task. Most sandals come with a flat design that doesn’t provide any type of support whatsoever.
What Are the Best Sneakers for Toddlers with Pronation?
If you haven’t been able to find a pair of supportive everyday sneakers for your flat-footed toddler, please refer to another article I wrote where I describe the best everyday sneakers for toddlers with flat feet.
Do you have a toddler that is dealing with overpronation? Have you found a particular sandal that has been effective in treating and preventing your toddler’s overpronation? Please share your findings below so other parents can benefit from your experiences.
