The Best Sandals for Kids with Foot Pain – Extra Arch and Heel Support!
Have you been looking for a pair of sandals to help treat and prevent your child’s foot pain? Certain sandals have supportive outsoles that provide excellent shock absorption and help minimize the impact that your kids’ feet take when they come in contact with the ground. I created several resources that describe everyday sneakers for children with foot pain, but in this specific one, I will be showcasing a list of the best sandals for kids with foot pain.
Several parents have contacted me about which type of sandals their children with foot pain can wear during the summer. Some of the most common reasons why children need to wear supportive sandals are from having flat feet, rolled ankles, overponation, low muscle tone, or knock knees.
Pro Tip: If you’re pressed for time here is a list of the most supportive sandals for kids with foot pain.
The Importance of Supporting Your Child’s Feet During the Summer
Most children’s foot pain and foot injuries occur during the summer when a child plays hard and runs around in overly flimsy sandals. When it comes to protecting your children from foot injuries, timely prevention is particularly important. Most kids might not be mature enough to speak up or realize that a foot condition is developing until the pain can no longer be tolerated, which means that they might not receive a diagnosis as promptly as they should.
If you have a child that has a particular foot condition and needs to wear supportive shoes and orthotics, you should provide your child with a pair of supportive sandals during the summer.
One common question parents have is whether their children can wear an orthotic inside the sandals for extra support. I want to clarify that under no circumstances an orthotic should be fitted inside a pair of sandals.
I have found certain sandals that have proven to be the most effective ones in helping treat and prevent children’s foot pain, regardless of the foot condition that they might have.
What Shoe Brands Manufacture Supportive Sandals?
My go-to shoe brands are:
- Keen
- Teva
- Memo
These shoe brands manufacture some of the most supportive sandals for children with foot issues. Among these shoe brands, certain styles provide better support than others, and I will help you find them!
Most of the sandals that I recommend provide an internal support mechanism that is anatomically engineered to provide excellent arch support. In addition to minimizing the impact that your kids’ feet and legs take when they come in contact with the ground, these sandals will help your child walk and runs straighter, improving your child’s overall posture. Let me prove it to you!
What a Difference the Correct Pair of Sandals can Make!
Let’s start by taking 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 Standing Barefoot
Now let’s take a look at an image of the same child wearing a pair of the sandals that I recommend. Do you notice how the child’s feet are a lot straighter? The internal support mechanism of the sandals is preventing the child’s feet from collapsing and turning inwards, which will help your child walk and run straighter.
After Image: Child Wearing Supportive Sandals
Remember how I told you that not all sandals provide the same amount of support? Let’s take a look at the same child wearing a different sandal. Do you notice how the child’s feet are still not as straight as in the previous image?
After Image: Child Wearing Unsupportive Sandals
What Makes the Sandals I Recommend Effective for Kids with Foot Pain?
Reason #1: Targeted Arch Support
The internal support mechanism is anatomically engineered to provide excellent arch support and cradle the natural contours of the foot. 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?
Reason #2: Targeted Heel Support
In addition to providing excellent arch support, these sandals also come with extra support around the heel area. This is a great feature, especially if your child has rolled ankles. Let me show you the difference between a Keen sandal style that provides extra cushion around the heel versus one that doesn’t. This extra padding helps reduce the impact on your kids’ heels and prevents ankle and heel pain.
I am always emphasizing to parents how it doesn’t matter how many features a particular shoe style provides, if the shoe doesn’t fit the shape of your child’s feet perfectly, your child won’t get any of the benefits that the shoes have to offer.
Based on your child’s foot shape, certain sandals will fit better than others. For example, if your child has narrow feet, there are certain sandals that fit narrower than others. On the other hand, if your child has wide feet, there are other styles that fit deeper and wider. I will expand on this shortly.
The sandals that I recommend can tackle all terrain, meaning that children can wear them to go to the beach, the swimming people, ride their bikes, go hiking, or any other activity you might think of.
Below you can find the best sandals for kids with foot pain. 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 Foot Pain
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.
Toddler Sizes (0 to 10)
- Sandal style Newport H2 by Keen
- Fits medium and wide feet (fits high insteps)
- This internal support mechanism is anatomically engineered to provide excellent arch support
- Machine washable
- Order this sandal half a size larger than your toddler’s current foot size
- Sandal style Newport H2 by Keen
- Fits medium and wide feet (fits high insteps)
- This internal support mechanism is anatomically engineered to provide excellent arch support
- Machine washable
- Order this sandal half a size larger than your toddler’s current foot size
- Sandal style Pedro by Memo
- Fits medium and wide feet
- Thermoplastic asymmetric stiff heel counter for proper feet protection and support
- This is an orthopedic sandal
- Genuine leather lining
- Order this sandal half a size larger than your toddler’s current foot size
- Sandal style Betti by Memo
- Fits medium and wide feet
- This is an orthopedic sandal
- Thermoplastic asymmetric stiff heel counter for proper feet protection and support
- Genuine leather lining
- Order this sandal half a size larger than your toddler’s current foot size
- Sandal style Psyclone by Teva
- Fits medium, wide, and extra wide feet
- Eva foam footbed cushions and softly supports
- Rubber outsole for great traction
- Order this sandal half a size larger than your toddler’s current foot size
- Sandal style Hurricane by Teva
- Fits medium, wide, and extra wide feet
- Two adjustable velcro straps
- Eva foam footbed cushions and softly supports
- Rubber outsole for great traction
- Order this sandal half a size larger than your toddler’s current foot size
- Sandal style Apakowa
- Fits medium and wide feet
- Leather insole with arch support
- Two points of adjustability
- Order this sandal a whole size larger than your toddler’s current foot size
- Sandal style Apakowa
- Fits medium and wide feet
- Leather insole with arch support
- Two points of adjustability
- Order this sandal a whole size larger than your toddler’s current foot size
- Sandal style Lucky Brand
- Fits medium and wide feet (fits high insteps)
- Supportive footbed
- Adjustable buckles at the front and velcro strap at the back for easy on and off
- Order this sandal half a size larger than your toddler’s current foot size
- Sandal style by Geox
- Fits medium and wide feet
- EVA foam footbed cushions and softly supports for all-day comfort
- Rigid at the toe box
- Order this sandal half a size larger than your toddler’s current foot size
Little/Big Kid Sizes (10.5 to 7)
- Sandal style Agnes by Memo
- Fits medium, wide, and extra wide feet
- 100% leather made
- Extra depth to accommodate orthotics, AFOS, and internal modifications
- Ability to adjust the Hook and Loop strap length to the different feet width
- This is an orthopedic sandal
- Order this sandal a whole size larger than your child’s current foot size
- Sandal style Michael by Memo
- Fits medium, wide, and extra wide feet
- 100% leather made
- Extra depth to accommodate orthotics, AFOS, and internal modifications
- Ability to adjust the Hook and Loop strap length to the different feet width
- This is an orthopedic sandal
- Order this sandal a whole size larger than your child’s current foot size
- Sandal style Newport H2 by Keen
- Fits medium and wide feet
- This internal support mechanism is anatomically engineered to provide excellent arch support
- Machine washable
- Order this sandal half a size larger than your child’s current foot size
- Sandal style Newport H2 by Keen
- Fits medium and wide feet
- EVA insole with arch support for all-day comfort
- Machine washable
- Order this sandal half a size larger than your child’s current foot size
- Shoe style Hurricane by Teva
- Fits medium and wide feet
- 3 points of adjustability so children can make the sandals as tight or loose as they want
- Eva foam footbed cushions and softly supports for all day comfort
- Rigid at the toe box
- Order this sandal a whole size larger than your child’s current foot size
- Shoe style Hurricane by Teva
- Fits medium and wide feet
- 3 points of adjustability so children can make the sandals as tight or loose as they want
- Eva foam footbed cushions and softly supports for all day comfort
- Rigid at the toe box
- Order this sandal a whole size larger than your child’s current foot size
- Sandal style Rio by Birkenstock
- Fits medium and wide feet
- Suede-lined cork footbed offers excellent arch support, a deep heel cup, roomy toe box, and molds to the shape of each individual’s foot
- Flexible and lightweight EVA outsole is durable and shock-resisting
- Order this sandal a whole size larger than your child’s current foot size
- Sandal style Milano by Birkenstock
- Fits medium and wide feet
- Suede-lined cork footbed offers excellent arch support, a deep heel cup, roomy toe box, and molds to the shape of each individual’s foot
- Flexible and lightweight EVA outsole is durable and shock-resisting
- Order this sandal a whole size larger than your child’s current foot size
- Sandal style Newport H2 by Keen
- Fits medium and wide feet
- EVA insole with arch support for all-day comfort
- Machine washable
- Order this sandal half a size larger than your child’s current foot size
- Sandal style Newport H2 by Keen
- Fits medium and wide feet
- This internal support mechanism is anatomically engineered to provide excellent arch support
- Machine washable
- Order this sandal half a size larger than your child’s current foot size
Several parents have told me how these sandals have significantly reduced or fully eliminated their child’s foot pain.
One of the reasons parents love these sandals so much is because their kids can wear them pretty much everywhere which involves them being active. They can wear them to go to the beach, swimming pool, camping, hiking, etc.
Parents have told me how one of the hardest things they have to do is figure out their child’s exact sandal size.
How to Figure Out What Sandal Size to Order? – Let’s Find out!
Most sandals are not available in half sizes, they are available in whole sizes only — most seasonal footwear is.
One of the things you have to take into consideration is how many months of summer you got ahead to determine how much growing room your child needs. It’s important to provide your child with a certain amount of growing room, but getting sandals that are too long might compromise your child’s stability and make your child more prone to developing foot issues such as blisters, calluses, and corns.
Let’s take a look at the following scenario to figure out what sandal size you need to provide your child with:
- If your child measures a foot size 10, in most sneakers your child will wear a shoe size 10.5. However, in a pair of sandals, your child will wear the size 11 since they are not available in half sizes.
- If your child measures a foot size 10 1/2, you still will provide your child with a sandal size 11.
How to Retrieve Your Child’s Exact Foot Length and Shape Online
If you want to be 100% sure about what shoe size to order online, I suggest that you follow the instructions in this article.
Get in Touch With Us for a Personalized Suggestion
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 email me at:
Allow your child to be able to play and run around during the summer without experiencing foot or leg pain!
Have you found a specific pair of sandals that have worked well in reducing or fully eliminating your child’s foot pain? Please share your findings below so other parents can benefit from your experiences.
