Most children with dwarfism or achondroplasia have the hardest time finding shoes that fit. The main reason for this is that sometimes they have to deal with foot conditions such as flat feet, rolled and flexible ankles, bowed legs, low muscle tone, and really wide feet. I am going to show you a list of the best shoes for dwarfism based on my many years of shoe fitting experience.
Children with achondroplasia have their own development checklist, so keep in mind that it is perfectly normal for a 2-year-old with achondroplasia to not be walking yet. You probably have noticed that most children with dwarfism have larger heads, a normal size torso, and low muscle tone, and those 3 factors make it more challenging for children to be able to balance. However, once they start walking, they won’t have any trouble balancing.
There are two types of dwarfism: disproportionate and proportionate. If your child has disproportionate dwarfism you will notice how your child has an average size torso but shorter arms and legs. If your child has proportionate dwarfism, your child’s body parts are in proportion but shortened. Whichever one of these conditions your child has, it’s important to find the correct pair of shoes to accommodate and support their feet. The correct pair of shoes will help improve your child’s overall posture and prevent foot, leg, and lower back pain.
My Experience Fitting Children’s Shoes – Over a Decade of Shoe Fitting Experience!
I have been working for a specialized children’s shoe store for over 10 years. This experience has afforded me many insights into children’s shoes and the way they fit. Our store specializes in fitting shoes for children with foot and leg problems, but we provide regular shoe fittings as well.
From my experience fitting thousands of kids, I have become familiar with the best shoe brands for children with dwarfism and the best styles among those brands. In addition to finding a shoe that provides good support and stability, you will have to find a shoe that provides extra depth and comes with a round toe-box to accommodate the shape of your child’s extra wide feet.
The Challenges of Finding Shoes for Children with Dwarfism
Finding the correct pair of shoes for a child with dwarfism can be extremely frustrating and time-consuming, especially if you don’t know what shoe styles to look for. There have been several families who email me from all over the world asking which are the best shoes for a child with dwarfism. That’s when I decided it was time to create an article answering all of these questions.
One common request that parents have is what type of shoes they can buy for their children to help them look a little taller. Some parents want to help their children reach things that we average people can, while some others want their kids to look a little bit taller when they are around much taller crowds.
Children with dwarfism usually experience foot and leg pain from being flat-footed, having rolled ankles and low muscle tone. I have also seen certain cases where they were experiencing lower back pain or numbness.
Take a look at the image below, does it look familiar? Do you notice how the child’s feet and ankles are rolling inwards?
There are certain children’s shoes that come with a substantial outsole that provides excellent arch and ankle support, and will help align your kids’ feet and legs, improving their overall posture.
In some cases, I had to fit an orthotic inside the children’s shoes for extra support. However, I always recommend starting with a pair of supportive shoes before you decide to invest in a pair of orthotics.
Before I show you a selection of the best shoes for dwarfism, I want to first show you what features these shoes provide and how to figure out your child’s exact foot size from home.
Shoes for Kids with Dwarfism – The 5 Most Important Features
There are 5 key features that your kids’ shoes must provide to accommodate the shape of their extra wide feet and help treat their foot conditions, whichever ones these might be.
1️⃣ Extra Depth: This is a key feature that most parents are not aware of. If you have children with extra wide feet, providing them with a pair of shoes that are labeled as extra wide (“XW”) is simply not enough. You also need to make sure that the shoes provide extra depth, to prevent the top part of their feet (instep), from rubbing against the top part of the shoes. Parents are often confused as to how they are supposed to find shoes that provide extra depth since shoes don’t come labeled that way. Let me show you a difference between a shoe that provides extra depth versus one that doesn’t:
2️⃣ Rounder Toe-Boxes: This feature helps prevent your kids’ toes from rubbing against one another or the side of the shoes. Shoes that come with rounder toe-boxes also help prevent your children from getting blisters on their toes. Let me show you the difference between a shoe that provides a rounder toe-box versus one that provides a pointer toe-box:
3️⃣ Substantial Outsoles: Shoes that come with a substantial sole with arch support help prevent your child’s feet from collapsing and turning inwards or outwards. This feature might also be referred to as shock absorption, and helps reduce the impact that your kids’ feet and legs take when they come in contact with the ground. Below you can see the difference between a shoe with a substantial sole versus a shoe with a sole that is too thin and doesn’t provide the correct amount of support:
4️⃣ Firm Heel Counters: This is the back part of the shoes that provides ankle and heel support. Always check the heel counter of the shoes and make sure it feels firm. Take a look at the example below:
5️⃣ Lightweight/Flexible: Your kids’ shoes must be supportive, but lightweight and flexible at the same time to prevent your kids’ feet and legs from easily getting tired. Your kids’ shoes should always bend at the ball of the foot but no further.
I only recommend shoes that I fitted before since that is the only way for me to tell how well-made the shoes are, the amount of support that they provide, and how they fit.
Without further ado, let’s take a look at a selection of the best shoes for kids with dwarfism. Disclosure: Keep in mind that we may receive commissions when you click our links and make purchases.
The Best Shoes for Dwarfism ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
All of these shoes are available in different widths such as medium (M), wide (W), and extra wide (XW) widths. It’s highly likely that you will need to order the extra wide width for your child.
- Available in medium, wide, and extra wide widths (accommodates high insteps)
- Velcro closure
- ABZORB midsole absorbs impact through a combination of cushioning and compression resistance
- Leather upper
- Extra deep
- Order this shoe a half size larger than your toddler’s current foot size
- Available in extra wide widths
- Oversized opening for easy on and off
- 100% Suede
- Hook and loop closure
- Order this shoe a half size larger than your child’s current foot size
- Available in extra wide widths
- Oversized opening for easy on and off
- 100% Suede
- Hook and loop closure
- Order this shoe a half size larger than your child’s current foot size
- Fits medium, wide, and extra wide feet
- Removable insoles
- Velcro closure
- Lightweight EVA outsole with rubber pods for superior traction
- Order this shoe a half size larger than your child’s current foot size
- Available in extra wide widths
- Oversized opening for easy on and off
- Breathable textile lining is effective in protecting your child’s feet from micro-organisms
- Hook and loop closure
- Order this shoe a half size larger than your child’s current foot size
- Available in extra wide widths
- Oversized opening for easy on and off
- Breathable textile lining is effective in protecting your child’s feet from micro-organisms
- Hook and loop closure
- Order this shoe a half size larger than your child’s current foot size
- Fits wide and extra wide feet
- Adjustable extra-long straps fit around AFOS but can also be cut to fit
- Opens super wide which makes in and out easy
- Breathable mesh
- Order this shoe a half size larger than your child’s current foot size
- Fits wide and extra wide feet
- Adjustable extra-long straps fit around AFOS but can also be cut to fit
- Opens super wide which makes in and out easy
- Breathable mesh
- Order this shoe a half size larger than your child’s current foot size
- Available in 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
- Fits medium and wide feet
- Two removable insoles
- Upper opens completely allowing for unobstructed entry and visual sizing confirmation.
- Wrap-around zipper closure provides fun and easy entry.
- Order this shoe half a size larger than your child’s current foot size
- Fits medium and wide feet
- Two removable insoles
- Upper opens completely allowing for unobstructed entry and visual sizing confirmation.
- Wrap-around zipper closure provides fun and easy entry.
- Order this shoe half a size larger than your child’s current foot size
- Fits medium, wide, and extra wide feet
- Lace-up closure
- Dual-layer midsole construction featuring top-bed foam cushioning and underfoot Fresh Foam X
- Order this shoe half a size larger than your child’s current foot size
- Fits medium, wide, and extra wide feet
- ABZORB midsole absorbs impact through a combination of cushioning and compression resistance
- Leather/mesh upper
- Order this shoe half a size larger than your child’s current foot size
- Fits medium, wide, and extra wide feet
- ABZORB midsole absorbs impact through a combination of cushioning and compression resistance
- Leather/mesh upper
- Order this shoe half a size larger than your child’s current foot size
- Available in wide widths
- ABZORB midsole absorbs impact through a combination of cushioning and compression resistance
- Suede/mesh upper
- Order this shoe half a size larger than your child’s current foot size
Unsure About What Shoe Size You Should Order?
In each of the descriptions of the shoes, I indicate whether you need to order a half size or a whole size bigger than your child’s foot size to provide the correct amount of growing room.
Are Any Other Shoe Choices Available?
These are all everyday sneakers that your child can wear for most everyday activities. However, if you are looking for a different shoe style such as a sandal, boot, dress shoe, or sport shoe, please do not hesitate to contact me and I will help you find it:
fittingchildrensshoes@gmail.com
Are You 100% Sure of Your Child’s Foot Size? – Let’s Find Out!
My recommendation is to take your child to be properly fitted for shoes at your local specialized children’s shoe store, where a shoe fitter can properly measure your kids’ feet. The issue is that most specialized children’s shoe stores have been closing down. That is the reason why I created a resource that showcases the best-fitting children’s shoe stores in the country by state. Go to the link below:
The Best Kids’ Shoe Stores in the United States – Where To Go for Proper Fittings
If after looking at the resource you still can’t seem to find a good-fitting children’s shoe store in your area, then proceed to take a look at an article that I created that will show you the simplest, yet most effective way to figure out your child’s exact foot size from home:
How to Measure Your Kids’ Foot – 2 Simple Steps to Determine Foot Length and Foot Width
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.
Most parents don’t provide their children with a particular shoe just because they assume it won’t fit the shape of their child’s feet. From my 10 years of experience fitting children’s shoes, I came to the conclusion that it doesn’t matter how narrow or wide your kids’ feet are, there is always a particular shoe out there that will fit the shape of your kids’ feet perfectly, and I will help you find it.
Before you leave, I wanted to tell you that the type of socks that your child wears can have a positive/negative impact on your kids’ foot comfort and foot health. If your child has wide or extra wide feet, it’s important that you provide your child with a pair of seamless socks to prevent your child’s toes from rubbing or overlapping one another.
I have found that seamless socks are the most effective ones for children with extra wide feet. In addition to being seamless, your kids’ socks also need to be breathable and durable.
Socks do so much more than just act as a barrier between your kids’ feet and the shoes, they also prevent the buildup of bacteria inside the shoes. Your kids’ socks shouldn’t be too short or too long, they need to fit just right. I describe the best seamless socks for children in another article called:
Seamless Socks for Kids – Stop the Struggle of Putting Socks On!
Have you found a particular shoe that has worked well for your child with dwarfism? Please share your findings below so other parents can benefit from your experiences.
Do you make shoes made for adults Tanya lee Davis she is s comedian
Hello Holly,
Unfortunately, I don’t manufacture shoes. I am familiar with which shoe styles fit deeper so I am more than happy to help her find the correct type of shoes for her feet.