What is the Best Foot Measurement Device for Kids? — Save Time and Money!

With most children’s shoe stores being closed parents have no choice but to buy their kids’ shoes online. This means that parents can avoid wait lines and have access to a greater selection of shoes. However, to effectively buy your kids’ shoes online, you are going to need to know their exact foot size. Let’s find out what is the best foot measurement device for kids.

Certain foot measurement devices will help you determine your child’s exact foot length and width. For example, do you actually know your child’s exact foot length? Do you know whether your child has narrow, medium, wide, or extra wide feet?

You need to know the answers to these questions or you won’t be able to order the correct shoe size online. Buying your kids’ shoes online is definitely a lot more convenient than going to the store, but if you don’t know your child’s exact foot size (length and width) you will end up wasting a lot of time and money having to constantly return the shoes.

What is the Best Foot Measurement Device for Kids: Junior Brannock Device

The Brannock device I recommend measures from an infant size (US) 1 to a child’s (US) size 5. It basically will measure most children up to the age of 10. This device was created in 1929 and has been around since then. Unfortunately, most parents have no clue as to how this device works.

• The device can easily retrieve your child’s foot length by placing your child’s heels back against the device and making sure your child is standing straight and looking straight ahead.

• The device can also retrieve your child’s foot width (narrow, medium, wide, or extra wide). The junior Brannock device uses a slide to measure the width. You will have to position the slides so the arrows point to the size determined by toe or arch length. Then, find the width line that aligns with the widest part of the foot. Keep in mind that several families have told me they had a very hard time determining their child’s foot width.

There are other more affordable alternatives to the Brannock device such as the NBC, RITZ, and Squatchi foot measuring devices. However, none of these even come close to the level of accuracy that the Brannock device provides.

Read This Before Buying the Brannock Device

Now here is the dilemma with the Brannock device. Most families agree that the device is expensive but convenient to have at home.

It’s hard for some families to spend $50 to $60 on a foot measurement device. In addition, a lot of families reported that it’s quite hard to figure out how to retrieve the child’s foot width. There is no support from the company as many families told me they emailed the company with questions and no one has responded.

The biggest issue I found with the Brannock device and all other foot measuring devices is that they are not capable of measuring the child’s instep. The instep is the top part of the foot, and when it’s high, it makes it a lot more challenging to find shoes that fit. Below you can see an image of a child with a high instep so you can visualize where the instep of the foot is located:

Retrieving Your Child’s Exact Foot Size for Free

I decided to help those families who don’t have a local shoe store where they can take their children to be properly measured and also those families who are not able to spend $50 on a foot measuring device.

I will personally assist you with a custom fitting tailored to your child’s individual needs. I created an easy-to-follow method that allows parents to accurately determine their child’s correct foot length and width, as well as instep height. Basically, parents will send me their child’s foot length measurements that they can take using a ruler or measuring tape and 2 images of their child’s feet to determine their foot width and instep height.

Once I receive your child’s information I will input your child’s foot measurements on the Brannock device that I have at home and look at your child’s foot images to retrieve your child’s exact foot size and length. You will get your child’s exact foot size and shape in less than 24 hours.

1️⃣ Measure Your Child’s Exact Foot Length:

• Make sure that your child is standing straight, and then place a measuring tape or ruler below your child’s heels. You must measure your child’s feet while standing, as on weight-bearing the foot becomes longer. 

• Measure both feet up to the tip of your child’s longest toe (make sure that your child is not curling his/her toes). You must measure both feet since there is always one foot that is bigger than the other. Keep in mind that your child’s longest toe doesn’t necessarily have to be the big toe — it may in fact be the second or even the third toe.

• Make a note of that measurement in centimeters or inches or email me the image showing the measurements (such as you see below) to avoid confusion with the measurements.

2️⃣ Pictures of Your Child’s Foot Width:

The pictures below will help me determine whether your child has narrow, medium, wide, or extra wide feet. Also, the pictures will help me see whether your child has a high instep and additional information such as whether your child has flat feet or not. Below you can find examples of how the pictures should look like:

Please note that I won’t need the measurements of your child’s foot width, the images will be sufficient to help me determine whether your child has narrow, medium, wide, or extra wide feet.

Feel free to include in your email any additional information I should know about your child’s feet:

[email protected]

Recap – What to Include in Your Email

• Your child’s foot length measurements (or an image of their foot length measurements)
• Three images of your child’s feet (see example images above)
• The country you live in

You will then receive a response within 24 hours with your child’s exact foot length, shape, and specific shoe recommendations as needed. 

How Much Does This Service Cost?

This service is completely free. I am passionate about fitting children’s shoes as I truly believe that the correct type of shoes can be life-changing. Children’s feet are constantly developing, and what happens to their feet during their childhood will affect their physique as they grow older. 

If you wish to support the work of Fitting Children’s Shoes, you can Donate Here Your support helps ensure that families around the world can find the correct shoes for their children, regardless of their foot shape or condition.

Final Thoughts On Fitting Children’s Shoes

Keep in mind that your child’s foot size won’t automatically translate into your child’s shoe size. What I mean by this is that every time you buy new shoes you should leave a certain amount of growing room (3/16 of an inch or 0.4 centimeters to be more precise) of space between your child’s longest toe and the end of the shoes, which usually translates into a half a size longer shoe. However, the final shoe size that you will get for your child depends on whether that particular shoe fits short or long. Makes sense?

For example, I don’t know if you have tried the shoe brand Tsukihoshi before but most of their shoe styles tend to fit really long. This means that with those shoes you might not need to order a half a size longer. On the other hand, other shoe brands such as Saucony tend to manufacture their kids’ shoes on the smaller side. This means that instead of buying a half a size larger you might have to buy a whole size larger to allow for growing room.

My point is that just because your child’s foot size measures a size 10, that doesn’t mean that in all shoes your child will need a shoe size 10 1/2 in order to allow for growing room.

Most podiatrists agree that making sure that your kids’ shoes fit properly is key to avoid foot issues such as blisters, calluses, and corns.

It’s so convenient for many families to be able to measure their children’s feet at home as they prefer to shop online as much as possible to save time.  Let me know if you have any questions about how this process works in the comments section below.