Black Friday deals from thousands of stores all in one place!
17 products
Unfortunately, the size of the shoe doesn’t tell you much about how big the shoe actually is, and this can vary greatly between different brands. Therefore, you should read each manufacturer’s size guide and compare it with your child’s feet measurements.
Most stores have a tool you can use, but an easy way to do this at home is to let your child stand on a piece of paper with their toes spread out, preferably with their heels against a wall. Then, draw a line on the paper by the toe and measure the distance from the line to the wall. Don’t forget to measure both feet – sizes can vary, so go for the larger foot’s measurements. It’s also a good idea to take the measurement in the evening, as feet generally swell a little during the day.
When buying shoes, the shoe’s inside measurement should be 1–1.5 cm longer than the foot’s measurement. Read more about measuring children’s feet at Shoes for Children.
At least one pair of your child’s sports shoes should be [waterproof](/cl/1194/ Children-s-Shoes?attr_47533574=50924579&attr_60020480=60020490). It’s common for shoes to be coated with a waterproof membrane called Goretex, sometimes abbreviated as GTX. The advantage with this is that it lets the foot breathe while keeping any wetness out. This allows the child to stay dry during active play, and their feet not to get too sweaty.
A pair of classic running shoes, or maybe your own trainers in mini format, can seem like a fun and stylish purchase. But don’t forget to consider how they’re fastened. You probably tie your shoes without thinking about it, but for younger children whose fine motor skills aren’t fully developed yet, it can become a pain to tie and retie shoelaces. For younger children, choose shoes with [velcro fastening, zips, or some kind of fast lacing system](/cl/1194/ Children-s-Shoes?attr_47533574=50924579&attr_47533588=57457213,57457214,60020382,60020383).
You can also modify classic lace-up shoes with a pair of elastic shoelaces, which make it easy for your child to put them on and take them off by themselves.
Here are some handy tips in case you need to clean your shoes.