Help! What size shoe do I buy my kids?

Help! What size shoe do I buy my kids?

Kids can be tricky little creatures. Just when you think you have this parenting gig all squared away, something jumps up to put you right back in your place! Whether it be embarrassingly apologising for a word they said (that they may or may not have heard from you) to repainting a wall that was so beautifully re-decorated with texta, they certainly keep us on our toes.

Speaking of toes, one of the questions we get asked in the shoe industry is, how do I know what size shoe to buy my child? Surprisingly, parents are apologetic or embarrassed to ask this, feeling they should already know the answer. Please don’t be! We get asked all the time which prompted us to write this blog to help you out.

In short, the difficulty with knowing what size shoe to buy your kids comes from the fact they can’t effectively communicate with you if the shoe actually fits. As adults, we try shoes on, feel if they are comfortable or not and then make our purchase. Kids on the other hand, will walk around in shoes 3 sizes too small just because they have Peppa Pig on them! Unbeknownst to us, their feet are hurting but they won’t say anything.

The easiest way make sure you are buying the right size shoe for your kids’ feet is to measure their foot without shoes on. The best time of day to do this is later in the day when their feet are at their biggest.

To measure your child’s foot, simply follow these 3 easy steps:

1. Grab a piece of paper, a pencil and tape measure (the more flexible the better)

2. Place your child's foot on the piece of paper and draw a line at the back of the heel and at their longest toe.

3. Measure the distance between the two lines and you have your child’s foot measurement in cm’s. Do the same with the other foot and use the largest measurement as your guide.

NB: If you don’t have a piece of paper, you can measure their foot directly with the tape measure, but be sure it is straight and their foot is right to the edge of the tape measure. Take into consideration any excess on the ends of the tape measure. Do this a couple of times to make sure you are getting consistent readings as the accuracy of this method can’t be 100% guaranteed.

Once you have your child’s foot measurement in, you are armed and ready to make your shoe purchase. With Surefit, our measurements are in mm and we provide the inner sole measurement so you can accurately determine what size shoe you need to purchase. To ensure enough wiggle and growth room, we recommend adding 10mm onto your child’s foot measurement.

For example, your child’s foot measures 16.1cm which converts to 161mm.

Adding 10mm wiggle room will give you a measurement of 171mm.

That would mean you would need to purchase a shoe size measuring as close to a 171mm inner as possible, to allow for growth and wiggle room.

It’s a Surefit way to ensure your child’s shoes fit them now and in 4 weeks time.