Your baby is constantly growing and it can be tempting to let them run around without shoes on, especially in the warm summer time. However, to protect their feet, these high-energy bundles of joy need to wear shoes when they are running around, whether it is in the house or outside. Before you go out shopping for shoes, you need to measure your child’s feet to see what size they wear.
What to Use to Measure Your Toddler’s Feet
When you’re ready to buy your toddler new shoes, you won’t be needing that large measuring device used in most shoe stores that you step on to have your foot measured. That device is too large for your child’s foot and you don’t need to measure their feet while standing up. The best measuring devices for your toddler’s feet is a ruler or a cloth measuring tape. Make sure you have a pencil and paper handy when you do measure their feet in order to write down the measurement and do the calculations necessary to find the proper shoe size.
How to Measure Your Toddler’s Feet
There are a few ways you can find the shoe size of your toddler. You can:
- Measure their feet, which will give you the most accurate size.
- Guesstimate their size by doubling their age and adding 2 for a boy or 1 for a girl. This method will give you an approximate size and can be used for kids up to age 5.
- Use standardized sizes for young children. A size 5 is for children who are 12 to 18 months old, size 6 fits 18 to 24 months, size 7 for a 2-year-old, 8 for a 2- to 2 1/2-year-old, size 9 for a 3-year-old. A 10 is for a 3 1/2 -year-old, 11 for a 4 1/2-year-old and size 12 is for a 5-year-old.
When you do measure your child’s foot, you will need to add one-half size for every 1/6 of an inch you measure. So if you measure your toddler’s foot as 5 inches long, they would wear a size 6 shoe. For a foot that is 5 1/6-inch foot, they would wear a size 6 1/2.
Don’t wait too long after measuring their feet to go shoe shopping. As you know, toddlers grow fast, and if you wait too long, their shoe size may have changed and you will need to measure their feet again. When you do pick out a pair of cute shoes for your little boy or girl, try them on in the store.
Your child may not be able to tell you if the shoes pinch their feet if they are very young, but feel the end of the shoe for their big toe. There should be a thumb’s width between their toe and the end of the shoe. You will want to leave a little bit of room between their toe and the end of the shoe to give them some room to allow their feet to grow. Leaving that space will make walking in the shoes more comfortable as well.
How to Pick Out a Good Shoe
Unlike some adult shoes, a toddler’s shoes shouldn’t need breaking-in. When you buy the shoes, let them walk around inside the house for a while and then take off the shoes. Check their feet for any signs of irritation. Look for red spots around the toes and heels or blisters on the feet. If you find any indications that the shoes are uncomfortable, try to return them and pick out another pair. You don’t want your child’s feet hurting when they are walking.
