| By :
Wendy Moyer
Unlike adults, children's feet grow at an alarming rate. As parents it seems that we forever need to buy our kids new shoes. However one of the main problems that you are likely to experience when you buy your child new shoes is not knowing their correct shoe size. And this can be very difficult. A shoe that fits properly is extremely important to children, especially young children. As they learn to walk properly having the wrong shoe size can create complications with their growth and posture which they can carry into later life. So again it is about getting them the right shoe size. What follows is a rough guide to how to measure a child's foot. It should make it a little easier to understand the correct shoe size to buy next time you are shopping: 1) All too often people try to measure shoe size without taking into consideration the extra room needed in the shoe for socks. When you measure your child's feet make sure that they wear the thickest socks they own or the ones they are most likely to wear. 2) Have your child stand up when taking the measurement. This way you can get a better idea of the length and width of the child's feet - which is more difficult to achieve with the child sitting down. 3) Make sure you keep your child's feet flat. Children have the tendency to scrunch their feet and curl their toes so be aware of this. 4) Measure the foot from the heel to the big toe. If you are doing this at home the best thing to do is to draw a line down the middle of a sheet of A4 paper. Then mark where the big toe is and where the heel is. As the left and right foot vary slightly in length make sure you measure both feet and take the longer of the sizes. 5) Take the measurements in centimetres for European sizes and inches for US sizes. All stores in the UK will be able to tell you both measurements for a shoe size. However as a rule of thumb for boys UK shoe sizes are ½ less than the US, and for girls it's 1½ less. 6) When your children try on their shoes make sure they have room to wiggle their feet. Do the age old trick of finding where their big toe is with your thumb. If the big toe presses against the top of the shoe then the shoes are too small. Alternatively if it's too far down from the tip of the shoe then the shoes are too big. 7) Get your child to walk around in them and pay attention to their heels. If your child's heel keeps slipping out of the shoe then it means that the shoes are too big. 8) Lastly make sure when buying shoes that you take into account the child's growth. So buy shoes that are at a maximum half a size bigger - but no more so. This way there is room for the child's feet to grow into them. Remember children's feet grow quickly so this makes economic sense. So there you have it. I would still recommend that you get your child's feet measured properly as you can get a much more accurate measurement in the shoe store compared to home measurements. Also if you have any doubts always ask a member of staff to help out because that's what they're there for. However with these simple steps you are in a much better position to make an informed decision about your children's shoes. And it will also put you in a better state of mind in the process.
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