Foot Care for Babies and Small Children: Baby’s First Shoes…by Julia Franklin
The first time your child walks is a great moment of achievement for the parents – and no doubt a sense of achievement for the infant too. Resist the temptation, however, to rush out and buy baby’s first shoes! Baby’s feet are flat and broad and, at this stage, designed to function barefoot. You should not try to force your child to walk too soon; they will do so when they are good and ready and the age varies quite a lot between individuals, with the first independent steps occurring between 10 and 18 months. Even later than this does not necessarily imply that anything is wrong.
In the early stage of walking, shoes are unnecessary. In fact it is desirable to allow baby to walk barefoot and thus strengthen the muscles in the feet. Obviously make sure there is nothing on the floor which could injure the feet and ensure that the area is clean to minimise the risk of infection. Once baby is ready to walk outside, the protection of shoes becomes necessary. Buy a good quality shoe with the uppers, at least, being of leather. Make sure socks fit well too – too tight will be restrictive and too loose could ruck and also cause problems. It is advisable to have your child’s feet professionally measured and always allow a sensible amount of room in footwear for future growth.
The Foot Health Council publish a booklet called “The Children’s Foot Health Register” which lists all the shoe shops throughout the country who are committed to the highest standards of shoe fitting for young growing feet. This includes a staff of properly trained shoe fitters who will be able to advise on suitable styles as well as size and fitting. Log on to their website for more details of shops in your area:
www.shoe-shop.org.uk
