Find the right shoe size for your kids’ feet

Healthy feet are the foundation of growing children, quite literally. There’s no stage in life when finding the right size shoes matters more.

That’s why we’ve put a short guide together to help you measure your children’s feet properly.

What you’ll need

The best piece of kit for the job is a foot gauge if one isn’t available, you can use the following equipment instead.

If a foot gauge or piece of paper isn’t available:

• Inner sole or sockliner
• Ruler

If a foot gauge or inner sole/sockliner isn’t available:

• Piece of paper
• Pen or pencil
• Ruler

What happens if children wear shoes that don’t fit?

Younger children’s feet are mostly cartilage – delicate tissue that turns into bone as your child grows into adulthood. Because bones aren’t fully formed, it’s easier for ill-fitting shoes to deform young feet. This typically presents itself in one of three ways:

• Bunions – bony lumps near the big toe that force it to point inwards
• Bunionetttes – like a bunion but on the smallest toe
• Hammer toes – when toes become permanently bent at the first or second joint

Even though kids’ shoes like our new NOVABLAST 2 and PATRIOT 13 are designed with a natural growth margin, allowing space for growing feet, it’s important to follow some simple steps to make sure you find the right shoe size for your child.

Read on to find out how to measure your kids’ feet correctly.

Before you start

The easiest way to measure children’s feet is with a foot gauge, but if you don’t manage to pick one up online an inner sole/sockliner or piece of blank paper can also do the trick.

Try and check your child’s shoe size in the evening as feet usually swell during the day, and you’ll need somewhere to take a note of the measurement.

Make your children feel involved throughout the measuring process by talking through each stage – they may even enjoy it. If not, think about ways to keep their mind occupied without moving around.

Step 1: Stand up straight

Start by asking your child to stand up straight on a flat surface.

Place their feet shoulder-width apart and make sure they’re distributing their weight evenly while facing forward.

Pick up the foot gauge to start measuring. If you don’t have a foot gauge you can measure your child’s feet with a piece of paper and a pen.

Step 2: Measure the foot

Open the gauge as wide as possible and place one end against your child’s heel.

Slide the gauge down until it gently touches the longest point of your child’s foot.

Repeat for both feet.

Using an inner sole/sockliner

Start with your child sitting down so their feet can touch the floor.

Line up your child’s heel with the heel of the inner sole/sock liner and ask them to stand up.

Mark the inner sole/sock liner with a pen at the longest part of the foot.

Repeat for both feet.

Using a piece of paper

Ask your child to stand on a blank piece of paper with their heels lightly touching against a wall.

Mark the paper with a pen or pencil at the heel and the longest point of your child’s foot.

Repeat for both feet.

Select the right size

Take the longest measurement from your foot gauge and add one euro size to give a growth margin.

If you’re measuring feet with socks on, take 1-3mm off from the measurement.

If you’re using a piece of paper or inner sole/sockliner, take the longest measurement and add 5-10mm. Again, if you’re measuring feet with socks on, take 1-3mm off from the measurement.

Convert the length using our Shoe size conversion chart.

Or leave it to the experts

We’ll be happy to measure your children’s feet in store. Just ask about our free measurement service for more details.

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