Hypermobile toddler shoes

[StargazyDrifter]

DD is 14m old and has been diagnosed with Hypermobile Spectrum Disorder by a paediatrician. That means wobbly joints but none of the other syndromes that can come with it, like EDS.

She’s generally a late developer in terms of gross motor skills, a bum shuffler and is only just pulling up to stand herself.

I’m waiting for various NHS letters and physio things to come through, which I expect might take a while. I’ve read that shoes with ankle support can help at this stage. Would be grateful for suggestions of the types of shoe you’ve used if you’ve been through the same. Will obviously also check with the experts once we are able to see them, but thought I might as well try the shoes.

Hello, my little girl has Hypermobility, I've posted about it a couple of times before. She's just learning to walk now at 28 months, physio provided a walking frame. What you need is any boot with a really stiff heel (see picture of example of what I mean).

She started with Piedros, mega expensive but I've got a few pairs 2nd hand off Ebay. The best boots I actually got off aliexpress of all places, I've put the link below but they only start at a EU 22 so possibly too big for a 1-year-old.

kidshoes.aliexpress.com/store/5006253?spm=a2g0o.detail.100005.2.22d75bdeVoZzH0

Thank you so much for replying @Rhubarblin and for the recommendation.

I will start looking for shoes with a firm heel and also for those exact ones for when she’s a bit bigger. She’s currently EU20.

DD does a weird thing when she pulls to stand. She kneels in front of a low piece of furniture and then uses the top of one foot (ie the area where shoes laces would usually sit) to flick her body weight upwards just enough to get that foot flat on the floor. Then she uses the balance from that to pull herself up to a fully standing position. The foot does an almost rolling movement. I suspect a firm shoe could interfere with some of that... will see what the physio says.

Told today it’s a 9 week wait for physio.

Thank you again!

I'm sure you'll be able to find some supportive boots somewhere that won't cost a bomb, the NHS may well prescribe some footwear for your DD too.

I'm thinking the standing motion you've described is probably because her ankles will roll inwards when she stands normally so it feels very unstable for her, she's using the flexibility in her ankles to stand up in this creative way! My little girl always w'-sits as her hips are so bendy she's most comfortable and secure this way but I have to try and discourage it as it's bad on her joints.

That's a long wait for physio :( always worth pestering them for a cancellation though!

Is the inward ankles thing the same as or similar to flat feet? As DD has been pulling up and standing more over the last few days, we’ve noticed that she’s bearing a lot of weight on the arches of her feet, as opposed to the outer bits like other toddlers we know. Her toes are also often pointing outwards, not forward. She seems to be having a great time regardless, and has just learned to do a bum wiggle with it all. 😂

I remember a GP recently saying that they can stand however they like at this stage, and they won’t be assessed for right/wrong posture until they’ve been walking for a year. But now with this diagnosis I’m wondering whether that’s all linked. I had better start making a list of questions for that physio!

It must be tricky discouraging your DD from sitting in the W position. They always pick up on when something is “a thing”, don’t they! Having caught up on your posts elsewhere, you’re doing a brilliant job helping your little one!

Many people with hypermobility do have flat feet. The weight bearing on different parts of the feet is definitely to do with the hypermobility because the ankles roll in different directions and then they lean on that part. But yes it's not something to panic over, it gets better as they get older and with good footwear! Your LO is so young still.

All they care about with my DD at the moment is getting her actually walking. The W-sitting is getting less and less, before it was all day, now she's only doing it a few times a day luckily!

Hi My 2yo dd is hypermobile she started crawling at 17/18 months and walking independently at around 20/21 months. We found kickers boots to help with supporting her ankles :)

@Rhubarblin thank you for the feet info. She does seem to do better in shoes, which I think help with the unusual weight-bearing in her feet. Hope your DD is doing well. 😊

@Ted0301 thank you for the shoe tip. Sounds like your LO progresses super fast! We’ve seen some quick progress here too - from tentatively pulling up for the first time the week I posted to getting on her feet unaided, from a sitting position, and standing for a few seconds. It’s almost as if she’s knows what she needs to do and is just waiting for the body to catch up.

@StargazyDrifter aww fab! I think the right shoe support definitely helps 🙌🏻

A big thank you to @Rhubarblin for the tip to chase physio for cancellations. 😊

Had ours this week, got some exercises for legs/hips and also some for shoulder strength (bc not crawling so uses them less), and a warning about W-sitting. Back there in a few weeks.

Was interesting that physio asked whether DD was a transverse lie - she was, too. But I forgot to ask why that was linked.

I’ve also got some shoes from eBay. Again thank you to both PPs. 🙏 Hope your LOs are doing well.

How is your LO getting on @StargazyDrifter ? My DD is walking now 95% of the time independently at the grand old age of 32 months!! She's now allowed to wear trainers too.