First shoes

[sarge89]

Hi all

I know it's a relatively minor problem in the grand scheme of things at the moment, but my 12 month old has started walking and is going to need fitting for proper shoes soon.

How do I go about this in the current climate? He has some cheap trainer things from Tesco at the moment, but I worry that cheap shoes will damage his feet in these early months of walking?

Advice please! Thank you

I wouldn't stress about damaging his feet too much. There are online shops who advise on how to measure your baby's feet and you then order online (Bobux do this). Some shops also sell measuring gauges so you can be sure of a decent fit (start rite do this, think the gauge is about a tenner).

But, there's also millions of kids who have never had their shoes fitted and mostly manage to be fine so I wouldn't worry too much.

This might help cdn2.next.co.uk/pdfs/Shoefitguide/combined.pdf?_ga=2.121731789.775412650.1589015492-434236164.1585853070

You can buy foot measuring gauges online if that helps.

I think the usual guidance is to wait 6-8 weeks after they start walking, so fingers crossed you'll be able to just go to a shop by then.

As a pp said you can buy the measuring thing they use in the shops or start rite have a printable version with a printable tape measure to measure the width of the foot

Check out Bobux’s sizing guide - it’s really helpful and easy to measure at home - www.bobux.co.uk/sizing-and-fitting-guide. If you’re looking for first walkers their Xplorers are great - lightweight and flexible - perfect for developing feet!

I second the recommendation for soft bobux shoes. Try to avoid solid soles for a while yet, it helps their feet develop and their walking get steadier.

The bobux explorer ones are lovely. My 13 month old has two pairs. They are comfy and fun, he loves them because he knows they mean he's going out for a walk.

Thank you everyone. You've really helped put my mind at rest I'll wait another month before getting any and hopefully will be able to go to a shop by then anyway.

If you’re mostly inside, i found those socks with rubber grips on the soles excellent.

To be honest he's mostly bare foot at the moment 🙂 Just thinking for when we walk the dogs and he'll want to be out of the Pram for a bit.

Please don't follow DivGirl's advice. The bones in a baby's toes are soft at birth so it is really important that toddler's shoes fit properly. My mum had awful feet, partly because she wore ill fitting shoes as a child.

<a class="break-all" href="//Vwww.nhs.uk/conditions/pregnancy-and-baby/leg-and-foot-problems/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Vwww.nhs.uk/conditions/pregnancy-and-baby/leg-and-foot-problems/

I had no choice but to buy my 1 year old some shoes online having measured first obviously. The alternative is she damages her feet by being outside barefoot. It's not ideal and I would have preferred to get them measured at a shop but what are the alternatives?

Mine just wore this kind of thing outside until they'd been walking properly for a month or so.

I would just wait tbh. He doesn't need shoes. Yes it would be nice if he could walk a bit when you are out but it's not essential. It can wait a bit longer. Don't buy shoes online, bad shoes can be so damaging.