How fast do kid's feet grow and do shoes slightly too big damage their feet?

[MilaMae]

Have bought some canvas shoes for dd mailorder. The choice is- shoes that fit exactly(no room for growth)or shoes that have roughly a cm1/2 to spare. I want them to last all summer.

Does it damage kids feet if they were shoes slighly too big for a while?

Thanks

Can't see why it should. When you get fitted shoes, there's usually 6 moths growing room in them isn't there? I have got cheap shoes for my Dd and they are about that much too big too.

Does she seem to walk OK in them? Do they stay on OK? If so, they're probably fine. One thing to consider, though, is that shops like Clarks will normally be happy to check the fitting of a shoe even if it's from somewhere else so you could try that to put your mind at rest.

You don't say how old DD is - I think when my boys were pre-school they'd often make a pair last just 3 months. Then once they hit adolescence they rocketed from adult size 3 to size 9/10 in about 2 years which proved expensive - then, thankfully, stopped growing altogether!

She's 4 so Im guessing the smaller ones wouldn't be a good buy. The big ones have a velcro strap so they stay on but are maybe a bit boatish. Hmmm

I'm useless at this could never work in a shoe shop