Ask Brantano Training and Development Officer Louise Williams your questions about shoe fitting and you could win a £100 Brantano voucher ANSWERS NOW BACK

[AngelieMumsnet]

Ahead of the upcoming new school term, Brantano is launching its Walk to School campaign and is encouraging children and parents to pledge to walk to school more often. The campaign is designed to raise awareness of road safety, health and the importance of correctly fitting shoes.

As part of their Walk to School campaign, you can submit questions to Brantano expert Louise Williams, Training and Development Officer. She will answer your questions about the importance of getting your kids feet measured, the dangers of not having correctly fitting shoes and what sets Brantano apart from the rest.

Post your questions to Louise on this thread before 17th August and we will send 20 questions over for her to respond to. We will then post a link to her responses on the thread on 7th September.

Everyone who adds a question (regardless of whether it's answered or not) will be entered into a prize draw where one MNer will win a £100 Brantano voucher.

This Q&A is sponsored by Brantano.

NB: ANSWERS BACK here

Thanks
MNHQ

[42andcounting]

We always buy leather Clarks shoes for DD who is a size 5G, but the toes are always wrecked within two weeks. I've noticed that most of the boys shoes have a wide rubber bumper on the front to absorb damage, but on girls shoes its too narrow to do the job. Why is that? Are girl toddlers supposed to be too dainty to run and tumble about?

[Duggee]

How should a shoe fit around the ankle? Should it be snug and no slipping or is a bit of slipping ok? If you are able to pull the shoe of easily without unfastening is that ok?

[ButterflyOfFreedom]

How often should I get my child's feet measured? (He is almost 3).

When I got his first pair of shoes around the age of 1, we were told we'd be back in about 6 weeks to buy some more as his feet would grow that quickly - he was still wearing the same shoes 4 months later (and they fit perfectly fine).

Should we be going every 6 weeks, every 6 months, or somewhere in between?

Thank you.

[sarahsnail]

I have flat feet, my children are also looking like they both have flat feet (fallen arches) I have specialist insoles in my shoes. When staff are trained to provide shoe fitting service are they trained to spot potential problems with children's feet and the best option of footwear?

[whiteagle]

My son is 9. He has childrens feet but particularly narrow ankles. Not a huge problem in itself, but for the fact he is a size 39 or 5.5/6. Luckily we can still get a few shoes, but i dread it when his feet get a big bigger and he needs "man"shoes without having man feet.

Is this an issue shoe manufacturers are aware of an planning to address?

[Pixi2]

Are bare feet better than shoes as much as possible (in the garden in summer, on the beach, in the house?) or are shoes better?

Also, how do I check that shoes fit properly? I got assured that size 8 boots in John Lewis fitted dd. it was only after a week of falling down down I realised that they were in fact, far too big, in fact, they will probably do this winter again (she had snow boots that fitted so lived in those). I never want to repeat that and would like to check myself.

And another one whose dd loves princess pretty shoes but has scuffed toes within two days as she plays with the boys, what is it with delicate girl shoes that don't stand up playtime?

[throwingpebbles]

My boy has very narrow feet and places like Clarks etv never seem to have shoes that will fit, so I have ended up having to buy expensive brands from an independent shoe shop. Why is it so tricky to get hold of sensibly priced shoes with a narrow fit?

[throwingpebbles]

Second question but why do shops seem to stock a great range of trainers and other practical styles for boys but mainly pretty and impractical shoes for girls. I have a tree climbing football playing toddler girl and it is hard to find a good choice of shoes for her (only after a big hunt did it occur to me I should have just bought boys shoes!)

[Sockmatcher]

We like soft flexible shoes soles and normally buy from a barefoot retailer. When are brantano going to recognise their is a market for these types of shoes? Also how do you reasonably expect shoes to last if measured and fitted correctly?

[IdaShaggim]

I live over an hour from the nearest shoe shop that does fittings, and am poor. Is there any acceptable method of doing 'near to' fittings so that I know when to make the trek to the shoe shop?

At the moment all DC's shoes are from Aldi, and I just best guess based on trying them on there and then... Not ideal but better than nothing! Would like to know a bit more of a methodical approach though.

[Rachie1986]

why are some of your staff trained so badly that the shoes we were recommended left marks on my daughters feet and were too short in 3 weeks?

[SunnySomer]

Where can I find school shoes with sturdy soles? We do walk to school (about 30 mins each way, brisk walking) and find that the soles of school shoes wear away within three months - as though they're designed for children who only need them to play in the playground. We have tried all sorts of brands and styles over the last four years to no avail...

[Pico2]

Should we expect to buy shoes in every half size or just every size for children?

[chairmeoh]

I religiously get fitted school shoes, and regularly get them checked to see they still fit. DD has expensive and fitted trainers.
But during the summer, she loves to wear crocs, flip flops or bare feet 24/7. Is this bad for her feet, or is it healthy to let them be unrestricted by fitted shoes?

[GoooRooo]

Should you go up a size in children's wellies? I suspect not, but we struggle to get them on if they're the 'correct' size.

[Pointlessfan]

Are the sizes the same in different brands? If DD is measured as e.g. a 4f in Clarks but I then see a 4f in the sale in another shop, would they be the same?

[Byrdie]

Interested to know the current views on supportive shoes for kids versus shoes that at super flexible with little support. I tend to buy shoes that are very soft and flexible and if i can't bend the sole easily i won't even let then try them on. Whats the expert view??

[boptanana]

Why do shoes of all brands not manage to withstand my daughter's wearing of them without falling apart after 6 weeks ?

[Belmo]

I'm really struggling to find plimsoles for nursery that will fit my daughters very high instep. Whyyyy is it so hard?!! And is it okay for them to wear them all day? (Assuming I ever find any!)

[ChazzerD]

Does my 6 year old DS ideally need two pairs of shoes for school so he doesn't have pongy shoes by the end of the week? Thank you.

[DoItTooJulia]

My DS walks with his toes pointing inwards. He's 10 and quite tall for his age. It's been pointed out to me when I've had shoes fitted ( I did already know, but was thinking he'd grow out if it) and on the back of that took him to the GP.

He said he'll grow out of it.

He hasn't. I know I need to go back to the GP, but is there any particular style of shoe I should be looking for in the mean time? He's an adult size 8 now. Would a trip to Brantano be worth it for us?

Thank you Louise.

[rupert23]

i have difficulty getting ds 8 feet measured as he is very particular about clothing especially shoes and does not like his feet being looked at. do you provide special quiet areas in any stores that i would be able to take him to to get measured. i usually just do my own test as it is easier but would prefer for him to be measured correctly.

[MangoDaiquiri]

In terms of well fitting shoes for sport, are laces better for trainers/plimsolls than Velcro (or the plimsolls that you pull on)?

[Anononooo]

My children both have extremely wide feet, which I only found out about because I took them finally for a proper fitting. It explained a lot about why they always wanted shoes so much bigger than their feet. My question is....do wide feet stay wide for ever and if so, do adult shoes ever come with width fittings?