School Shoes Should be Symmetrical

We all know that kids seem to grow a lot over the school holidays, often requiring a new uniform and school shoes.

Purchasing a new uniform slightly big or baggy is perfectly fine as they will grow into it, or it can be tailored to maximise the number of wears. However, with school shoes it is important that they fit perfectly from the date of purchase, and it can be a costly decision to get wrong.

Shoes have the potential to increase or reduce injury. Good shoes will prevent tired or achy feet, promote good foot health, and decrease the occurrence of issues such as hammertoes, bunions, ingrown, damaged, or bruised toenails, blisters, corns, bursitis, tendonitis, and the list continue.

It’s important to remember that children are continuously growing, this includes their feet, so even if your kids previous school shoe looks to be in good condition, it may no longer be suitable or supportive enough for your child.

With school shoes, something to consider, is the amount of time your child is in them. For a lot of children, a leather runner fits the requirement for most of their schooling activities, meaning that they are also in the same shoe for physical activity. A cheaper shoe, whilst nicer on the pocket initially, can distort with minimal use, having dramatic impact on foot function, particularly if your child has a foot that rolls inwards or outwards. Long-term, this could lead to increase in foot, ankle, knee, and lower back pain.

When purchasing footwear, remove them from the packaging and place them on a flat surface, look at them from behind, checking for irregularities at the heel counter or any manufacturing faults. If you are unsure, hand them back to the assistant and ask for a new pair. Make sure that the shoe matches your child’s foot shape, is the right size (not too short, narrow or too wide), remember, it is more than likely that your child will wear out the shoe first rather than grow into it.

There is no one brand that fits all children and all pockets, whilst cheap isn’t the best option, expensive isn’t necessarily any healthier.

Remember that the time of day of fitting, fastening, socks, toe nail length and orthotics are some of the things that contribute to shoe comfort as well.

What’s important to note is, if your kids school shoe seems to distort quickly, or if your child is complaining of pain (this is not normal), be sure to get their feet checked by a podiatrist immediately.

We are always open to questions or queries at ProHealth Podiatry and would love to be a part of your child’s foot health journey whilst at school. Feel free to contact us on info@prohealthpodiatry.com.au or (07) 3076 7306.