Children's shoes: measuring correctly is important!
Victoria Becker completed a Bachelor of Arts in “Online Editing” at the TH Köln and wrote a practical thesis at the Goethe-Institut Lithuania. She is currently studying media and communication sciences as a master at the University of Lund, Sweden, and writes for, among other things.
More about the experts All content is checked by medical journalists.Buying shoes with your youngsters can be a tough test for your nerves. Nevertheless, it is important not to bag the purchase with a "will be fine". What you should pay special attention to.
Thumb test sufficient?
"Move your big toe so I can feel." This sentence will probably sound familiar to many people. Many parents also rely on the thumb test between toe and toe cap when buying shoes for their little ones. However, it would be better not only to rely on the feeling, but also to correctly measure the inner length of the shoes and the length of the children's feet.
Wieland Kinz, sports scientist from the research project "Children's Feet-Children's Shoes" recommends that the difference between the toe and the end of the shoe should be "not less than twelve millimeters" in order to avoid foot damage caused by shoes that are too short.
According to the expert, on the other hand, it is not a problem if a shoe is a little too long as long as it fits well on the ball of the foot. Then the shoe can be up to 20 millimeters longer. However, there was no scientific evidence.
Tips for buying shoes
In general, children should try "especially in the first six years" to go without shoes as often as possible, says Kinz. His team did an investigation in Japan, where children in some kindergartens only go barefoot. "The barefoot children had much better feet when it came to the angles of the big toes. The big toe joints weren't as deformed as those of the slipper children."
Therefore, pay attention to the following points when buying shoes:
- Measure the inside length and foot length exactly, preferably have a specialist salesperson measure it
- The inner length of the shoes should be at least twelve millimeters longer than the children's foot
- With a good fit on the heel and ball of the foot: the inside length can be up to 20 millimeters longer than the feet
- Even when you have found the right shoe: let your children run barefoot as often as possible!
Of course, buying shoes is not only important for growing feet. Correctly fitting footwear is also essential for adults - for example in sports, where there are suitable shoes for almost every sport. With the right shoe, you can prevent sports injuries, among other things. Further information can be found in our article "Sport - the right shoes". (vb / dpa)
