Saving money without stepping on little toes

There's no need to walk away from cheaper options when it comes to your children's shoes. It's the shoe, not the price tag, that matters, writes MARY FEELY

SAVVY SHOPPERS keeping an eye on ever-tightening family budgets can buy suitable children’s shoes cheaply that won’t harm little feet – provided they know what to look out for.

Podiatrist Niamh Tully says that, while she would advise steering clear of ultra-cheap shoes, with a little know-how it is possible to find children’s footwear that is affordable but not shoddy.

“If you are paying €9 for a pair of shoes, then they are going to be made of the cheapest materials possible,” she says. “But you can get leather shoes in such places as Dunnes Stores and sometimes Penneys that are not bad.”

Even so, very cheap shoes aren’t for babies, toddlers and preschoolers. Tots who are too small to walk outside don’t need shoes at all, and the others have very soft bones.

“You can do so much damage with an ill-fitting shoe,” says Tully, who has clinics in Drogheda, Co Louth, and Laytown, Co Meath. “There are 26 bones in the adult foot, but children start with an awful lot more, so [toddlers’] feet are very susceptible to damage.”

When buying for school-age kids, aim to get a stable, solid shoe along the lines of a traditional school shoe, runner or classic man’s shoe.

“Trainers are perfect shoes, and most kids are into them,” says Tully. “They are pretty hard wearing as well.” The type of footwear that can damage feet includes flats, plimsolls, pointed shoes and stilettos.

Afternoons are the best time to take children shopping for shoes, because feet spread and swell during the day.

To fit right, shoes must be long enough to leave one centimetre of space in front of the longest toe. Also, they should be wide enough to fit around the ball of the foot (the widest part).

Before heading out to the shops, you can make a guide to the length and width of a child’s foot by cutting out two strips of paper.

First, have the child stand on a piece of paper in bare feet. Draw an outline of the feet. Mark a spot that’s one centimetre beyond the longest toe. Measure from that spot to the child’s heel on the outline.

This gives you the length of the ideal shoe for your child’s foot. Cut out a strip of paper of that length. Then, go back to the outline and cut a second strip of paper across the foot at the widest part.

At the shop, pop these strips of paper into a shoe to see if it will fit. If the long strip curls up, for example, the shoe is too small. But avoid shoes that are too big; if the foot can move around inside, the toes will get hurt.

“When the child is standing in the shoe, pinch the sides of the shoe toward the ball,” says Tully. “There shouldn’t be acres of extra space, but it shouldn’t be pinching either.”

Once you are sure the shoe fits, what else should you look for? Tully offers this advice:

Look for something that keeps the shoe in place, such as laces, velcro straps, a zip or a T-bar.

Check the material. Children’s feet sweat more than adults, so a good child’s shoe has an upper and lining made of materials that let their feet breathe: leather, Gore-Tex, wool or cotton.

Make sure the sole has good grip and is made of shock-absorbing material, such as rubber. Leather and hard plastic don’t absorb shock; the kind of soles found on runners are ideal.

Look for a heel that is two centimetres high. Anything higher than four centimetres is too much; completely flat is too low. “Too flat is as bad as too high, because it puts huge pressure on the achilles tendon and arch.”

Choose a broad-based heel that’s as wide as the shoe.

Try bending the shoe – it should bend at the ball of the foot, but never in the middle across the arch. This part of the shoe should be reinforced.

Make sure that the heel counter (the back part of the shoe that holds the heel) is firm. Squeeze it between your finger and thumb – it should stay stiff.

See that the front of the shoe, the toe box, mimics the shape of your child’s foot. If the front of your child’s foot is square-shaped, so should the shoes be. Other kids may have a more rounded foot, and should wear shoes of that shape. Many shoes taper on the side of the little toe, but these only suit feet that are tapered as well.

When your child tries on the shoes, make sure he or she can scrunch their toes without hitting the shoe’s upper.

Despite tight budgets, kids should have more than one pair of shoes, Tully warns. “Ideally, a child should have at least two pairs and be rotating them, so that they’re not wearing the same shoe day in and day out.

“Particularly if a child has very sweaty feet, the shoe doesn’t have enough time to dry out fully overnight. Then they just put their foot back into the sweaty shoe, which makes athlete’s foot, verrucas and blisters more likely.”

When your child gets bigger shoes, buy larger socks to go with them. “A tight sock can do just as much damage as a tight shoe.”

What matters most is the kind of shoe you put on your child’s foot, not where you buy it, says Tully.

“I don’t think there’s a problem with buying shoes in a cheaper shop as long as it’s a leather shoe that fits the child properly and has a decent retaining mechanism and not too high a heel. The basic thing is, shoes should be fit for purpose.”

Niamh Tully is a podiatrist who owns Run Tec Podiatry and the Foot Clinic in Drogheda, Co Louth, and the Foot Clinic in Laytown, Co Meath. Contact her on 086-2232380