Foot measuring guide, how often do you need to check your child’s shoes still fit

As shoe fitters, we are often asked how frequently you need to check your child’s shoes and how you can tell they have outgrown them.

The rough, general foot measuring guide is as follows:

first walkers – every four to six weeks

toddlers and preschoolers – every six to eight weeks

primary school aged children – every three to four months

secondary school aged children – every five to six months

Now clearly that’s just a general foot measuring guide. All children grow at different rates so you might find that your petite toddler wears the same shoe size for six or eight months or your tall first walker jumps a size every four weeks. If you come from a tall family, chances are that your baby could be a fast grower, especially in early childhood. Even though this can be an expensive time, please do not be tempted to buy bigger shoes “to last longer” as this can have a detrimental effect on your child’s feet and foot health, growth, balance, to name a few.

Aim for roughly 1 cm for new walkers and up to a thumb’s width for confident walkers with no issues and they should last you approximately 3 months for new walkers, 3 – 4 months for toddlers and 4 – 6 months for primary school children. Teenagers can easily get a full year out of a size when they are not in fast growth phases so keep in mind that boys still tend to grow fast around 15, 16 whereas girls’ feet have mainly stopped growing by that age.

On the whole, feet commonly follow the body so whenever you see that your child is outgrowing clothes, pop them into a shoe shop for a check or check them at home. Don’t expect the child to tell you, they often don’t know when their shoes are too small until they get to 7 or 8 years of age.

For tips on how you can tell when they need new shoes, have a read of this post.

This site does not provide medical advice and is to be used for information purposes and guidance only. Information provided is not intended to replace medical advice or visits – always seek help from a medical professional with questions you may have with regards to a medical condition.

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