Swipe to the left

The importance of choosing the right shoe size.

18/03/2019

The importance of choosing the right shoe size.

We, at Falcotto, know how very important your child’s first steps are! Choosing the size and shoe model for your child has a huge impact on the correct development of growing feet. When parents choose shoes for their child (above all that all-important first pair of shoes), they need to consider many different aspects.

The material, shape, fastening, and of course, the size! That’s right, because a common mistake parents make is to buy shoes that are big, so that their child can grow into them. This is very wrong!

While it is true that shoes should not be an exact fit, it is just as true that the foot should not "”swim” in the shoe! Choose a shoe that is slightly bigger than the sole of the foot : add about one centimetre (or slightly more) to the big toe. This way the shoe will hold your child’s foot gently but firmly without pinching and squeezing. 

In the first few years of life, feet grow very fast, so parents should check the size frequently. According to our experts, the size should be checked once  every 6 to 8 weeks. Parents should replace shoes that no longer fit properly right away, because badly fitting shoes may prevent the correct development of posture.

Did you know that the best time to measure a child's foot is in the evening? Because in the evening, feet tend to relax and stretch out.

Remember to measure both feet: there is sometimes a significant difference between the right and the left foot, although a difference of up to one centimetre is considered to be quite normal. In any case, the length of the longest foot should be used.

There are many tools you can use to measure your child’s feet - download our tool here - or simply get your child to stand barefoot on a plain piece of paper and draw around it. Then trace a straight line in front of the longest toe and a line behind the heel; then connect these two lines with a straight line that you should measure in centimetres. This is quite obviously not the actual shoe size but, with a conversion table (which you can view here), you can convert the length in centimetres into a shoe number.

Remember also to take into account not only the length of the foot, but the instep and sole as well: the first time you buy shoes you will need to be patient to find the shoe model that best suits your child's foot!

Once you have chosen your child’s shoes, remember that they will adapt to your child's foot when he wears them and that any negative factors will simply get worse if they are not corrected immediately. So try to understand right from the start, if the shoe model you have chosen is the right model for your child!

Discover the collection