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If The Shoe Fits
A Guide to
Choosing Proper Fitting Shoes for Children
Make sure your children's
shoes fit correctly before sending them back to school.
(ARA) - Eight of every 10 children
have trouble with their feet because their shoes don't fit correctly.
Poorly fitting shoes can cause calluses, bunions and ingrown
toenails. Proper fit is essential, since the cartilage in a child's
foot does not completely harden until age 18 or later.
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Parents can check for outgrown
or poorly fitting shoes by looking for worn areas, turned up
toes and other telltale signs. If the toe area of the sole is
badly worn, the shoe may be too small. If the toe area of the
shoe is turned up, the shoe may be too big. And if the sides
are showing more wear than the rest of the shoe, it may be too
narrow for your child's foot.
"With more than 46 million
children heading to school in the weeks ahead, parents are asking
how to get fashionable, good-fitting shoes at the lowest possible
price," says Diane Shoffner, vice president, women's and
children's shoes, for Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. She notes that improper
fit usually happens when comfort and support are sacrificed for
fashion.
Shoffner offers the following
tips for back-to-school shoe shopping: |
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*Make sure there's at least a
half-inch of growth space between the tip of the big toe to the
end of the shoe.
*Make sure the topline of the
shoe barely touches the ankle.Too high can cause blisters; too
low can allow the heel to slip out.
*Check for proper flexibility.
Shoes should flex in a straight line across the toes. Since one
foot often is larger than the other, always measure both feet
and size to the larger foot.
*Purchase shoes late in the day
since feet swell by 5 to 8 percent during the day.
*Involve your kids in the selection
of their shoes. They'll proudly wear stylish shoes to school
each day, and you'll have the peace of mind knowing the shoes
fit well. |
Beauty Secrets of the World
