The Ultimate Guide in Choosing the Right Shoes for Your Baby

The Ultimate Guide in Choosing the Right Shoes for Your Baby

One of the beautiful things about being a parent is watching your child grow. From the moment they begin suckling at the mother’s breast till they eventually come of age and become independent, the parents continue to make the best choices for their baby. One of such choices is picking the right shoes for the baby.

Babies crawl and eventually walk, and when they do, the parents have a responsibility to ensure that the baby has the right shoes. This is why this article has been written to help you make this decision about the right shoes for your baby and learn more about this important stage of development.

What kind of shoes are best for the baby?

To know the kind of shoes that are best for a baby, these are the two things to consider:

• Shoes that offer protection – The right kind of shoe offers protection to the baby from scraping, cutting, and burning. Whether on rough surfaces, hot surfaces or any other harmful surface, the right shoe should offer full protection to the baby.
• Shoes that serve as assistive devices – The right shoe assists the baby in standing well and walking properly, as well as aiding their running, jumping and climbing activities. Good shoes provide the right alignment for the baby’s feet.

Features to look out for in the best baby shoes

Not all the features on shoes are good for babies. Sometimes, the baby needs to compensate for poor posture resulting from weak hips, weak shoulders or some other weak parts of the body. In these cases, the right shoes are essential because babies could make compensatory movements when struggling to keep themselves upright.

The things to look out for when finding the best shoe for your baby include:

• Shoes with laces – Laces help keep the foot of the baby in place within the shoe, keeping the baby comfortable and cozy.
• Lightweight shoes – A heavy shoe is no fit for a baby! The weight is a huge burden for the baby and prevents them from learning proper balancing.
• Shoes with firm heel cups – Firm heel cups on shoes help the movement of babies, particularly when the shoe has bendable soles and good padding. Soft heel cups, however, result in ankle instability for the baby which leads to compensatory movements.
• Shoes that have relatively small padded closure – Shoe closures help hug the ankles of the baby and prevent unnecessary movements that may lead to the baby compensating. When the closures are padded, it gives the baby’s feet more comfort during movement.
• Shoes with soles that are soft and bendable – The flexibility of the sole is essential for the comfort of the baby and ease of movement. Hard soles that cannot bend, don’t allow the feet of the baby feel the ground surface well, thereby restricting the natural movement of the baby’s feet and ankle.

There are many things for parents to consider when trying to make the right choice of the best shoes for their baby. These include considering if the shoes will protect the baby and serve as an assistive device, choosing shoes lightweight shoes with laces, firm heel cups, padded closures, and flexible heels.

By Stuart O’Riley.