When Do Babies Start Wearing Shoes?

If your kid is more and more confident on their feet, it means that it’s time to think about the first shoes for them. Find out the opinion of experts about the age at which it is recommended to choose a baby’s first pair of walking shoes and what should be considered when choosing children’s shoes.

Should Babies Wear Shoes When Learning to Walk

When do babies need shoes? The first shoes are bought for a baby at about 10-12 months when they begin to confidently walk around the apartment. Most experts strongly recommend that you learn to walk barefoot or, if the apartment is cool, in non-slip thick socks. Crawling and walking barefoot allows you to evenly distribute the load on the muscles of the legs, fully develop the ligamentous apparatus, and correctly form the foot.

baby’s first shoes

Rigid orthopedic shoes with instep support are preventive and sometimes therapeutic shoes. Going out in such shoes for a 2-3-hour family walk a couple of times a day is useful for the baby’s legs, but walking around the apartment in such shoes all day is possible only as prescribed by an orthopedist. Only a doctor can advise when to buy a baby’s first shoes in such a case. If you think that your child has any problems, you can also read about the benefits of baby massage.

When to Buy Baby First Shoes and Advice on Choosing

When do babies start wearing shoes? It is better to buy first shoes when the child starts walking. Depending on the season, the first shoe will be sandals or boots. Give preference to models made of genuine leather or thick cotton fabric. Test the flexibility of the sole: grasp the heel and toe and bend the shoe. If only the forefoot flexes at toe level, do not use this model. The baby will be uncomfortable, they may stumble or fall. The outsole should bend easily from where the heel ends to the toe.

When choosing a shoe model, you must consider the following issues:

The correct shoes should have a high enough heel counter. It is desirable that it covers the ankle and is tightly fixed.
It is convenient if the boots the baby is wearing have laces or Velcro. This makes it easier to adjust its width exactly to the leg.
For the first time, it is better to give preference to sandals with a closed nose. The kid still walks uncertainly, a closed nose will protect fingers from bruises and will not allow scooping up sand and small stones.
Children’s shoes should be lightweight so as not to overload the muscles of the child.

What size shoes do babies wear when they start walking? Every shoe fits differently but these usually size 1 if a baby is several months old to sizes 4-5 if a baby is around 1-year-old. It is also better to have several pairs of shoes as babies are very active. Read about drying clothes fast without a dryer to not spend much time on washing.

Only an orthopedic surgeon can determine if your child needs shoes with a small heel and a special orthopedic insole. In different countries, the opinions of doctors differ. Somewhere almost all children wear orthopedic shoes, and somewhere they receive such shoes according to a doctor’s prescription, with an individually made insole. You should consult a specialist to make a decision.