The History of Childrens Shoes
The earliest shoes go back to the days of the cave man, cave woman and cave children, they wore animal skins wrapped around their feet to combat the difficulty of sharp surfaces and cold conditions.
Shoes to fit the shape and size of adults and childrens feet were first crafted by the early Egyptians, hand weaved sandles from straw were made to make walking on hot sand more bearable.
Shoes were then taken onto another level and seen as a status symbol during the Roman Empire.
Differentiation of the left and right shoe shape became common in the 1800’s. The design of shoes during the last century has mostly been influenced by fashion and social status.
Over the last 50 years, paediatricians have promoted necessity of developing childrens shoes as they needed support for the developing muscle and bone structures.
Childrens Shoes and Fitting
Childrens shoes are now made mostly for protection, they can now be softer, wider, light weight, and less restrictive.
Footwear needs to protect a childrens feet, offer some grip on a smooth surface, and ensure comfortable walking on different surfaces. Ankle boots do not necessarily give more support than low-cut shoes, but they are useful because they are harder for toddlers to remove.
Childrens shoe sizes change rapidly, before 18 months their feet grow more than half a shoe size every two months.
Toddler’s feet grow an average of half a size every three months, that is up to the age of 3 years when a child’s foot size increases by one size every 8 months and thereafter every year.
Childrens shoes must fit the foot snugly at the heel preventing forward movement while walking. The shoes need to allow enough room for the toes, about 1.25 cm (a thumb width) between the longest toe and the tip of the shoe, measured standing up.
All childrens shoes and sandals should have a 5mm space between the footwear rim and all toes. To estimate proper width there should be a small crease in the material when pinching the shoe while the child is standing.
