Buying Baby Shoes

Ok, seems like a no brainer, right? Wrong!

I can't tell you how many one-shoed babies I've seen out there pointing at their naked foot while mom nonchalantly pushes them miles away from the poor castaway shoe, possibly never to be seen again.

Here are a few observations I've made once I started making baby shoes over a year ago.

1. People buy shoes WAY too big for their babies. I know, I've done it too. Let's do a little experiment. Moms, go put a pair of your hubby's shoes on and walk around. What do you have to do? Right! Curl your toes to hang on so your shoe doesn't fall off. Yes, they're tied tight, but that feeling while your foot slides around the shoe is that you have to hang on. This is not good for new walker's feet. This is reason #1 why hand made shoes rock. Whether I, or someone else, makes them, you can request the shoes be made to fit your child. Plus a little room to grow. Infant feet really don't grow that fast. You can also request them wider, or more narrow. A crafter should have no problem with this. Most of us have so many in stock and the rest we list as custom.

2. It's hard sometimes when every shoe we buy seems to be different in length. Make sure your seller lists the length of the shoe. Baby's foot + 3/8 of an inch is a good length. The problems with buying shoes sight unseen on line when the actual length isn't listed is fairly obvious.

3. Hard soled shoes. The old info about stiff hard soles and ankle support has long been debunked and can actually damage the growth pattern of little feet. The new wisdom says that until a baby walks, there is no need for shoes. Since we cannot go barefoot all of the time, soft soled shoes are the least constrictive, and there's plenty to choose from. Of course, I sell baby shoes, but I wholeheartedly agree with this concept. A great article about hard soled shoes .

4. Back to the lost shoe issue. This also points back to the hard soled shoe argument. they just don't stay on. Elastic ankles are such a wonderful invention! They should gently hug, but not bind, cutting off circulation. It's a hard balance to attain, since every baby's ankles are different, and some babies have chunky monkey ankles. My most satisfied customer comes back over and over because I make her son's shoes EXACTLY to the shape of his foot. He has very chunky ankles, an adorable little muffin, but most shoes bite into his ankles. This is the other benefit to a custom crafted shoe.

Even as children reach toddlerdom, I see more and more parents opt for soft soles to continue to allow their child's foot to develop in the most natural manner. I hope as time goes on we will see less and less adult foot issues. As any chiropractor would tell you, we change our natural posture to compensate for poor structural development. When I am at home, I generally wear my own soft soled mocs, unless I am working in the garden or on a concrete surface.

I hope this article was helpful to you!