Buyer’s Guide: How often do I need to measure my baby’s feet?

One of the most common concerns for parents when it comes to baby shoes is how often they should be measuring their baby’s feet.

If you’ve ever searched this topic online you’ll know there is a whole host of varying views on this question, with comments ranging from “get their feet measured every 6 to 8 weeks” to “your child’s feet grow ½ a size every 4 months”. Our advice would be…IGNORE IT ALL! As much as we appreciate the sentiment that all these online sources are trying to portray (which is continually measure your child’s feet) it’s all very confusing for parents.

Every child is different, which means that every child grows at a different rate. We get so frustrated when we see certain websites or retailers (I won’t name names) who have their shoe sizes based on an age range, like 6-12 months. It’s absolute rubbish! It’s almost as ridiculous as having adult shoe sizes based on an age range, it just makes no sense.

So with the above in mind, here is our ground breaking piece of advice:

Keep.It.Simple – Monitor your child’s feet on a monthly/bi-monthly basis. Get your phone out, set a recurring diary note to measure your child’s feet. Measure their feet at home by following these simple steps:

  • The easiest way to do this is to stand him/her on to a piece of paper (ensuring his/her feet are as flat as possible).
  • Mark next to his/her big toe and heel.
  • Take a note of this measurement in centimetres (to the nearest millimetre). It’s important that you are as accurate as possible.
  • Once you’ve done this, use the size guides on each of our product pages in order to determine the most appropriate size.
  • It helps to keep a note of the centimetre measurement each month, whether you do that on your phone or in a handwritten notepad it really doesn’t matter.

If the measurement has gone up by around 0.5cm then you’ll need to consider going up a size but ALWAYS compare your measurement against the size guide provided by the shoe brand you plan on buying from. You would be surprised by the differences in measurements between competing baby shoe brands.

If you need any further help on this, you can send us an email on enquiries@babyshoes.co.uk or message us via our Instagram or Facebook pages.