Choose the best boy’s shoes for your child

As a parent you need to be aware of the importance of choosing the best shoes for your child. Make sure that your boy’s shoes fit properly, poorly fitted shoes cause medical problems down the road.Most parents know that keeping kids in clothing and shoes takes a chunk out of your total shoe budget. With clothes, you can save by using hand-me-downs and shopping the consignment, thrift and discount stores. However, when it comes to your boy’s shoes, you’ve got to be a bit more careful. Whereas boy’s shoes tend to be plain – and shaped like the child’s foot – boy’s shoes, especially the dressy styles, come with pointy toes, which begin to narrow at the base of the big toe. Poorly fitting shoes can cause a lot of problems for those quickly growing bones, which can show up years later in bunions, hammertoes and other painful and needless bone deformations, which may require surgery to correct. Here we’ve got some guidelines on how to be sure your boy doesn’t end up with bone problems by the time he’s in his teens.Before you ever begin to check out shoe styles, ask the shoe salesperson to use a shoe fitting device (all shoe stores have one) to determine the correct width and length of your child’s foot. Doing this step before starting to make selections helps avoid a disappointed child who finds the ‘perfect’ shoe, his heart’s desire, only to discover it’s not available in his size. After his feet have been measured, ask the salesperson to show you several styles of the type of boys shoes you need, be it boys trainers, boys boots or dress shoes. If the shoes will be worn with socks, have your boy wear, or bring a pair of socks suited to the shoe. The socks will make a considerable difference in the fit of the shoe!Always try on both shoes before testing for a good fit. It’s common for people to have one foot to be just a little larger than the other, usually averaging about a half an inch difference between the two. You want to go with the shoe size that fits the larger foot. Shopping for boy’s shoes can be a little more difficult than with boys. Perhaps boys are just born with fashion in their genes and shoe manufacturers know that. Boy’s shoes come with an array of decorations and ‘features’ not found on boy’s shoes, such as fashion straps, bows, little heels and those pointy toes, making the selection process more exciting – and longer.Be prepared to be firm on certain ‘features’, such as pumps and pointy toes. Explain that those pointy toes squish those rapidly growing bones – and that they’re quite uncomfortable when worn for even a couple of hours. As for pump, while they may look cute, they can also contribute to a misaligned spine. As proof, offer a reminder of old Aunt May and his long standing back pain. ”You don’t want that sort of condition at your age, do you!” The only viable case for the pointed toe or short pump might be when the shoes will rarely be worn for limited periods of time. Just a couple of hours in such a shoe will probably change your child’s mind on the merits of this type of boy’s shoes. When trying on the shoes, have your boy stand up straight. Feel the width across the ball of the foot to be sure it’s not too tight. Now have the child walk several feet away, so you can observe the heel portion. His heel should not come up as she walks – this type of fit results in painful blisters. If the shoe fits well in every other way, you still have two alternatives: ask if the store carries inserts for the heel, or if that shoe comes in a narrower heel size. Following these guidelines, you and your boy can both be happy. If you can’t find a pair of boys shoes that fit – and passes the fashion test, be willing to go to another shoe store. Establishing the shoe shopping rules, right up front, makes subsequent shoe shopping easier.