Having good footwear is very important for children, as it impacts on how their foot and anklebones develop. Here are 3 key points you need to look for in a good pair of shoes for your child:

1. Shoes should have straight borders, and not curved like a kidney-shape. That means you cannot tell the right shoe from the left shoes when you are looking at the bottom of the shoes. Our feet have straight borders and the usually we can tell right from left by our toes, rather than if our feet curve inwards.

2. Shoes need to have good supports around the ankles and forefoot, so that the heel is enclosed and top of the ankle is enclosed. When looking for sandals there must be a heel support and strap around the top of the ankle and a few straps to support the middle of the foot and the front of the foot.

3. Shoes should have good non-slip rubber soles to allow children to have grip on the floor as they learn to walk and at the same time the shoes need to be flexible for little feet. When you hold the shoe in one hand, you should be able to easily bend the shoes into half with one hand. If you cannot do this easily, then it is likely that your child will not be able to bend it too. When we are walking we all need to be able to bend in the middle of our feet to push off our toes with every step.