How to Determine Your Child’s Shoe Size
It looks like it should be a pretty simple thing, baby shoe sizes. And yet their feet grew so damn fast, as if first they were four, then 8 (like a baby size 8 when I’m 8 ??), and then 12, and now wait. , and 1.5? What just happened there?
The sizes of children’s shoes do not correspond to their age, like the sizes of children’s clothes. Well, with the exception of baby shoes – they are usually listed by age in months. Or they are listed as sizes 0-4, it really depends on the brand or store you shop from. If they are numbered 0-4, they may or may not be half. Toddler shoes are sometimes also indicated by month, but usually they start to be numbered in the size range 3.5–4.5, which roughly corresponds to age 1. Are you still with me?
It doesn’t help that many of us are now stuck at home, and getting to the store to measure and try on different sizes is not the best option. And yet all of these revitalizing walks take their toll on our children’s soles. Fortunately, there are several ways to measure your foot at home if you need to order shoes online; or you can print this foot size chart from Famous Footwear. But it’s still helpful to have a general idea of how dimensions flow.
In general, here’s how size relates to age:
- Infants and toddlers: 0-10.5
- Young children: 11-3.5
- Older children: 4-7
If you are confused by the range of young children from 11 to 3.5, it is because as soon as we reach size 13.5 we start at 1. Nice to start over! Once they started with 1, they actually now use the same sizing system as men’s shoes; In other words, the 7th male is the same size as the 7th male. On the other hand, women’s sizes are about 2 (ish) sizes larger. This is why size 6 Nike flip-flops fit my son in size 8 (and why he was instructed to take good care of them).
Other brands may argue when baby sizes run out and when toddler or walker sizes start, or which sizes are “big kids” versus “little kids”. Eh, there is no need for consistency here: once you’re done with the opening month fun, it’s really better to just focus on the numbers.
Speaking of numbers, of all the size charts I studied while writing this article, I like this printable chart from Stride Rite the most because it is crisp and gives measurements in inches and centimeters in both length and width. But if you’re ordering online from another store or brand and they have their own chart, use that. You might think the dimensions would be the same from one store to the next, but you were wrong. It’s like buying clothes from different brands: an average item in one store can be as good as a large item in another.
And when in doubt – if after all your research and measurements it seems like your child is falling between sizes – always choose the larger size so that he has a little more wiggle room.