Six Winning Tips for Choosing Baby's First Shoes

The first steps that a baby takes are one of the greatest moments in a baby's life. This new beginning is incredibly exciting for the parents, and provides the child with a new mode of transportation and a new view on the world. As your baby begins to walk, it is important to find shoes for his new journey. Here are a number of essential tips for choosing baby's first shoes to help you to choose the very best for your changing baby.

Many parents like to provide children with shoes even before they are walking. Shoes for very young babies are not essential, but are certainly a fine item to purchase. The most important tips for choosing baby's first shoes prior to the walking stage include warmth and protection. Babies who aren't walking really just need to have their feet kept warm in the colder months and to have their toes protected. Babies at this stage can use soft booties or socks. If parents do choose to select shoes at this point, the shoes should be soft-soled with a little room at the toe for movement.

Once your baby is on the move, it becomes more vital to provide exactly the right shoes for this little athlete. Contrary to popular belief, shoes don't help your child to learn to stand or walk; nor do they make these jobs easier. What they do, however, is to add safety, support and comfort once your child is on the go and walking. At this point, it's important to know many tips for choosing baby's first shoes. Here is a run down of the essentials for your shopping excursion.

• One of the most important tips for choosing baby's first shoes is to become an expert researcher. Shop at a children's shoe store that can give you advice on which shoes to buy, which shoes fit best and which have room to grow. They should also have available a large selection of wide fittings. 85% of young children ages 6 months to 3 years have wide feet!
• Make sure the store measures both your child's feet, since most children have one foot which is larger than the other. Buy shoes based on the larger foot.
• Your baby's shoes should have about half an inch of growth room from the longest toe to the front of the shoe. If the shoes are too big, they will trip your child; too small and they will cramp your child's growing feet (not to mention that the child will out grow them very quickly)
• The American Podiatric Association recommends flexible, soft-sole shoes for the best growth and development of young feet. The traditional stiff, high-top, hard-sole shoes that many of us have bronzed from our own childhoods are often detrimental to the growth of little feet.
• Baby feet exert a lot of energy and get hot quickly. They can sweat twice as much as adult feet! Shoes that are made of natural, breathable material are the best choice for little ones.
• Have your child's feet and new shoes rechecked 6-8 weeks after purchasing the first pair of shoes. Children's feet grow very quickly and they may only wear their first pair of shoes for 2-3 months. Their feet should be checked at this rate from ages 12 months to 24 months and should then be checked approximately every three months from 24 to 36 months.

Most people in the world are not born with foot problems. These problems develop from neglect and a lack of awareness of proper care. In particular, ill fitting shoes in the early stages of growth and development can have an adverse effect for the child's lifetime and can create foot, leg and back problems later in life. According to the US government, two thirds of adults have problems with their feet by the time they reach middle age; 89% of these problems could have been prevented with shoes that fit properly during the preschool years. Use these tips for choosing baby's first shoes to set your child on the right path. The shoes you give him today will be an invaluable gift that will last for a lifetime of healthy feet!