Appropriate shoes for each age

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Appropriate shoes for each age

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What type of shoe is best for each stage of your child's growth and development? Well, when a child is first learning to walk, they need to be able to feel the ground and just have protection. So you want to have it as close to barefoot as possible. You wanna make sure that there's no irritation, that it's not rubbing or bothering them, and it fits correctly. So ideally a small child learning to walk, if you can take the shoe and roll it into a ball, that's a pretty good sign. It needs to be flexible and it needs to be as close to barefoot. That's good until the age of about four. From four to about eight, they can start getting a thicker sole. But there's nothing to support in those ages, so you're not trying to support the foot with their shoes. Just again, protect them from the outside world. From by about the age of eight and up, especially when you start hitting the teenage years, that's when you really start needing to support the foot, teenage and adult years. So what you want in those shoes are ones that are not flexible, like rolling into a ball. They actually are supportive and allow them to stand as their arches develop. Now this is true pretty much for most children; there are always exceptions to the rules and some children need support at a younger age. And if you see your child walking and they don't quite look right to you, you go to your professional, have your podiatrist look at them, and they'll tell you if you need more supportive, better shoes. But for the most part, protective in the beginning, supportive as they get older.

Learn about: Appropriate shoes for each age from Noah Blumofe, DPM,...

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Noah Blumofe, DPM

Podiatrist

Dr. Blumofe was born and raised in Skokie, Illinois. Later he attended the University of Illinois at Chicago and completed his undergraduate studies in 1996, receiving a Bachelor of Science in Biological Sciences. He then attended Scholl College of Podiatric Medicine at Rosalind Franklin University in Chicago, where he received a second Bachelor of Science in Biomedical Sciences in 1998, and his Doctorate of Podiatric Medicine in 2001. Dr. Blumofe's residency was completed at the St. John Detroit Riverview Medical Center in Michigan, which is affiliated with the Kirkside Osteopathic Medical School. The following year he continued his post-graduate training with a two-year surgical fellowship in Long Beach, Calif. His main responsibilities included patient care, diabetic foot and wound care and surgical procedures of the foot and ankle, as well as teaching podiatric residents.

Dr. Blumofe's specialties include diabetic wound care, podiatric medicine, neuropathy, limb salvage, cosmetic foot surgery and sports medicine. He attributes his passion for helping diabetics regain and maintain a more normal life to the experience he had in seeing his mother and his grandfather deal with the realities of the condition. Often, Dr. Blumofe is known to say to his patients that "diabetes is NOT a disease, it is a lifestyle change".

When Dr Blumofe is not working (all four hours of the day that remain), he spends time helping his wife, Sandy, raise their three children Abby, Joey, and Rachel. Dr Blumofe holds a 1st degree Black Belt (ShoDan) in the Jinenkan Martial Arts (though has since retired!)

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Transcription: 
What type of shoe is best for each stage of your child's growth and development? Well, when a child is first learning to walk, they need to be able to feel the ground and just have protection. So you want to have it as close to barefoot as possible. You wanna make sure that there's no irritation, that it's not rubbing or bothering them, and it fits correctly. So ideally a small child learning to walk, if you can take the shoe and roll it into a ball, that's a pretty good sign. It needs to be flexible and it needs to be as close to barefoot. That's good until the age of about four. From four to about eight, they can start getting a thicker sole. But there's nothing to support in those ages, so you're not trying to support the foot with their shoes. Just again, protect them from the outside world. From by about the age of eight and up, especially when you start hitting the teenage years, that's when you really start needing to support the foot, teenage and adult years. So what you want in those shoes are ones that are not flexible, like rolling into a ball. They actually are supportive and allow them to stand as their arches develop. Now this is true pretty much for most children; there are always exceptions to the rules and some children need support at a younger age. And if you see your child walking and they don't quite look right to you, you go to your professional, have your podiatrist look at them, and they'll tell you if you need more supportive, better shoes. But for the most part, protective in the beginning, supportive as they get older.