Children's shoes for the first steps how to choose. When is the right time to buy your first shoes?

Your baby has taken his first step. This day will forever remain in your memory. When the baby begins to walk and run with his legs, the question arises of choosing shoes for the child. It is better to know in advance how to choose it correctly, given modern tendencies.

When choosing, first of all, it is important to remember the features of the formation of the foot. The formation of the foot in babies occurs before the age of four. During this period, the child's legs experience considerable stress. In order for the foot to form correctly, it is very important to choose convenient and comfortable shoes. What else can be affected by shoes?

Shoes have a significant impact on the formation of:

• Child's walks.
• It affects the circulation in the legs.
• It forms the child's spine.

What should be the first shoes for the baby

The first shoe of a child is popularly considered to be shoes or boots. But in fact it is not so. The first can be called booties. It is a mistake to believe that baby booties are just a cute decoration for a baby's foot. Booties prepare the child's legs for real shoes in our understanding. Therefore, it is extremely important to take the choice of booties seriously. The booties you choose must necessarily cover the ankle joints of the baby and the ankle. Appearance is a secondary factor on which concentrate. Only with such a prioritization of the acquired booties will contribute to the health of the child.

Basic requirements for children's shoes

Are shoes necessary when a child starts walking? Certainly. Here are some conditions and rules that parents need to follow when choosing children's shoes or boots:

• Material. Shoes for babies from 1 year old, experts recommend buying from genuine leather. It is important that an arch support was present. Under these conditions, the baby's foot will quickly get used to the required position. And just as important, learning to walk won't take too long. Pediatricians are advised to refuse synthetics. In this case, the baby's leg should breathe freely.
• Safety. Boots or shoes must be safe. A toddler who is learning to walk has rather unsteady steps. Therefore, in order to avoid unpleasant and dangerous situations choose safe shoes.
• The presence of a small heel is also welcome. The heel gives the position of the baby's body a kind of slight forward tilt, which, in turn, will protect the child from falling in the opposite direction. The height of the heel should not exceed 1.5 cm.
• Sole. The sole should not be too smooth. When buying shoes for your child, be sure to test the sole for flexibility. The better the sole bends, the more it fits the baby. But the adhesion to the floor helps the baby more confident feel on your feet and gives more stability.
• Back. Don't forget to pay attention to the back. So that this part of children's sneakers or shoes does not wrinkle when worn, it must be strong and hard. It is also important that the back can well fix the foot baby. Only if these rules are followed, the shoes will normally stay on the crumbs leg and will not fall off.
• Free movement. Do not buy heavy shoes or sandals for the baby. It is recommended to take a closer look at light species. Also, the shoes or sandals you buy should be neither too wide nor too narrow. Do not buy boots for growth. Children's feet should be comfortable. Shoes or boots should never impede traffic child and limit his attempts to walk independently.
• The presence of an insole. Inside there should be an insole, which, if necessary, can be easily removed. Choose shoes with soft insoles.
• Tapered socks. It is highly undesirable to buy shoes with narrowed socks for a baby. While the child's foot is being formed, the sock should be the correct and regular shape. Also make sure that inside the shoes the baby can free wiggle your toes.

Can children wear the shoes of their older brothers and sisters?

Nowadays, many young mothers pass on the clothes of older children to younger children in order to save money. Is it possible to give shoes or sneakers of grown children to younger offspring? Orthopedists do not recommend doing this. The baby's foot is just being formed and gradually begins to take on its unique, individual shape. Used shoes, sneakers always preserve contours feet of the previous owner. Wearing them will bring discord in the process of the formation of the baby's foot and adversely affect the child's gait. There may be a muscle disorder. To avoid this series of problems, buy only new shoes or boots for your baby.

How to choose the right shoes for a child in size? To do this, when buying, be sure to take your baby with you. Try everything on the spot. It is not recommended to buy children's shoes by eye. The first children's shoes are chosen strictly according to size.

How many pairs to buy for a baby

For the first time, it will be enough to purchase 2 types of shoes. One of them is used for street walks, the other will be worn at home.

• For a street walk, you can buy moccasins, sandals, sneakers or boots. It all depends on the time of year and the climate in your area.
• For home pastime, at first, booties are enough. When the baby learns to walk independently and confidently around the house, booties are replaced with boots or sandals.

Home and outdoor children's shoes are selected in accordance with established rules. Among them are the presence of a small heel, natural material and a hard heel.

Orthopedic shoes: is it necessary?

Some modern mothers acquire only orthopedic shoes or shoes for their children in order to prevent flat feet. However, should all children wear them? No. They are necessary only for those babies who have problems with the formation of the foot. The purchase of such shoes or sandals is made solely in accordance with recommendations of an orthopedist. In most cases, orthopedic shoes are made to order for both the adult generation and children.

In stores, ordinary children's shoes are often given out as orthopedic ones. Simple shoes can indeed meet the basic requirements, but they are incapable of correcting real orthopedic problems in the development of a child's foot.

Some mothers consider orthopedic shoes to be ugly and unfashionable. Modern manufacturers of orthopedic shoes are trying to dispel this stereotype by releasing their products in accordance with established fashion laws. Therefore, even in orthopedic shoes, the baby will look fashionable and stylish.

The development of flat feet. Who is to blame?

Sometimes doctors diagnose a child with flat feet. Hearing such a verdict, parents begin to blame themselves. Most adults believe that in young children, flat feet can appear for only one reason - improperly selected shoes. But flat feet can appear for another reason. For example, because of the wrong way of life.

Every newborn baby has a perfectly flat sole. As the child grows, the arch of the foot begins to form. The foot is formed in a certain bend. It is vital for the baby. With it, the baby in the future will be able to freely run, jump and move on different surfaces. A certain group of muscles has a considerable influence on the process of forming a bend.

If during bend formation violations occur, flat feet appear, which must be corrected by wearing orthopedic shoes.

Prevention of flat feet

Since today babies make most of the movements on flat surfaces (laminate, parquet, asphalt), the problem of flat feet is more relevant than ever. Prevention of flat feet consists of the following practical tips:

1. Buy children's shoes or sneakers with arch support. This small insert contributes to the successful formation of the foot.
2. At every opportunity, the baby is recommended to be placed on an uneven surface. Such a surface can be sand on a beach or grass on a lawn.
3. A special orthopedic mat will also help improve the formation of the child's foot. Encourage your little one to stomp on this rug for an hour a day.

Preventive measures to prevent flat feet can be carried out on the street and at home.

When choosing the first shoes for a child who is not yet walking (and not even trying!), you can safely be guided by anything: the desire to evoke a “mimimi” reaction from relatives and neighbors, the desire to spend money uselessly, but with pleasure, or an impulse to instill in the baby a taste for good shoes “from birth”. But as soon as the baby takes its first steps, the requirements for children's shoes become the most stringent and well-defined ...

When to buy baby's first shoes

Some pediatricians and orthopedists believe that until the baby has taken his first steps, there is no urgent need to shoe him. Others argue that the baby needs the first shoes already at the moment when the child is just starting to get on his feet. By and large, the difference in time between these two children's achievements is small, so you can buy your child's first shoes at any time - but no later than the time when your boy or your girl is already actively trying to move around the room on foot.

What should be the first children's shoes

What kind of shoes should be in shape is up to you. Sandals, shoes, boots, boots - the model of the first shoe depends on the weather outside the window and the area where you are going to walk with your baby. But the requirements for the quality of children's shoes must be strict, regardless of the model range and pricing policy. Namely:

• Shoes (sandals, boots, boots, etc.) should have a small heel (5-15 mm). This heel is needed not for the sake of beauty or the prevention of flat feet, but in order to exclude the possibility of a child falling back, in which very often babies, alas, receive serious head injuries.
• Children's shoes should have a hard heel that securely fixes the heel and protects the baby from accidental dislocation.
• Inside the shoe there should be a soft insole that can be removed. If necessary, this ordinary insole can be easily replaced with a special insole with arch support.
• The sole should be flexible and as thin as possible.
• The shoes must be exactly the right size, that is, the child's foot should not “ride” inside the boot or sandal. Children's shoes can be bought "for growth", but it is absolutely impossible to wear them ahead of time.
• Children's shoes should not have any narrowed socks (such as "boats") - by no means! In order for the baby's foot to grow and develop correctly, it is necessary that the child inside his shoes be able to freely move all his fingers.

On the left - not a very good choice of street shoes, on the right - the right and good one. Children's shoes should warm the foot (if it's cold or demi-season outside), and also securely fix the still fragile foot, protecting the baby from dislocations.

Does my child need orthopedic shoes?

Nowadays, you can often hear proud statements from young mothers - they say, I buy special orthopedic shoes for my baby - to prevent flat feet, so that his foot develops correctly ... In fact, such a situation is a kind of absurd self-deception. Any practicing doctor will tell you that orthopedic shoes are only for sick people, not for healthy people.

Popular doctor Komarovsky: “If we are talking about normal, healthy children, then no orthopedic shoes for them exist in nature. Orthopedic shoes are made to order specifically for kids (or for adults) with real serious orthopedic problems in the development of the foot or ankle joint. But for healthy people, shoes of this kind are never recommended. ”

What they sell to moms “under sauce” “orthopedic shoes” is in most cases the most ordinary children's shoes that meet all the requirements (genuine leather, wide toe, hard heel, etc.) and have special arch support insoles that really help in the prevention of flat feet in children (we'll talk about it a little later).

How to choose the first shoes for a child

The purchase of children's shoes, especially for the first steps, can be entrusted to online stores only in one single case - if the exact model that you have chosen online has already been tested and approved by you in real life. In all other cases - and especially when choosing a new model and a new size - you will have to go to a "live" store and literally try every pair.

Although it is not at all necessary to test the patience of the future owner of the new thing - while the child is not yet able to appreciate the comfort of the shoe or its size, his presence during the purchase is not at all necessary.

Remove the mark from the baby's foot on thick cardboard (circle along the contour and then carefully cut out with a margin of about 1-2 mm) - this template will help in choosing shoes much more efficiently than its original. Select the ones you like for aesthetic reasons (when a mother buys shoes for a child, these tiny shoes should please her as much as her own favorite shoes!), Then check them for compliance. Then, using the cardboard template of your baby's legs, select the desired size.

Of course, for each toddler, the size of the foot (like everything else) grows very individually. But there are also general data: up to two years, the average child's foot increases by 1-1.5 sizes every 3 months.

How many pairs of shoes does a toddler need?

For street walks, a baby who has just started walking will only need one pair of shoes. According to climatic conditions, these can be sandals, boots, sneakers, moccasins, etc.

But in addition to the street, the baby and the house need to walk in something ... Beautiful homemade booties - knitted or sewn from all kinds of fabrics - are only suitable for babies who still do not walk, but are only going to. If the baby is already confidently standing on his feet and taking his first steps around the house, then as home shoes he should also have ordinary “street” sandals or shoes “according to all the rules”: with a heel, with arch support and a hard heel, preferably - made of genuine leather, and matched "size to size".

As soon as your baby began to learn to walk, it's time to throw away all his knitted booties and denim slippers, replacing them with leather sandals or boots with a hard heel for a while. In them, the child will more confidently put the foot, without the risk of dislocating the ankle.

On the left - a bad choice of home shoes for a baby, on the right - a correct and good one. In fact, the requirements for home shoes for a child under two years old are exactly the same as for outdoor shoes. The only exception is that home shoes do not have to be warm at all.

Can the wrong shoes cause flat feet in a child?

When doctors announce to parents that their children are developing flat feet, 95% of them instantly take this "sin" on themselves - many medical surveys show that most parents believe that their children develop flat feet due to wearing improperly selected shoes. Actually it is not.

The development of flat feet is influenced not so much by shoes as by the lifestyle of the child. Flat feet and shoes have nothing to do with each other. Except, perhaps, one thing: sometimes, in rare cases, with some forms of flat feet, you can somewhat correct the situation for the better by wearing special orthopedic shoes. But if the foot is healthy, it is almost impossible to make it “flat-footed” with the help of any kind of footwear.

A few words about flat feet. All newborn babies have perfectly flat soles, they are the perfect example of flat feet! But over time, the baby's feet begin to form in a certain bend (the so-called arch of the foot), and this happens especially intensively just at the time when the baby takes the first steps. This bend in the feet is necessary for a person to cushion when jumping, running, falling from a height - to protect the spine, pelvis and knee joints.

The correct arch of the foot is formed under the influence of a certain group of muscles, which naturally contract when we walk on uneven surfaces - earth, grass, sand, etc. A deviation from the norm is considered not only flat feet, but vice versa - too high arch of the foot.

1 - normally formed arch of the foot; 2 - too high instep; 3 - flat feet. All three situations are well "read" on the trail - dip the baby's foot in gouache, and then put it on paper: you will immediately see how developed or not the arch of the child's foot.

Since modern children today most often have to deal with flat surfaces (asphalt, parquet, laminate, linoleum), parents have few ways to compensate for the lack of "natural" irregularities, which are so useful for preventing flat feet in children and for developing a reliable foot arch:

• 1 The baby should be placed on an uneven surface at every opportunity - sand or pebbles on the beach, grass on the lawn, children's climbing frames and slides, etc.
• 2 Uneven surfaces can also be arranged at home - stuff a large rag bag or, for example, a large pillowcase with whole nuts (hazelnuts or chestnuts are ideal), and at least 50-60 minutes a day encourage the baby to literally stomp on this bag. For the same purpose, you can purchase a special orthopedic rug.
• 3 Buy your baby his first shoes with a small arch support (a special insert in shoes that helps form the correct arch of the foot).

Strictly speaking, talking about children's flat feet in the material about children under one year old is not entirely correct. Because from a medical point of view, such a thing as children's (and especially infant!) flat feet does not exist at all.

The arch of the foot is completely and completely formed in a boy and girl at the age of about 12 years. And until the moment of its final formation, any position of the foot is absolutely correctable and physiological. That is why the term "infant or children's flat feet" is somewhat absurd as a diagnosis, because without exception, all newborns are born with flat soles of the feet. And only over time, in some children - up to 12 years old, the foot forms its arch.

We have already mentioned that shoes have almost no effect on the development of flat feet. A sedentary lifestyle plays a huge negative role in the formation of a flat sole (with no arch of the foot). In order for the arch of the foot to form and become stronger, it is necessary that the muscles of the foot actively “work”. To do this, you need to make sure that the baby moves a lot during the day, especially on uneven surfaces. Do not pass by - children's slides in the yard, Swedish wall, sand and pebble beach, etc.

Recall: the diagnosis of "flat feet" is made by orthopedists in 95% of all children under the age of 2 years, forgetting, however, often to add that this flat foot is an absolutely normal (physiological) phenomenon - after all, the baby's foot is just beginning to form ... If your baby will actively move , then this infant flatfoot will go away on its own (you won't even notice!).

As a preventive measure for flat feet, you can use children's shoes with a small arch support, or, as often as possible, “bring” the baby to uneven surfaces.

Beautiful uneven surfaces can be arranged at home!

What should be the first children's shoes: summary

The quality of children's shoes - and especially shoes "for the first step" - does not depend on its cost, external "beauty", and brand popularity. Alas, sometimes the most famous brands produce the most "ugly" children's shoes in terms of health.

Here's a classic example for you: "kondo" winter boots, in which not a single dozen generations of Soviet kids grew up, are recognized by most modern orthopedists as the best winter shoes for a child in our latitudes (when even severe frosts do not cancel the need for walks). These felt boots, provided that they have a soft insole with a small arch support, ideally tightly hold the child's ankle - just as good as a ski boot. Thus, the baby is protected from joint dislocation, no matter how he runs, and at the same time, in conditions of rigid fixation of the ankle, the arch of the foot is formed faster. In addition, these boots have a rather strange shape of the sole - it is not flat, but rounded. And when a kid wears similar shoes without galoshes, he involuntarily constantly uses the maximum muscles in the foot area (in fact, his foot makes the same micro-movements as the foot of a figure skater who is skating) - which, as you understand, completely solves the problem with the formation of the correct arch of the foot.

However, these felt boots seem fashionable, elegant and “presentable” to few people these days. But ugg boots are another matter. They are universally worn by the whole country, including kids. But doctors consider them to be the most inappropriate model for a child who has not yet formed a foot - the heel is not hard enough (it holds the shape of a boot, but does not hold the child’s joint at all), the sole is perfectly flat, and the insole cannot be inserted. One plus - if they are of high quality, then they at least perfectly warm the foot. But for the formation of the correct arch of the foot, ugg boots are poor helpers.

So: neither the price, nor the famous brand, nor the luxurious appearance can be a sign of the high quality of children's shoes. In order to choose reliable and really useful shoes for your little one, you will have to sort out with your hands any pair of children's sandals, boots and boots. Take, twist, study insoles, heels and socks, check the naturalness of the material. Only in this way will you be able to choose the perfect first shoes for your baby. And in three months - start the search again ...

For the first steps of the crumbs, many parents begin to prepare in advance. And, having heard and read articles about the “terrible” flat feet and other problems that begin to “grow up” with an upright child, they wonder if their son or daughter should buy special shoes “on the first step”. The well-known pediatrician Yevgeny Komarovsky tells whether it is necessary to put on shoes for a child who is learning to walk, and what should be the first shoes of a toddler.

Do you need shoes?

Yevgeny Komarovsky believes that a child may well learn to walk without shoes. Moreover, the human foot is designed in such a way that he can move exclusively barefoot. After all, no one is born in sandals or boots! In terms of a natural approach, no special footwear is required for a baby's first step.

But when the child learns to stomp on foot, he will have to slowly teach him to wear shoes.

After all, he will not go barefoot to kindergarten, for a walk or to the clinic.

Parents should understand that shoes do not correct anything, and the arch of the foot will usually be as it is destined to be according to genetics. Shoes do not affect the straightness or curvature of the legs, whether the baby learns to walk faster or he will do it slowly. Shoes only protect the feet from cold and mechanical stress, and nothing more. And you need to treat it from this position.

Barefoot or sandals?

All children, without exception, are born with flat feet, that is, 100% of babies have flat feet. The foot is formed as it grows and develops, and usually by the age of 12 it becomes clear whether there is flat feet or not. Dr. Evgeny Komarovsky says that parents themselves are often to blame for flat feet, because from childhood they taught the child to wear slippers at home, sandals on the street.

The risk of developing flat feet can be significantly reduced by allowing your child to walk barefoot more often. Houses on the floor - this should always be, and slippers are harmful. It is very good if the child has somewhere to run barefoot at least sometimes except for his apartment.

It's great to let it out with bare heels on the grass, on small stones, on asphalt, if you live in your own house and there is a yard area. In the summer, on vacation in the village with his grandmother, the child is simply obliged to run barefoot. All this has a positive effect on the formation of the arch of the foot.

You don't have to worry about hypothermia. Mom should not worry that a barefoot child who walks on the floor or on the ground will catch a cold. The legs are the only part of the human body, the vessels of which, when in contact with a cold surface, are able to narrow and thereby "save" heat, not give it away to the environment. Walking barefoot is good. And sitting in the cold is absolutely impossible, because the vessels of the priests in a child cannot narrow.

It is necessary to work on ensuring that the foot is healthy from an early age.

Parents, according to Komarovsky, do not need to rush things and specifically teach the child to walk. The unavailability of the musculoskeletal system, muscles and ligaments, as well as the spine and feet, especially in a plump little one, can cause a variety of orthopedic problems. The child must take the first steps on his own, without coercion from adults, and when he is completely ready for this himself.

When are shoes needed?

Theoretically, a child begins to need shoes when he begins to leave the house "into people." All toddlers who begin to walk have an unsteady, unsteady gait, they do not have a well-developed kick with their feet. This can be partly explained by the limited function of the children's ankle. From this point of view, it will be much more convenient for the child to take more confident steps in high shoes that will fix and support the feet.

This does not mean that all parents of beginner "stompers" should urgently run to the store for children's shoes with a high back and arch support. It is needed only for those babies who walk unsteadily, often fall, and solely in order to give them a little more stability and confidence. Once they have them, you can wear any shoes - with a low heel, with a soft heel, with anything, of any model, as long as the baby is comfortable in it.

High and fixing shoes are needed, in theory, only for children under 3 years old. If it ceases to be needed earlier, it's okay.

Orthopedic shoes

A child needs orthopedic shoes when an orthopedic doctor reveals certain problems in him, for example, valgus feet, clubfoot, etc. These diagnoses must be confirmed by x-ray studies. Only this gives the doctor the moral right to recommend mom to buy orthopedic shoes.

It often has to be made to order, taking into account the angle of curvature of the foot in a particular child. These parameters will be indicated by the doctor, and in the orthopedic salon they will try to take into account all the doctor's prescriptions.

However, you can often see how the parents of a completely healthy child go to buy orthopedic shoes for him, very heavy, scary, ugly and expensive, but "terribly useful." They do this for preventive purposes, so that "there is no flat feet" and to avoid many other problems. And often they do it not on their own whim, but because the doctor advised.

Komarovsky is sure that as long as doctors in polyclinics receive a certain percentage of the profits of orthopedic shops and salons, this practice exists and will continue to exist.

A healthy child who has not been given very specific diagnoses that require correction with the help of special medical shoes does not need orthopedic shoes!

Legacy boots

Often parents are interested in whether it is possible to give shoes from an older child to a younger one. Komarovsky says that there is nothing wrong with the fact that the baby starts stomping in the boots of his brother or sister, no.

If the shoes fit him in size, do not press and do not hang on his leg, if they are in good condition, then there is no need to complicate anything. This is just clothes, and therefore it is possible to wear it after another child, subject to the rules of hygiene.

How to choose the first shoes?

There are a few simple rules, the knowledge of which will help parents choose the first, second, and each subsequent pair of shoes for their child, and at the same time not harm him:

Do not buy shoes "for growth." If the sandals are large, then the gait rhythm slows down. In this, of course, there is no particular orthopedic harm, but it is still unpleasant. To compensate for the inconvenience of wearing large shoes, the child will begin to tuck his socks inward, and his knees will often be half-bent when walking.

No need to buy heavy shoes. This is especially true of winter and autumn shoes for the baby. The kid has just learned to stomp, and heavy high boots are brought to him, besides, a caring grandmother will definitely put a pair of woolen socks on the legs of the little one before putting on shoes. To understand how a still dumb child feels, Komarovsky advises adults to put on ski boots and walk in them without skis on a flat road for at least half an hour.

The model of the first shoe does not play a big role, says Yevgeny Komarovsky. If the child is healthy, he does not have medically justified problems with the feet or spine, then the main thing is not the color and the presence of laces or Velcro, but the convenience for this child.

But it is important that the socks are still round, narrow noses prevent the normal development of the fingers.

The choice of shoes for the baby is very important, because the future slender posture of the child and his confident gait largely depend on the first shoes. There are several important points that you should pay attention to when buying the very first children's shoes.

When should a child wear their first shoes?

At the very beginning, when the child begins to take the first steps at home, socks are enough for him, but when you go for a walk with a baby who is already learning to walk, you cannot do without special shoes. All babies go through this stage at different ages, so we can only give approximate age limits.

From 7-9 months, the baby may want to get out of the stroller for a walk and stand on the ground. Can try to stand near the support. Some babies already take their first steps (with the help of parents) at 9-11 months.

As a rule, at the age of about a year, children begin to try to walk on their own. And, if earlier shoes were required "in order to stand on the ground", now the child needs the right shoes so that he can develop independent walking skills.

Buy the right quality shoes first:

• quality .

How to choose the first shoes for a child

To begin with, let's decide what features shoes for the smallest should have.

• Provides a stable position of the foot while walking;
• Promotes the proper development of the foot;
• Fixes the heel;
• Protects fingers from bruises;
• Protects the legs from twisting (not "short", completely fixes the ankle joint in the autumn-winter period);
• Forms all support points;
• It takes into account all the anatomical features of children's legs.

Material

Important! Children's shoes should be made from natural materials. Due to an imperfect heat exchange system, the legs of small children, and especially the feet, sweat a lot. Therefore, the material from which shoes are made must necessarily “breathe”.

In cool weather, mild weather is preferable. In summer, you can opt for a stitched canvas.

There are 4 cartilages in the leg of a newborn baby, which eventually transform into bones. Most of the children have healthy feet from birth, but parents need to remember that cartilage can easily be deformed, their task is to contribute to the formation of a healthy foot for the child. Therefore, the choice of the first shoes for a small person is very important.

The most interesting thing is that the advice of doctors on choosing the first shoes for a baby in Russia and abroad is strikingly different. Our doctors of the old school recommend that all mothers buy “orthopedic” shoes, with a high, hard heel, and an obligatory arch support insole. Considering the frugality of many mothers, children as the first pair receive, albeit beautiful, but uncomfortable, at least a size larger than necessary, sandals.

Abroad, for their children, parents choose light, flexible, as soft shoes as possible. But this causes bewilderment among our caring mothers - what about flat feet?

Surprisingly, any child with healthy feet under 2 years of age can be diagnosed with flat feet. But this is functional flat feet, that is, passing. The task of parents during this period, according to Dr. Komarovsky, is to provide the child with sufficient mobility, walking barefoot on uneven surfaces, sand, pebbles, climbing the Swedish wall. Creating a reasonable and natural load on children's legs contributes to the correct formation of his foot, as a result, flat feet will disappear. The arch of the baby's foot arch is created by strengthening the muscles of the legs.

Indeed, orthopedic shoes are made only to order for the characteristics of the child. A healthy child does not need it.

Attention! The so-called "orthopedic" insoles with an arch support can be dangerous for the baby's feet if the shoes are not chosen correctly, or are oversized. Indeed, in this case, the position of the supinator is shifted. It can put pressure on the fragile bones of the baby's legs, causing him pain, and cause deformation of the gait.

When does a child need shoes?

To answer this question, you must first understand - for him, people generally came up with shoes:

• to protect the legs from damage and injury;
• to keep warm from the cold.

Dr. Komarovsky believes that a healthy child will need shoes when it is necessary to warm and / or protect his legs.

While the baby is very small and does not even try to take his first steps, you can put on any shoes / booties on his legs, since they have a more decorative effect (complete the image, warm the legs).

But for the first walks on street asphalt, children's legs need protection.

The first shoes must be:

• correspond to the anatomical features and size of the child's legs;
• be comfortable for the child;
• provide comfortable conditions for the legs;
• do not interfere with the development and growth of the baby's legs.

Advice. To choose the right size for the first shoe for a small child, you should put his foot on thick paper, circle and cut out the template with an increase of 1 mm. When buying children's shoes, the template should be compared with the insole of children's shoes. The insole of the very first shoe of the baby should be 5-8 mm longer than the template, and 1-2 mm wider.

Requirements for the first children's shoes. Selection rules

Dr. Komarovsky announced the following requirements that children's shoes must meet:

• flexible, extremely thin sole;
• natural, soft, breathable material;
• small heel;
• dense, fixing the ankle joint, the back must be present;
• Soft, moisture-absorbing, easy-to-remove insole.

The sole is the basis of children's shoes, it should be elastic so as not to interfere with the natural movements of the foot. The sole of the baby's first shoes should be leather or very thin rubber, flexible, and always non-slip.

Children's feet sweat more than adults, so it is especially important for them to use natural materials from which shoes are made, providing a comfortable microclimate inside it. Soft leather or fabric is the best choice. It should not be forgotten that the baby's socks should also be natural.

A small heel (5 mm) is necessary for a baby who is taking his first steps. He will not let an unbalanced child fall back and hit his head.

The heel in the first children's shoes should be moderately hard, moderately high. A tight back provides secure fixation of the ankle joint of the baby's legs, but it should not turn the sandals into "blocks". The baby should be comfortable to move around.

And, finally, the insole in children's shoes up to 2 years old should be soft, cotton or leather, and without an arch support.

So, the first shoes are very important in the life of the baby, and you should choose them, guided not only by the beauty and functionality of the model. Natural material, flexible sole, lack of arch support and soft insole are the main requirements for the first children's shoes. Proper shoes and an active lifestyle will help your baby form beautiful healthy legs, and he will never hear the diagnosis of "flat feet".

How to choose the first shoes for a child - video