As the days become crisper and the nights come quicker, as the summer draws to a close, children are whisked back into school. With the start of a new school year, new clothes are being purchased and new shoes are being researched and purchased. The questions that are sometimes asked, are how do I make sure these shoes are comfortable and well fitted and of good quality? Do I need to spend large amounts of money to get a quality shoe? When should I replace a shoe? How about "hand me down" shoes?
Before purchasing a shoe for a child, you need to remember two key points:
1) A developing child's foot is not just a smaller version of the adult foot. The bones are growing and progressing. The foot even often functions different than the full grown adult foot.
2) Child shoes should be able to be worn for running, jumping and playing, not just walking or standing. Children will be playing at school and should have a shoe that will protect them from injury as they play.
So as you consider these keys, carefully pick a shoe that the child both likes to wear and will provide the comfort in activity that each child requires. The process for choosing a shoe should include:
1. Children's feet at various stages of growth may change sizes very rapidly. Ensure that you measure their feet at shoe purchase. Both feet must be measured, as one foot will be larger than the other. Always fit shoes to the larger foot. Remember shoes that don't fit properly could aggravate foot problems.
2. The child should "try on" the shoes prior purchase. This means that you should take the child shoe shopping. This allows you to purchase a comfortable shoe that they like to wear. Shoes should never require a "break-in" period, because a shoe that fits correctly will be comfortable immediately.
3. Over a period of wear
air jordan dress shoes, a shoe will wear in the outer sole (the portion we see and walk on)
air jordan prom heels, the inside of the shoe (including the heel area), and the inner sole (located inside the shoe). The inner sole is a matrix of softer material that has air pockets that flatten over time. Shoe wear can be deceiving, because the shoe may wear out "inside" even when it doesn't look worn out on the outside. If the shoe doesn't appear to be working right, it should be replaced.
4. Because of how shoes can wear with an individual foot, handing down shoes is not necessarily a good idea. Just because a shoe is the correct size, doesn't mean it will fit another child's foot as comfortably as it did the first.
As school starts, and flip flops or sandals are traded for new shoes, care should be exercised to find high quality shoes. By creating a good shoe wear habit at an early age, you will minimize foot injury and long term foot problems. You may be the key to the long healthy life of your child's feet. Think about it now and influence their life in the future.
Levels of support Running shoe manufacturers say that each of their models of running shoe will fall broadly within one of four levels of support - Neutral, Mild-Support, Moderate-Support and Motion Control.In reality, there are as many different levels of support as there are different models of running shoe and subtle differences in the structure of different models will mean that they are more or less supportive than others.
What level of support do I need? This is a very complex question....For a quick analysis (often referred to as a 'gait-analysis'), pop into to your local running shoe shop, where they should be able to assess the broad category of support you need. For a more thorough analysis
air force one high heels, contact a sports podiatrist or a University with a specialist Sports Science/Bio-mechanics department.
In respect of the more specialist analyses, you will usually be advised to purchase a specially moulded orthotic inner-sole, which will include specific support to assist your own unique foot-strike. Orthotics can cost hundreds of pounds, though unless you have a very unusual foot-strike, have unusual physical characteristics (e.g. one leg longer than the other) or you have suffered from prolonged injuries, these will usually be unnecessary. Ask the podiatrist/expert to recommend some specific supportive running shoes or, if they consider orthotics to be necessary, ask them to outline in detail the specific problem the orthotics will solve and the reasons why a supportive running shoe will not solve it.FACTOR 4: FIT The fit of running shoes produced by different manufacturers, and even different models produced by the same manufacturer, can differ substantially in terms of the length, width, depth and general shape. This is why it is crucial to try on a shoe before you commit to buying it.