Baby shoe size
by month

Baby shoe size by month

The typical foot is the middle one at that age: half of babies are smaller, half bigger. Sizes are for that foot, rounded up to the next size as our calculator does; the last column is the range nine babies in ten fall within.

Babies were measured lying down, heel to longest toe. A 0–2 months foot is shorter than the smallest EU size on the standard tables. Each size links to its page, with what each brand prints for it.

How fast baby feet grow

In the first year the median baby’s foot grows about 2.9 mm a month. A US kids’ half size is 4.2 mm of foot, so a baby moves up a half size about every 6 weeks. In the second year growth slows to about 1.1 mm a month: a half size every 16 weeks or so.

The figures are the median baby; yours may grow faster or slower. How much room a shoe needs and how often to check: measuring a child’s foot.

The ages on baby shoes

Dr. Martens, Liberty, Nike, Vans and Veja print an age beside their baby sizes (Jordan uses Nike’s chart). Where the chart gives a foot length too, the last column is when the median baby is in that size on the brand’s chart: from reaching the size below to reaching this one. Nike’s ages fall within those months. Vans and Veja put some sizes younger: Vans’s 2C says 6–12 weeks, while the median baby is in it at 3 to 4½ months.

Sizes and ages as each brand’s chart prints them (linked), in the chart’s own size system; “—” where the chart gives no foot length or the size runs past the survey’s babies (2 years). Highlighted: the middle of the brand’s age range comes before the median baby reaches the size.

Do babies need shoes?

Not before they walk. A Gloucestershire NHS leaflet on first shoes says there is no need to put a child in shoes until they can walk unaided, and to keep shoes for walking outside at first. Nemours KidsHealth also says to hold off on the first pair until the baby is walking; barefoot is still best for foot development, and socks or booties with non-skid soles are fine for cold feet.

Keep socks and baby-grows loose too: the same leaflet warns against cramping toes in tight socks, bootees or shoes.

First shoes: what to look for

• About 1 cm beyond the longest toe, and wide enough for all the toes to lie flat (Gloucestershire NHS leaflet).
• A fastening, lace, buckle or Velcro, that holds the heel in place so the foot doesn’t slide forward; the heel shouldn’t lift out when they walk (same leaflet).
• Light and flexible, with non-skid soles: hard, stiff soles make it harder to learn to walk (KidsHealth).

Measure a baby’s foot

Measure from the back of the heel to the tip of the longest toe, both feet, and use the longer one. Step by step, for babies and wrigglers: measuring a child’s foot. The photo measure works with a sheet of paper; or print the foot ruler.

Questions