What you need
- A sheet of paper on a hard floor, against a wall. Or print the foot ruler, which has the scale on it.
- A pencil, held upright, and a ruler or tape in centimetres or inches.
- The socks they’ll wear with the shoes, or bare feet for sandals.
- Two minutes when they’re calm, and a second adult for a toddler.
A child who can stand
Step 01
Heel to the wall
Paper flat against the wall, child standing on it with the heel touching the wall. Weight on both feet, evenly, so the foot is at its full length (Brannock).
Step 02
Toes flat
Ask them to stand still and look ahead, with their toes flat on the paper, not curled.
Step 03
Mark the longest toe
Hold the pencil upright and mark the tip of the longest toe, which isn’t always the big toe.
Step 04
Measure
Step off and measure from the wall edge of the paper to the mark, straight along the foot.
A baby or a wriggler
- Not standing yet? With the baby lying or sitting, rest the sole on the paper with the heel held firmly against the wall (or a book standing upright on the paper’s edge), press the toes flat with your thumb and mark the tip of the longest toe. That’s Brannock’s method for infants, with the wall in place of the device’s heel cup. The survey behind our baby sizes measured babies lying down too.
- Won’t keep still? Trace around the foot with the pencil upright, then measure the outline from the heel line to the furthest toe.
Most babies don’t need shoes before they walk: baby sizes by month and first shoes.
Measure both feet
A child’s two feet can differ, so measure both, every time, and buy for the longer foot.
How much room the shoe needs
Use the bare foot length to find the size: the size charts here give the foot each size fits, not the shoe’s inside length, so the room is in the shoe. Then check the shoe on the foot:
Step 01
6 to 10 mm at the toe
With the child standing in both shoes, fastened, there should be at least 6 mm and ideally 10 mm in front of the longest toe (Evelina London). NHS Lothian puts it as a thumb’s width.
Step 02
Heel held
The heel shouldn’t lift out when they walk. Laces, a buckle or Velcro hold it; slip-ons make children grip with their toes (NHS Lothian).
How often to measure
Before the spare room runs out: a shoe bought with 10 mm in front of the toe needs replacing once it’s down to 6 mm, after 4 mm of growth. At the median growth rate from the CPSC survey of children, that’s:
| Age | Growth a month | Lasts |
|---|---|---|
| First year | 2.9 mm | 6 weeks |
| Second year | 1.1 mm | 3½ months |
| 2 to 5 years | 0.9 mm | 4½ months |
| 6 to 9 years | 0.8 mm | 5 months |
| 10 to 13 years | 0.6 mm | 7 months |
Median foot length (girls and boys) between the first and last age bands in each span; babies under 2 measured lying down, children standing. This is the median child; yours may grow faster or slower. A US kids’ half size is 4.2 mm of foot, so the 4 mm is about one half size.
Width
Length picks the size; width decides the fit. The toe of the shoe should be wide and deep enough for the toes to move: a round or square toe usually fits better than a pointed one (NHS Lothian). Kids’ widths by size are in the shoe width chart.
Turn it into their size
Type the longer foot’s length in kids mode. For example, the median 4-year-old’s foot, 16.0 cm, is a US 9.5C, UK 9, EU 26. Or measure it with a photo.
Measuring your own foot: how to measure your foot.
Questions
Should I add growing room to my child’s measurement?
No. Type the bare foot length: the size charts here give the foot each size fits, not the shoe’s inside length, so the room is in the shoe. Then check it in the shop: 6 to 10 mm in front of the longest toe.
How much room should a child’s shoe have?
At least 6 mm and ideally 10 mm in front of the longest toe, with the child standing, says Evelina London. NHS Lothian puts it as a thumb’s width.
How often should children’s feet be measured?
Before every new pair, and again before they grow through the spare room. At the median growth rate, a shoe bought with 10 mm of room is down to 6 mm in about 6 weeks in the first year and about 5 months from 6 to 9. A Gloucestershire NHS leaflet advises measuring children in their first shoes every six to eight weeks.
My child’s feet are different sizes. Which do I use?
The longer one. Both feet should be measured, as they may differ; buy for the longer foot.