Cool Baby Shoes

A lot of new parents are often unsure as to when to put their baby in shoes. It really comes down to personal choice. The popular opinion is that babies don’t really need to start wearing shoes until they are ready to start walking.  You can get cute booties and soft shoes that new born babies can wear in their cot or Moses basket but practical shoes will only be needed once the baby is ready to take those first steps. Whilst your baby is still learning to walk it’s best to let them go bare foot or wear just socks wherever possible. Babies will find their balance a lot easier without anything on their feet.

When that magical moment comes and your little one takes that first step you’re going to want to find him or her some cool baby shoes for their little feet. When it comes to buying baby shoes you need to consider the fit of the shoe over the look, just because they need to be practical it doesn’t mean they still can’t be cool baby shoes. When trying the shoes on you should make sure that there is roughly half an inch of room between your baby’s toes and the end of the shoe. This is to allow room for your child’s feet to grow. Believe me they will be growing, ideally you should get your child’s feet measured every month, don’t be surprised if you’re purchasing a new pair of shoes every month until your child is around the age of 3 or 4.

Your baby’s first pair of shoes should ideally be quite lightweight; if you opt for a pair with high tongues you need to make sure they won’t hamper the movement of your little ones ankles. Heavy and cumbersome shoes will hinder walking as they can affect balance. Once you have settled on a pair of cool baby shoes you need to make a choice, Velcro or laces. Velcro is very easy to fasten and makes it a fantastic choice especially if you’re in a hurry and need to get the kids shoes on quick.

Unfortunately it’s also just as easy to unfasten and babies are very inquisitive and will soon work out how to get their shoes off.  Laces on the other hand will take a bit longer to fasten but you will find they will come undone a lot so be prepared to be tying and retying a few times a day. Babies are very clever and they will obviously work out how to untie laces too so when it comes to choosing laces or Velcro it’s about choosing the lesser of 2 evils.

Don’t be frightened to ask to try a few pairs on before you settle on making a purchase, you need to make sure those shoes fit your baby just right,  have your baby take a few steps with them on in the store, watch them walking to make sure they are comfortable. A lot of stores offer a free foot measuring service, Clarks shoe department in Mother care do this, whilst making your purchase you could make an appointment to get your child’s feet measured in a month’s time. Again don’t be surprised if you come back in a month’s time and have to buy another pair of cool baby shoes because your child’s feet have gone up a size or two.

Buying baby shoes can be a daunting task for first time parents as they worry they’re going to buy the wrong type of shoe or get the wrong size. My advice is to enjoy buying your baby’s first pair of shoes, if you need help ask in the stores. You really don’t need to worry because at the speed those little feet grow; you’re going to get plenty of practice.