The moment your child starts walking is one of the most bittersweet times for parents. While it’s amazing to watch them learn and develop into toddlers, it’s also a reminder of just how quickly they grow up.
Despite the complex emotions we feel as parents while watching our babies grow, it’s important for walking babies to have a couple essentials.
What Are the Best Shoes for Babies Learning to Walk?
As you can imagine, walking requires more than just motor skills, confidence, and determination—your baby also needs their first pair of walking shoes to offer support every “step” of the way. As stated by the American Academy of Pediatrics (APA), your child’s lifelong gait starts with their pivotal first steps!
The APA also recommends the following tips for choosing shoes for babies who are starting to walk:
- Choose a shoe that is lightweight and flexible to support your child’s natural foot movement.
- Opt for mesh or soft leather materials to allow your child’s feet to breathe.
- Choose a pair of shoes with rubber soles for traction, which can minimize slips and falls.
To best support your child as they learn to scoot around, the best shoes for babies learning to walk need to be made of a breathable material, and have both soft soles, as well as some comfortable wiggle room that allows for growing.
It’s important to note that babies don’t need shoes to learn to walk, and no pair of shoes will make it magically happen for your child. Instead, their first pair of walking shoes should be there for supporting and protecting their feet when needed.
Tips for Choosing Your Baby’s First Walking Shoes
- Before you invest in a pair of walking shoes for your baby, give them time to adjust to the feeling of walking naturally with bare feet. Adding shoes into the equation right away creates a barrier between their feet and the surface they are learning to walk across. Once your baby is walking around for a large portion of the day without assistance, it’s a safe bet they’re reading for some their first pair of kicks.
- Choose a lightweight material. This first pair of shoes is important, not just for sentimental reasons, but because they need to be breathable for ultimate comfort and protection. Cheaper materials can lead to sweaty feet and conditions like Athlete’s Foot.
- Make sure you choose the right size baby shoe, and keep in mind that a baby may not be able to communicate to you that their foot is uncomfortable in a particular pair of baby shoes. The safest bet for choosing the right size baby shoes is to physically measure your baby’s feet, opting for a shoe that is around 12-16mm longer than the baby’s big toes.
- Before you choose a pair of shoes based on how they look, first prioritize the shoes’ flexibility and non-slip grip to ensure comfort and safety.
- Keep in mind that baby feet grow quickly, so you’ll want to remeasure your child’s feet at least every other month to see if it’s time to move up a size. Proper fitting shoes are essential to walking comfortably, safely, and successfully!
Don’t Lose Your Baby’s First Walking Shoes!
Inevitably, as your child starts to walk around in their first pair of baby shoes and the many pairs of shoes to follow, lost shoes will become a reality! Whether your child kicks a shoe off in the grocery store line or one of their shoes mysteriously doesn’t make it home from a play date, securing their shoes to their feet is essential in not only preventing lost shoes and repurchasing, but also their safety while walking!
Shoespenders are the solution to lost baby shoes, developed by parents who knew about those lost baby shoes a little too well.
Essentially, a Shoespender works in a way similar to actual suspenders. Every Shoespender comes with a pair of socks that connects to the Shoespender clips, ensuring if shoes fall off, get kicked off, or are otherwise lost, they’ll dangle securely to the socks instead of getting lost.
If your baby is on the move, don’t lose their first walking shoes—order your Shoespenders now at https://shoespender.com/collections/all-products-active