It seems that every few months your children need new shoes and you may try to stretch your budget by fixing their current shoes or by giving them a pair a big sister or brother has discarded.  Unfortunately, either solution may not be good for the feet of the child who needs a shoe fix.  Some health issues caused by improperly fitted, worn out or hand me down shoes include plantar fasciitis, Morton's neuroma, excessive sweating, hammertoes, corns, bunions and blisters.

Feet are critical to the overall health of the human body.  Your children have 26 bones in their feet with almost half of them located in the toes.  In addition to bones they have 19 muscles, 107 ligaments and 33 joints making their feet incredibly complex.  As an adult you know from experience what problems foot pain or injuries can cause in your day-to-day life and this is even more frustrating for a child.

One way you can reduce or eliminate the possibility of problems with your children's feet is by inspecting their feet and shoes frequently.  A foot inspection will alert you to problems your child has not yet found painful, and a shoe inspection will help you decide whether or not you want to repair or replace them.  Following is a suggested checklist of issues to be considered.

Let's start with the foot inspection:

1.  What is the size of the feet being inspected?  Most people have one foot larger than the rest.  If you are not sure of the size take your child to a shoe store to be sized properly.
2.  Are there any obvious defects such as blisters, fissures, bunions, corns or spots that are just plain red and irritated?
4.  Do you see any large patches of excessively dry skin?
5.  Give your child a foot massage and watch for signs of pain or cramping.
6.  Make note of any problems that necessitate a visit to your pediatrician.

Next, we'll move on to the shoe inspection:

1.  Pay attention to the size of the shoes as compared to the current size your child wears.  It may be possible to continue wearing shoes slightly bigger than the current size but never let them wear shoes that are to small.
2.  How does the sole of the shoe look?  Was it thin to begin with or has it thinned in response to use?
3.  Is either heel loose?
4.  Ask your child to put the shoes back on and check if they have adequate toe room or places where there the shoe causes friction against their skin. 
5.  Have your child walk in the shoes so you can see their gait.

When you have finished looking at your child's feet and shoes consider if you can repair any issues without harming the feet that wear the shoes.  If there is no toe room but the shoes otherwise fit you may be able to stretch the toe box with stretching spray and a shoe stretcher depending on the fabric of the shoes. 

If the soles of the shoe have become very flimsy or stretch easily in response to pressure then your child may develop plantar fasciitis which is a painful inflammation of the connective tissues in the arch of the foot.  If you can flex the shoes below the toe box then the shoes need to be replaced.

When the heel of your child's shoes are too loose compared to the rest of the shoe, use a heel insert made for children.  You want to avoid having your child develop hammertoes caused by using their toes to keep the shoes from slipping off.  Calluses on the tops of the toes is a giveaway that the heels of the shoes are too lose.

If the shoes fit well but there a few spots of pressure, try using different socks.  Socks now come in a variety of thickness and weight.  Your little one may need a thicker sock to prevent pressure wear particularly if they often wear sports shoes.

If the issues with your child's feet seem ongoing despite new and well fitting shoes, they may need an orthotic device.  Ask your pediatrician to recommend an orthopedist or podiatrist for an evaluation.  Most orthotic devices are made of plastic and help distribute body weight evenly and realign the foot.

The feet your child is born with are the feet they need to carry them throughout their life.  Paying attention to their feet can improve their overall health by eliminating leg, back and neck pain.  A child will walk the distance around the earth three or four times during their lifetime.  Don't you want to make that journey as pain free and comfortable as possible?

(c) 2008, Odd Shoe Finder.  Reprints welcomed so long as the article and by-line are not changed and all links are made live.

• What Parents Should Know About Children’s Feet Development, Shoe Selection and Maintenance
• Zoom Kobe

Seoul Police Link 1,700 Pairs of Shoes to 2 Feet
Police opened an ex-convict’s warehouse and found 170 boxes packed with expensive designer shoes, all believed to have been stolen.

Read more on International Herald Tribune

In Seoul, Police Link 1,700 Pairs of Shoes to Just 2 Greedy Feet
Police recently opened an ex-convict’s warehouse and found 170 boxes packed with expensive designer shoes, sorted by size and brand, and all believed to have been stolen.

Read more on New York Times

• What Parents Should Know About Children’s Feet Development, Shoe Selection and Maintenance
• If the Shoe Fits… Do Your Children Have Healthy Feet?

The aim of this guide is to help parents make an informed decision about the type of children's shoes they purchase for their children and how it affects their foot development. Putting on the right size now, can prevent a lot of problems later in life, so here are some facts to guide you.

FACT #1: Did you know that children's feet keep growing till they are about 18?

For this reason it is advisable that they wear well fitted footwear, their feet should be checked and measured every three to four months and footwear replaced as soon as it has been outgrown. Most feet problems that adults encounter is due to a lack of proper feet care when they were younger. Put quality footwear on your children's feet and they will thank you for it in the future.

FACT #2: Why does my child's shoe not last long enough?

There is a common myth that shoes are meant to last a long while with children. The truth however is that in children, the average life of a pair of shoes is 4 months depending on the quality of the shoes. So you are getting exceptional value for money when you buy a pair of shoes that lasts 6 months? Often overlooked by parents is that active children impose enormous abuse on shoes. The average active child will take about 20000 steps a day covering a distance of nearly eight miles, especially School shoes. These are not ordinary walking steps as taken by an adult, but stomping, running, jumping, skidding, twisting, scuffing, kicking steps that severely punish the shoes. Also these shoes are exposed to gravel, rocks, pavement, chemicals, grime, water and soil. If the shoes give three months of satisfactory wear under those gruelling conditions, the child would have covered a distance of about 700 miles. If the shoes are priced at say £35, that averages out to a little over 4p a mile - certainly the cheapest transportation that can be purchased. New shoes should be purchased not primarily on the basis of being outworn but on being outgrown.

FACT #3: Are Hand-me-downs to be avoided at all cost?

This is a controversial matter. However, when a parent is confronted with a budget problem - and sometimes a choice of hand-me-downs or no shoes at all - you have to deal not with what's best but with what's realistically practical. In the case of infants' shoes the problem of hand me downs to next youngest child is not that serious. Usually these shoes have only been worn for a short period. The small child has usually made little "imprint" inside the shoe, nor has it otherwise put the shoe out of shape. Thus, when economic conditions leave no choice, the hand-me-down shoe is not going to be a serious problem. To be on the safe side always have it inspected by a speacialist shoe fitter. School shoes are best avoided as hand-me-downs as they tend to take the most stress of all the shoes children wear.

FACT #4: Do you know that one of your feet might be bigger than the other?

Yes this is true, and that is why it is advisable to have both feet measured when buying a new pair of shoes for your self or your children. Also, a size 10 in Clarks is not the same as a size 10 in Ravel. It is only used a standard guide, however the materials and the shape of the shoe last (model on which the shoe is constructed) determines the final fit of the shoe, that is why some of us can wear 2 or more sizes of shoes, and all will be comfortable.

FACT #5: Are high heel shoes suitable for children?

Provided that it is not used as an everyday footwear, it is not advisable for children to wear high heels everyday. You might ask why? Since children's feet are not fully developed until mid twenties. In high heels the weight and stress on the feet shift forward, and bearing in mind that the feet are not fully developed at this stage it could lead to permanent damage because the feet are unable at this stage to fully bear the added weight and stress placed on it.

FACT #6: Are expensive designer shoes necessarily the best?

The answer is no, but that is not to say some designer shoes are not well made. However, one can make a mistake by choosing a well made design that does not fit the feet of your child properly. So make sure the shape of the shoes you select for your children are similar to the shape of the child's feet. Remember shoes made from natural materials are the best for children's feet.

FACT #7: Outgrown shoes, how problematic could they be?

Many parents and shoe retailers fail to recognise how serious the outgrown shoe problem really is. Several years ago a survey was conducted in the United States among stores that sell children's shoes. They were asked to test the fit of old or worn shoes of children in the store to buy new shoes. It was found that over 75% of the cases were outgrown to varying degrees. Furthermore, it was estimated by the fitters that over half of the children had been wearing outgrown shoes from one to three months, even though the shoe was of proper size when fitted. From experience a lot of children fitted are just changing shoes that have been long outgrown. It is no wonder that many doctors and chiropodists believe that many or most adult foot problems begin in childhood and that many of these problems are caused directly or indirectly by habitual wearing of outgrown shoes during substantial periods in childhood. It is therefore important that parents check their children's shoes from time to time to make sure that they are not outgrown and cause damage to their feet later in their adult life.

FACT #8: How do I care for wet or damp shoes?

It is not uncommon to quick dry the shoes over a hot radiator or in a tumble dryer, especially if it is the child's only pair and has to be worn the next day. This should be avoided, since quick drying causes the toe to curl up and the shoe and leather to shrink. This can reduce the shoe by one full size when the shoe is put on again, it can also damage the leather fibres and sometimes crack the leather. Shoes should always be dried at room temperature, and possibly with shoe trees inserted during the drying to prevent curling or shrinkage.

• Tips For Tennis Shoes Maintenance
• If the Shoe Fits… Do Your Children Have Healthy Feet?