If The Shoe Fits
A Guide to Choosing Proper Fitting Shoes for Children

Make sure your children's shoes fit correctly before sending them back to school.

(ARA) - Eight of every 10 children have trouble with their feet because their shoes don't fit correctly. Poorly fitting shoes can cause calluses, bunions and ingrown toenails. Proper fit is essential, since the cartilage in a child's foot does not completely harden until age 18 or later.

Parents can check for outgrown or poorly fitting shoes by looking for worn areas, turned up toes and other telltale signs. If the toe area of the sole is badly worn, the shoe may be too small. If the toe area of the shoe is turned up, the shoe may be too big. And if the sides are showing more wear than the rest of the shoe, it may be too narrow for your child's foot.

"With more than 46 million children heading to school in the weeks ahead, parents are asking how to get fashionable, good-fitting shoes at the lowest possible price," says Diane Shoffner, vice president, women's and children's shoes, for Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. She notes that improper fit usually happens when comfort and support are sacrificed for fashion.

Shoffner offers the following tips for back-to-school shoe shopping:

*Make sure there's at least a half-inch of growth space between the tip of the big toe to the end of the shoe.

*Make sure the topline of the shoe barely touches the ankle.Too high can cause blisters; too low can allow the heel to slip out.

*Check for proper flexibility. Shoes should flex in a straight line across the toes. Since one foot often is larger than the other, always measure both feet and size to the larger foot.

*Purchase shoes late in the day since feet swell by 5 to 8 percent during the day.

*Involve your kids in the selection of their shoes. They'll proudly wear stylish shoes to school each day, and you'll have the peace of mind knowing the shoes fit well.

Nearly 2,800 Wal-Mart stores nationwide offer a great selection of shoes, including Treats and Airborne shoes by Buster Brown & Co., at every day low prices.

Courtesy of ARA Content