Infants look cute in their adorable mini shoes, but do they really need them for proper foot growth.

 

The old way of thinking was that they needed a good, stiff, well formed hard soled shoe or their feet will not grow correctly.  The evidence appears to be that a soft soled shoe is actually better for infants and toddlers trying to learn to walk.

Hard, stiff shoes actually deter an infants ability to get the hang of balance.  Those that first start out barefoot or with little snugly soft bottomed shoes learn how to balance themselves far quicker and are often less clumsy way into their adolescent years.

 

While the hard soled shoes are cute little shoes, they do not serve any purpose for proper foot growth.  An infant child's feet grow perfectly fine all on their own and actually benefit best with socks, slippers or barefoot.

 

Protecting an infant or young toddler's feet from the elements is all that is really necessary.  Let your pediatrician determine the right age for your child to begin wearing hard soled shoes.

 

If you are of granny age, we called them crib shoes.  Some companies still do, but most have a fancy name to brand their item.  A crib shoe is nothing more than a slipper type shoe.  Socks, booties and slippers all fall into the crib shoe category.  It simply means it's a covering of the foot while they are still of crib age.   Once a child is actually up and walking they should then be wearing a shoe that has a flexible sole and plenty of width and length for the foot to move freely.

 

You will find a lot of soft soled popular shoes on Ebay. 

 

There is one brand of shoes that is all the buzz in infant foot wear, and that is the Robeeze  Infant Crib Shoes.  They come in a very large assortment of designs and if you want to pick them up at a fair price, this is the place to do it.

 

What They Look Like-One Example

 

 

 

 

A good pediatrician will be more than happy to keep an eye on your childs feet and help you determine when the time is right to change into a shoe with good arch support and a hard flexible sole.

 

There are many other adorable soft soled infant shoes available besides the Robeeze brand that will be just as good for your infants feet and are very cute. 

 

The Robeeze and other crib shoes are in the store index, but if you need infant and toddler shoes for other occasions, we have included them here.