Because they go through shoes at lightning speed.
I took my daughter shopping for her first pair of shoes just over a month ago, but as little feet seem to grow insanely fast she’s due another pair already.
As excited as I am about the impending purchase of another pair of shoes (even though they’re not for me), I am also nervously anticipating the chaos that will undoubtedly ensue once we have entered the shop.
If our last trip is anything to go by, I will spend most of my time attempting to remove shoes out of my one-year-old’s impressive grip, and back on to the shelves where she has left a mini trail of destruction; all while under the bright (and very hot) lights of the shop.
With that in mind, I might take a tip from A Beautiful Ruckus, and just take the feet shopping.
- Put a piece of paper or card on a hard surface. Get someone to hold your child’s feet in place while you trace around them. If you are shopping for more than one child, trace them in different colours and write their names on the top. (They probably won’t stay still but just make sure the length is accurate.)
- On the back of each paper, write their current size. If you’re shopping for older children whose feet don’t grow at such an alarmingly quick rate (and if you’re feeling really organised), you can also include what shoes and sizes you already own for each child, and what you need to pick up to get you through for the next 6 months.
- Once you’ve found your shoes, find yourself a little corner (so that people don’t stare) and start “trying the shoes on the feet” by holding them up to the template.
This technique isn’t 100 per cent accurate, but it’s close enough to check length and width without having any little ones in tow.
