It's back to school time - finally, which for parents means buying school shoes.
Given kids spend eight hours a day in them, they need to be good, but what do you look for?
Podiatrist, Lisa Hinchcliff told Seven Sharp 75 per cent of kids’ ankle and knee problems are shoe-related. "So, if a child can wear the right shoe, it slows down all sorts of foot problems later-on”.
“You need a shoe that's going to hold the foot and keep it as stable as possible, you know there are always consequences if the child wears a shoe that doesn't support their foot,” she says.
Those consequences go beyond the feet. A child's foot is like sponge, the bones don't fuse together properly until puberty, so, it's all about support.
"[It’s] so important, because the child has to wear the shoe all day, every day, so it's the most important shoe to buy for your children."
Hinchcliff says if you can physically push down, or push in the heel counter of the shoe, do not buy it.
“If you can physically bend the middle part of the shoe, you do not buy it. Children who have flatter feet will end-up with issues."
She says a closed-in shoe is ideal. If sandals are on the uniform list, again, look for support.
To summarise: if it bends in the middle - don't buy it.
If it twists in the middle, don't buy it.
And you guessed it, if you can push the back in, don't buy it.
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