How Fast do Children's Feet Grow?

Buying the right size shoe for your child can be difficult as children's feet are continually growing. So how quickly do your child's feet actually grow? 

Between the ages of 3 and 6, children's feet grow an average of 1 mm per month*. According to research only 2.5% of all children show a faster growth rate than 1 mm per month.

Children's shoes should be at least 12 mm, but no more than 17 mm, longer than their feet. This allows a healthy amount of wriggle room for your little ones toes. When you buy shoes with 17 mm extra space, the shoes will fit for approximately 5 months still leaving the necessary 12 mm of wriggle room.

The research shows that:

• Between the ages of one and three, feet can be expected to grow as much as 1.5 mm in length per month.
• Between the ages of three and six, children's feet grow an average of 1 mm per month in length.
• Between the ages of six and ten, children's feet grow somewhat less than 1 mm per month in length.

So this means you are looking at buying shoes:

• Under 12 months old, every 2 months.
• 12 months to 2.5 years old, every 3 months.
• 2.5 to 4 years old, every 4 months.
• From 4 to 6 years old, every 6 months.

While this may seem slow, it is recommended that your children's shoes are checked regularly to make sure they are not too small.

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