Children’s feet are not like little adult feet! They are wonderfully soft because the foot bones are still developing slowly and children’s feet are much more flexible than their parents’ feet. But even the slightest pressure – caused, for example, by shoes that do not fit properly – or too little room to move – can possibly cause damage.

The human foot takes about 18 years to finally develop. In the beginning, of course, it grows fastest. From the first to the third year of life, a child’s foot grows an average of 1.5 millimetres per month. From the third to the sixth year, it only grows 0.8 millimetres. Children’s wonderful little feet can develop best when they are allowed to romp around barefoot. Unfortunately, however, it is often too cool, too dirty or too dangerous for the little ones in our latitudes.

Since children’s feet grow so quickly, you parents should check the fit of your children’s shoes every 3-4 months. You can do this with our POLOLO slippers by turning them over and looking at the imprint of the big toe. Is it almost over the seam? Then go to the next size! We have also developed removable soles for our MINI and MAXI street shoes – as far as this was possible for the respective style. On the one hand, you can easily change the sole (e.g. put in a wool sole for the winter) and on the other hand, you can measure the foot length or fit very well. Is the imprint of the big toe already alarmingly far forward? Then your child has already grown again: Congratulations!

Children are always in action. The whole musculature is always in motion and that’s great. So let your children run around barefoot as much as possible or in POLOLO barefoot slippers with a leather sole, which do not have a firm sole and nestle around the child’s feet like a second skin, warming and protecting them.

For outdoor shoes, it is important that the foot has enough space inside the shoe. To allow sufficient room for growth, a shoe should be at least 1 cm longer than the foot. Even small feet are subject to daily fluctuations. Therefore, the purchase of baby shoes or children’s shoes should – if possible – be postponed to the afternoon. With the thumb test or, in our case, with the removable sole, you can check whether the shoe roughly fits or not. For children who can already stand, this should be done in a standing position. The thumb must then fit between the longest toe (which does not have to be the big toe) and the toe of the shoe.

We do not use prefabricated footbeds for our shoes, because feet do not have to go to bed! They are healthy and may be stressed and moved. No musculature needs support, rather every foot and every child and also every running (learning) style is different. For this reason alone, we do not use prefabricated orthopaedic footbeds.

Fortunately, most children are born with healthy, perfect little feet. Support your child so that it stays that way!