How to measure kids' feet at home to buy shoes online

Trying to decide what size shoes to buy for your kids when ordering online can be a nightmare, especially when kids' feet come in all shapes and sizes!

To make choosing your kids' shoes online easier, we've created the ultimate guide - How to Measure your Kids' Feet at Home so you can buy the right-sized shoes for your kids. We know parents live busy lives and can't always go to a shoe store to get their kid's feet measured.

How do children's shoe sizes work?

Firstly, we wanted to help clarify how children's shoe sizes work, as they differ from adult sizes. 

For UK brands, children's shoe sizes start from zero and are intended for newborn babies. Little kids' shoe sizes then go up to size 13. After that, bigger kids' shoe sizes range from 1-6. 

EU sizes start at 18 (a UK size 2, infant) and go up to 39 (UK size 6, adult) and beyond - our school shoes go all the way to EU46.

Shopping for children's shoe sizes can be challenging, especially if you don't know the size conversions. Luckily, we've created a chart detailing the EU and equivalent UK sizes and measurements so you'll always know what sizes you're buying.  

Yes! We understand that it's not always possible to take your child to a shoe shop to get their feet measured. However, there are a few ways to measure your little one's feet at home and even turn it into a fun game! 

You will need:

1. Paper

2. A pencil or skin-friendly paint

3. A ruler or measuring tape

1. Once you have an outline of their feet, measure the length from the back of the heel to the top of the longest toe. *Hint* - it may not be the big toe.
2. If their feet are different sizes, always accommodate for the bigger foot. 
3. The measurement may be slightly smaller if measuring a foot painting as it would not have captured the heel profile. Allow for extra room if measuring with this method.
4. Once you have a measurement, check it against the table below to get the European shoe size and equivalent UK size to buy the best-fitting shoe for your child. 
5. Measure the widest part of their feet to see if they need narrow or wide shoes.

If you see a letter on the end of a child's shoe size, this indicates the width and caters for children with above or below-average-width feet. Use this chart to help find the perfect width shoe for your child.

Width measurements are unique to UK-branded footwear, other markets use the shape of the last (sole) to accommodate narrower and wider feet. To see how the brands that we stock come up in terms of width then check out our Brand Guide.

1. Make sure to measure your child's feet wearing socks so the shoes can accommodate socks. 

2. Always measure your child's feet in the afternoon, around 3 pm, as this will be when their feet are their biggest from walking and playing. 

3. Measure both feet to find the biggest one and to accommodate shoes for that foot. 

You might find that different brands fit better than others due to slight brand size discrepancies. Use our brand guide to learn which brands run big and small to help you find the best shoe fit for your child, whatever the brand. 

If you have a child's shoe that fits well, but the size has rubbed off, measure the length and width of the sole and find the corresponding measurement on the chart. 

Remember, we offer FREE UK RETURNS and UK EXCHANGES, so if you don't get the best fit, we can easily send you a better-fitting shoe.  

Now that you have your child's shoe size, why not browse our range of boys' and girls' shoes here at The Children's Shoe Company? We have a range of shoes, boots, sandals, trainers and school shoes for your little ones in many sizes and widths to ensure their growing feet are comfortable all day!