How To Help Your Child Get Used To Wearing Shoes

If you’re raising a toddler, it should come as no surprise to hear that they aren’t always receptive to wearing shoes. If your kids hate their shoes, don’t worry, you’re not alone in this struggle. After so much time crawling around in their bare feet, adding shoes to a kid’s attire isn’t always easy.

Sometimes, it’s a daily battle to convince children to wear their footwear, but that doesn’t make shoes any less important to their lives. This exploration of how to help your child get used to wearing shoes will help you make this transition wonderfully. Look through the list below to find the best strategy for your kids and their development right now.

Know the Perfect Time

The first step to helping your child learn to love their shoes is knowing precisely when to introduce them to shoes. As adorable as it may look, parents don’t exactly put a pair of Jordans on their kids on the day they’re born, but shoe-wearing is a habit your kids can develop at a very early age. However, there is no specific age where your child needs footwear, and the decision primarily comes down to when the child starts walking.

In certain ways, kid shoes function very similarly to adult footwear. A child’s shoes help them move comfortably outside, ensuring they have a stable surface underneath their feet that protects them from cuts, scrapes, and other injuries. When walking barefoot at home, hazards are typically reduced, as long as you know that the area you’re walking on is safe. That said, when you’re outdoors, that extra protection a shoe delivers becomes even more critical.

Locate a Comfortable Fit

Comfort is something toddlers deserve just like the rest of us, so you shouldn’t settle until you find a shoe that is cozy for your kids. Of course, toddlers don’t exactly give the most nuanced feedback or reviews, so how do you know what’s comfortable? First and foremost, find a reliable shoe provider who works with durable, comfortable materials. Recommendations from other parents you know who have bought great kids’ footwear are always a wonderful place to start if you don’t already have a brand you’re considering. In addition, size is a concern, but not in the same way it is when we buy adult shoes.

As adults, when we buy our everyday shoes, we look at our current shoe size and choose a pair with that size if it feels nice. Then, if that size shoe doesn’t seem like a good fit, we readjust our search—It’s as simple as that. However, toddlers’ bodies are still developing at that young age, quite differently from adults, and their feet are certainly included in that development. Thus, parents need to supply kids with shoes that promote that healthy growth. For instance, our preschool girl shoes at See Kai Run include first-walker pairs that are flexible and have enough room in the toe box for that healthy growth. Shoes are more than aesthetics, so dig into the details when shopping online to learn how each pair works to help your child grow.

Sensory-Friendly Shoes

Comfort also relies on another factor—your child’s sensory-friendly needs. If your child is particularly sensitive to materials like the fabric lining shoes, then they need a pair that is specifically designed for those needs. This is another key reason to choose each pair carefully—shoes may look great, but if they don’t feel great, then they’re not the perfect pair.

Luckily, the perfect pair is out there somewhere, so don’t give up your search to settle for a lesser footwear choice. For example, we carry sensory-friendly at See Kai Run shoes for such needs. Our adaptive footwear section online features pairs with sensory-friendly soft mesh lining for the best experience. Adaptive footwear is another consideration when helping kids get comfortable with putting on and wearing shoes every day. Accounting for orthotics may seem daunting at first, but rest assured that you can find adaptive footwear designed with such requirements in mind.

Make Shoe-Wearing a Regular Occurrence

To help your kids get comfortable with wearing shoes, make it a regular occurrence to take them outside so they have a good excuse to wear and walk around in the shoes. Although you will still likely have plenty of resistance from your kids when trying to put on the shoes at first, this normalcy helps to encourage regular footwear usage.

Some fun excuses to put on your kid’s shoes include going to the park, taking a walk around the neighborhood, or visiting a local zoo. These aren’t your only options, though. You can choose anything else that gives your child an excuse to wear shoes. Doing fun activities is also a fun way to focus your kid’s mind elsewhere after the struggle of getting the shoes on the toddler is over. Feeling frustrated when kids refuse to wear shoes is normal, but remember that this is an obstacle that parents around the world face during their kids’ toddler years. Continue helping your kids become more comfortable with wearing shoes, so you can help them experience the outdoors the right way.

Find a Fun Design

In this discussion about how to help your child get used to wearing shoes, we’ve mentioned the importance of the footwear’s feel over aesthetics. Luckily, this doesn’t mean that looks don’t matter entirely. When shopping for your kids’ shoes, bring them along to see their reaction to each pair’s colors, patterns, and other features. Once again, we know toddlers don’t give the most detailed reviews of their shoes, but choosing a pair that brightens up their eyes is certainly a great way to start their shoe-wearing experience.

Make sure to take the time to explore the children’s footwear available today to see how you can use the tips above in action. Many kids’ shoes exist, but not all of them will showcase your child’s personality and promote their healthy growth. Footwear isn’t just a random accessory, but it is a beautiful fashion piece that also helps kids and adults alike remain safe outdoors. Help your child develop with the most comfortable pair of shoes so they can tackle outdoor activities happily and safely.