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Shoe guide
About shoes for children
Fit is important! You need to be slightly more aware of fit and room for growth in slim feet than you do for 'normal' feet. Allow a maximum of 1.5 cm room for growth for the following reasons:
- every time a child takes a step, the foot slides about 0.5 cm forward inside the shoe, thus 1 cm space for growth.
- when buying a child's first pair of shoes or shoes for very slim children's feet, we recommend 1 cm allowance for growth - 0.5 cm to glide and 0.5 cm to grow in.
Buying a child's first pair of shoes
It is only when a child has taken their first steps or has begun to walk that the bones and muscles have completely developed. For this reason, it is important to ensure the shoes have good support around the ankle (our first step shoes that have a higher shaft are great for pre-walkers.)
The majority of our first step shoes have removable insoles. To ensure a good fit, we always recommend that you try them on your child's feet. We also recommend that you buy shoes that have 1cm for growth. The shoes should neither be too tight nor too big, as it can have long-term consequences in terms of the foot's development. If the shoes are too big, it can affect the child's capacity to play where they risk tripping and falling.
Choose shoes that you can adjust the width and volume, either with velcro or laces, as this will ensure proper support and comfort without affecting the capacity for movement. A solid heel cap is important because it provides a firm fit to the ankle. As your child's walking skills are still unstable, the shoes should provide them with good support. The outer sole should be soft and flexible to allow the walking to feel as natural as possible. We recommend looking for shoes made from natural leather as it provides breathability and comfort.
Home shoes
Slippers shoes are a must-have in your children's nursery or kindergarten. Here, it is important that your child has different shoes to change between, both for the good well-being of the feet, as well as the shoes. Slippers are a must-have in your children's nursery or kindergarten. It is important a child has different shoes for different purposes. As they are used for a long part of the day, it is crucial that the feet are able to breathe. Our slippers made of leather and natural materials that ensures healthy feet.
You can find multiple kinds of home shoes – both in wool as well as in leather. Wool slippers are good for cold feet in winter days, whereas the home shoes in leather can be used throughout the whole year. You can find various kinds of slippers – both in wool and leather. Our leather slippers are good for use all year round, and our wool slippers are particularly good for winter. As the home shoes can also be used as they play around, it is important they have a slip-free outer sole. Therefore, we recommend that the outer sole is made of rubber, or that a partial area of the outer sole has rubber under the forefoot and heel. This is to ensure that your child is not slipping throughout the day.
Rubber boots
As rubber boots do not sit as close to the feet as other shoes, you should not buy them with a lot of room to grow. If rubber boots have too much extra room, they will wear out faster, both on the inside and the outside. Rubber boots are generally bigger and wider than other shoes, so you need to pay attention to the volume in the shaft and its width. If you have a little too much volume, consider adding an additional wool in-sole to the rubber boot. Not only will you have a better fit, but you will also have warmer feet.
A thick or woolen sock can also help in adding comfort to the boot. Our rubber boots are 100% waterproof. It is important to have a loose insole, so it can be taken out and dried or replaced after being worn. The insole enhances the comfort of the boot. It is important that the rubber boot is not too tight either, as it can cause cold feet. Make sure your kids use wool socks whenever they use their rubber boots.
Winter rubber boots
All of Bisgaard's winter rubber boots have 100% wool lining and thermal isolation on the insole, which ensures warmth throughout cold winter days. A winter rubber boot should also have some volume. Remember: a winter rubber boot is not a replacement for the comfortable and functional winter boots in leather, with wool lining – they are just a supplement for the wet winter days.
Regular and winter boots
Leather boots can be worn all year around. Leather is usually waterproof, which, with the correct maintenance, can prevent snow getting to the feet. It is important to vary between different shoes and to make sure that your child's boots have time to dry naturally between each use. In order to avoid a loose shoe that can damage your child's feet, make sure that the shoe sits close to their feet, with optimal support around their heel cap.
In our collection, you can find many different types of boots, both with laces, velcro, and zippers. The winter boots should keep the feet warm and dry throughout the cold winter. Boots with a TEX-membrane are 100% waterproof. Natural materials, like wool, ensure the feet can breathe, and stay warm at the same time. Winter boots with a TEX membrane can be found with wool, technical or leather lining.
Sandals
We have many types of sandals in our collection. For the younger children who have a greater need for heel support, we definitely recommend you buy a sandal with a closed heel cap. If you chose to buy a sandal with an open heel cap, make sure that your child's feet get enough support from the straps so that the foot is not sitting loose in the shoe while they are walking. Whether you choose a sandal where the front is open or closed depends on the usage that the shoe will get, different user needs, and the temperature in your location. Sandals with a closed front protect the toes, which is good for younger children. On the other hand, sandals with an open front, are more appropriate for older children, whose toes do not need to be protected as much.
Ballerina flats
When buying ballerina flats, we recommend little space for the feet to grow. Ballerinas should fit close to the feet, with only a little space in the front – maximum 1 cm. If you buy the ballerinas with a lot of room to grow, your child might have to bend the toes in order to get the ballerina to fit close to their feet. This can damage their feet and lead to future problems.
Size guide for children's shoes
We work with different lasts in our shoes, which means that the fit is different for the different shoes in our collection. Every child is different, which makes it difficult to say exactly which size a toddler of one year should wear. There are different factors that need to be taken into consideration, the first one being, whether it is a girl or a boy that is going to wear the shoes.
When measuring a child's foot, it is important to measure both feet, as the left and the right foot can differentiate. Your child should be standing up, with the weight well divided between the two legs, and with the feet on the ground: place their heel against a wall, and set a book (or something similar) perpendicular to their longest toe. Measure their feet in cm, from the heel to the biggest toe, and check our size guide for every single one of our products, to see which size is more appropriate according to their feet's measurements.
Buying shoes for children with hyper flexible joints
Children with hyper flexible joints tend to have an extra need for support around the ankle and the heel cap, therefore, look for shoes that have a closed and solid heel cap for optimal support. It is important that the shoe sits close to the foot, so do not worry about allowing a lot of room for growth – between 0.5 and 1 cm is enough. It is just as important that the shoes have some sort of adjustment in the form of velcro or laces. This way you can be sure that the shoes are appropriately tight around the feet.