How Much Growing Room?
One of the most common questions parents ask when buying children's shoes is: how much growing room should a shoe have?
Growing room is the extra space added beyond your child's actual foot length to allow for comfort, movement, and future growth. Without enough space, shoes can quickly become uncomfortable as feet grow. Too much extra room, however, can affect fit and make shoes harder to walk in comfortably.
Finding the right balance is important, especially when choosing barefoot shoes.
Why Growing Room Matters
Children's feet grow rapidly, particularly during their early years. Shoes need enough space to accommodate this growth while still fitting securely from day one.
Growing room also allows:
- Toes to move naturally inside the shoe
- Comfortable walking and running
- Space for thicker socks when needed
- Longer wear before a size change is required
For barefoot shoes, adequate growing room is particularly important because these shoes are designed to allow natural toe movement rather than restricting the foot.
How Much Growing Room Do We Recommend?
The ideal amount of growing room can vary between brands and styles. The recommendations below reflect our general sizing guidance:
Sandals: +6mm
Sandals often require less growing room than closed shoes because of their more open design.
An additional 6mm typically provides enough space for comfortable movement while helping to keep the sandal secure on the foot.
Shoes: +8mm
For everyday shoes, trainers, and school shoes, we generally recommend 8mm of growing room.
This provides a balance between immediate comfort and room for growing feet without making the shoes feel overly large.
Boots: +10mm
Boots often need a little extra space to accommodate thicker socks during colder weather.
For this reason, we generally recommend 10mm of growing room for boots.
Is More Growing Room Better?
Not necessarily.
While it can be tempting to buy larger shoes so children can wear them for longer, too much extra space may affect comfort and fit. Shoes that are significantly too large can feel awkward and may not stay securely on the foot.
The goal is to choose a size that offers appropriate growing room while still fitting comfortably today.
How Does Our Size Finder Help?
When you enter your child's foot measurement into the Size Finder on a product page, we automatically account for the recommended growing room for that type of footwear.
This helps take the guesswork out of sizing and makes it easier to choose the most suitable size for your child's feet.
If the Size Finder isn't available for a product, or if you'd like help checking measurements before ordering, our customer service team will be happy to assist.
In summary, the right amount of growing room helps keep children's shoes comfortable while allowing space for growing feet. At Little Barefoot, our general guidance is:
- Sandals: +6mm
- Shoes: +8mm
- Boots: +10mm
Combined with accurate foot measurements and a well-fitting shoe, the right amount of growing room can help keep little feet comfortable on every adventure.