IN PARTNERSHIP WITH THE FRENCH PODIATRISTS

Succeed in the first steps

At Shoemakers’, we know that all is decided from the first steps of your child. It is the starting point of his confidence. His first success when he finally stands on his two feet and soars upright and smiling. That’s why we accompany your children’s walking for almost 50 years. We study the shapes and the reinforcements for a perfect holding. We select the noblest materials and we refine the finishes for a faultless comfort.

The walking

A fundamental step for the child’s development

To achieve to walk, the child goes through a succession of steps that allow him to stimulate and develop his musculature, to gain tonicity, to improve his coordination and to find a balance.

Sit, crawl, belly down, walk on all fours are all possible processes. Each child is different and set up his own way of moving. Sometimes one after the other, sometimes by combining them.

Then, comes the moment of the first steps. He places one foot in front of the other and goes straight ahead and smiling. A significant step that should not be done in a rush. You should know that the foot is a very sensitive organ which collects and transmits a lot of necessary informations for the child’s learning.

Accompany at best the first steps of your child

●︎ Let him take his time to develop his walk. Each child learns to walk at his own pace. It is only when he will acquire enough confidence and trust that he will be able to begin to stand up and walk.

●︎ Let him bare-footed as much as possible inside the house. This will allow him to feel the ground better, its asperities, to improve his balance and develop his proprioception.

●︎ Choose good first-steps shoes. The first-steps shoes must be comfortable and sufficiently flexible so that your child is not bothered in the learning of his walk. Even a minimal discomfort can cause an imbalance, a malformation, problems for the walk, with his footing or else cause a fall.

RIGHT or WRONG ?

Should we favor shoes with artificial arch support ?

WRONG. At birth, the baby’s foot is flat. In fact, it owns a fat pad which disappears with the walk. An artificial arch inhibits the muscle development.

Should the shoes for first steps be flexible ?

RIGHT & WRONG. They must be flexible at the front of the foot and not at the back. The back must be maintained by a reinforcement to avoid a twist of the ankle.

Should the children’s shoes be flat ?

WRONG. A slight heel is necessary for a correct walk posture and throughout the growth to avoid any inflammation of the tendon (Sever’s disease). We therefore recommend a heel of about 5 mm.