{"id":55,"date":"2023-10-09T20:51:55","date_gmt":"2023-10-09T19:51:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/oxfordhealth.nhs.uk\/pod\/?page_id=55"},"modified":"2023-10-09T22:17:47","modified_gmt":"2023-10-09T21:17:47","slug":"children","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/oxfordhealth.nhs.uk\/podiatry\/foot-health\/children\/","title":{"rendered":"Children\u2019s foot care"},"content":{"rendered":"<details class=\"nhsuk-details nhsuk-expander\">\n                    <summary class=\"nhsuk-details__summary\">\n                        <span class=\"nhsuk-details__summary-text\">Early years<\/span>\n                    <\/summary>\n                    <div class=\"nhsuk-details__text\">\n<p>Children are usually born with perfect feet but they are vulnerable to deformity particularly while soft cartilage is forming into bone.\u00a0 If young feet are looked after they should stay fit and healthy throughout life.\u00a0 A child&#8217;s foot is not a smaller replica of an adult&#8217;s foot and has a number of distinguishing features:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>The foot is widest across the toes<\/li>\n<li>It is softer and more pliable<\/li>\n<li>It is rounder and plumper<\/li>\n<li>It is narrowest at the heel<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Children develop at different rates.\u00a0 As a guide, children will start to crawl from about 9 months old and walk from about 11 months old.\u00a0 Between 10-18 months old, many children will be taking their first steps.\u00a0 At this time they will often appear to have bow legs, with feet spread wide apart and a characteristic wobble when they walk.\u00a0 You should always let your child develop walking skills and confidence at their own pace and if you have any concerns ask your health visitor.<\/p>\n<p>The podiatry department does not offer a service specifically for children but for more information check our <a title=\"Eligibility\" href=\"https:\/\/oxfordhealth.nhs.uk\/podiatry\/services\/eligibility\/\">eligibility criteria<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n                <\/details>\n<details class=\"nhsuk-details nhsuk-expander\">\n                    <summary class=\"nhsuk-details__summary\">\n                        <span class=\"nhsuk-details__summary-text\">Footwear and shoe fitting<\/span>\n                    <\/summary>\n                    <div class=\"nhsuk-details__text\">\n<p>Children should not wear shoes at all until they can walk, so avoid pram shoes.\u00a0 For babies, avoid tightly wrapped blankets that prevent kicking and leg movement and avoid baby-grows (unless you cut the foot out).<\/p>\n<p>Walking bare foot, where it is safe, is good for feet.\u00a0 Children&#8217;s feet are vulnerable to deformity from any ill-fitting footwear\/hosiery until the bones are completely formed at about 18 years of age.\u00a0 Fitted socks made from natural materials are much better than stretch-fit socks.<\/p>\n<p>When buying shoes go to a reputable shop (see <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shoe-shop.org.uk\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Children&#8217;s Foot Health Register<\/a>) where feet are measured and shoes fitted correctly.\u00a0 Good shoe shops will always measure feet periodically to check fit, so don&#8217;t be afraid to ask.\u00a0 Good shoes are an investment so try to avoid buying second hand shoes.<\/p>\n<p>The shape of the shoe and especially the toe area should be wide and round allowing for toes to move and spread.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/oxfordhealth.nhs.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/03\/shoe-fitting-toes.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-123\" title=\"shoe-fitting-toes\" src=\"https:\/\/oxfordhealth.nhs.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/03\/shoe-fitting-toes.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"327\" height=\"184\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>It is also important for the shoe to have a lace or a buckle, without this the child&#8217;s toes will claw to hold the shoe on.\u00a0 The heel of the shoe should not be too high, as high heels can also result in foot deformity.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/oxfordhealth.nhs.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/03\/shoe-fitting.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-122\" title=\"shoe-fitting\" src=\"https:\/\/oxfordhealth.nhs.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/03\/shoe-fitting.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"458\" height=\"140\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n                <\/details>\n<details class=\"nhsuk-details nhsuk-expander\">\n                    <summary class=\"nhsuk-details__summary\">\n                        <span class=\"nhsuk-details__summary-text\">Nails<\/span>\n                    <\/summary>\n                    <div class=\"nhsuk-details__text\">\n<p>Children&#8217;s toenails will grow like adults and should be cut regularly.\u00a0 They should be cut straight across and not too short in order to avoid <a href=\"https:\/\/oxfordhealth.nhs.uk\/podiatry\/services\/#ingrowing\">ingrowing toe nails<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>For more information on nail care see our <a href=\"https:\/\/oxfordhealth.nhs.uk\/podiatry\/foot-health\/nail-care\/\">adult section<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n                <\/details>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":43,"menu_order":5,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_relevanssi_hide_post":"","_relevanssi_hide_content":"","_relevanssi_pin_for_all":"","_relevanssi_pin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_unpin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_include_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_exclude_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_no_append":"","_relevanssi_related_not_related":"","_relevanssi_related_posts":"","_relevanssi_noindex_reason":"","footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-55","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/oxfordhealth.nhs.uk\/podiatry\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/55","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/oxfordhealth.nhs.uk\/podiatry\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/oxfordhealth.nhs.uk\/podiatry\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/oxfordhealth.nhs.uk\/podiatry\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/oxfordhealth.nhs.uk\/podiatry\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=55"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/oxfordhealth.nhs.uk\/podiatry\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/55\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":56,"href":"https:\/\/oxfordhealth.nhs.uk\/podiatry\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/55\/revisions\/56"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/oxfordhealth.nhs.uk\/podiatry\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/43"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/oxfordhealth.nhs.uk\/podiatry\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=55"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}