13/08/2026
I still remember the excitement of buying my son's first pair of shoes. 🥹 But alongside the excitement, I remember doing what I do best...Research (and lots of it - barefoot vs shoes etc). 😂 I wanted to know everything!!
What type of shoe was best? How should it fit? How much room should there be? Should it be flexible? What should I be looking for as his feet developed?
And that first pair of shoes completely changed the way I looked at children's footwear (and mine!).
From that day onwards, I started paying attention to things I probably wouldn't have noticed before.
Not just the size.
But the shape of the shoe, width, space around the toes, how flexible it was.
And, most importantly, whether his foot could actually MOVE inside it.
Fast forward a few years and I'm still doing it.
And right now, with his feet growing and football boots on the shopping list, I'm once again looking at just how difficult it can be to find shoes that actually accommodate the natural shape of a foot.
And something else happened along the way...It completely changed the way I buy shoes for myself too. I still love a nice pair of shoes. I'm not going to pretend fashion doesn't matter (used to be a sucker for owning a lot of nice shoes!!) 😂 But my priorities have changed.
Because as a physiotherapist & Pilates instructor, I've come to appreciate that our feet aren't simply something we put shoes on.
They're our foundation for movement, balance and stability.
And perhaps the biggest lesson I've taken from all of this is: Movement matters more than fashion.
Not "never wear fashionable shoes."
Not "everyone should go barefoot."
Just understand that your feet have a job to do, and the footwear you choose should allow them to do it.
So as we head into the season of new school shoes, trainers, work shoes and football boots...
Take a look at your (& your child's) feet before you look at the shoe. They will thank you!
Anna Maria x
