How to Measure Your Baby's Feet at Home in Two Minutes

Almost every shoe return we could prevent comes down to the same thing: the size was guessed from the age on the box. Age is a terrible predictor. Two children born the same week can be three sizes apart.

Here is the method that actually works. It takes about two minutes.

What you need

• A sheet of paper
• A pencil
• A ruler with centimetres
• A hard floor, not carpet

The four steps

1. Paper against the wall. Put the sheet flat on a hard floor with one edge pressed against a wall or a door frame.

2. Stand them on it, heel to the wall. This part matters more than anything else. A foot taking weight spreads out and gets noticeably longer than a foot dangling in the air. If your baby is not standing yet, press the heel firmly against the wall and flatten the foot down as much as you can while they are lying on their back.

3. Mark the longest toe. Not the big toe by default. Plenty of people have a second toe that reaches further, and babies are no different. Mark straight down at the tip.

4. Measure and repeat. Measure from the wall edge to the mark in centimetres. Then do the other foot. Feet are rarely identical, so always buy for the longer one.

Then add growing room

Do not buy a shoe with an inside length equal to the foot. You want roughly one centimetre of space beyond the longest toe. That is the sweet spot: enough to grow into over about three months, not so much that the foot slides forward on every step and the child has to grip with their toes to keep the shoe on.

Our size chart already has that room built in. Find your measured foot length in the first column and read across for the UK size.

Between two sizes? Go up

A shoe that is slightly large is a shoe your child grows into. A shoe that is slightly small changes how they walk, and at this age you would rather have three months of use than a perfect fit for three weeks.

How often to measure again

Under 15 months, every two months. Between 15 months and three years, every three months. After that, every four. Feet in the first two years can gain a full size in eight weeks, and children almost never complain about a shoe being too tight. They just stop wanting to wear it.

Four signs the shoes are already too small

• Red marks or indentations on the foot after you take the shoe off
• Toes curling under, or the longest toe pressed flat against the front
• Suddenly pulling the shoes off more than usual, or refusing them
• Less than a fingertip of space in front of the longest toe when standing

The first one is the most reliable. Take a shoe off after an hour of wear and look at the foot. Skin tells you the truth.

A note on width

Length is the number you shop by, but width is what makes a shoe comfortable. Baby feet are wide and fan-shaped, widest across the toes, and they need to stay that way. If the foot is spilling over the sole or the upper is straining across the widest part, the shoe is too narrow even when the length is right.

Still unsure? Send us the measurement in centimetres and we will tell you which size to order. If it turns out wrong anyway, you have 30 days to exchange it.