Children?s shoes in Finland too short

The Austrian research team Children’s Feet – Children’s Shoes conducted Finland?s first study on the sizing of children?s shoes. In cooperation with the Finnish agency Respecta (www.respecta.fi), the team measured the feet of 402 children and the inside lengths of their shoes. Almost three quarters of the kids in the study were wearing shoes that were too short in length.

Three-year-old Roope?s mother is astounded: Her son?s new shoes were bought just two weeks ago, how can they be too small already?
Wieland Kinz from the Children’s Feet – Children’s Shoes research team hears this kind of thing often. ?Most shoe stores are still not measuring the inside length of kids? shoes. They just press here and there with a thumb, talk about their years of experience, then sell kids shoes that are too small.? This appears to be standard practice in Finland as well, because the results of the four shoe measuring events held in Finland were sobering: 71.6% of the children?s shoes measured were too short in length.
Incorrect sizing is another recurring theme. Two Austrian research studies found that most children?s shoes are misleadingly labeled, and over 90% of all children?s shoes on the market are shorter in length than the labeled size. These results have been confirmed in international studies, and now again in Finland: 95.1% of the shoes measured were too small. For example, a shoe labeled 30 may actually be only a size 29 in length. In Helsinki, researchers were surprised to find that 70% of children?s shoes were two to three sizes smaller than labeled. Two of the pairs measured were even four sizes too small.
The research team recommends that parents always measure both their child?s feet and the inside length of the new shoes (using e.g. the plus12 measuring device) before purchasing.