How to Measure Your Child’s Feet for Froddo Barefoot Shoes

Measuring your child’s feet before ordering is the best way to choose the right Froddo shoe size.

Children’s feet can grow quickly, and shoe sizing varies between brands. Please measure both feet each time you order rather than choosing your child’s usual size, their age, or the size they wear in another brand.

The important bit

Measure both feet and use the measurement from the longer foot.

Compare that measurement directly with the foot length shown in the size chart on the product page.

Do not add any extra millimetres. Froddo has already accounted for the necessary movement and growing space when matching each shoe size with a foot length.

What you will need

• Two sheets of plain paper
• Masking tape
• A pencil
• A ruler or tape measure marked in millimetres
• A hard, flat floor
• A clear section of wall
• The socks your child will normally wear with the shoes

For sandals or shoes that will normally be worn without socks, measure your child barefoot.

Where possible, measure later in the day after your child has been up and moving around.

1. Place the paper against a wall

Place a sheet of paper on a hard, flat floor, with one straight edge touching the wall.

Secure it with masking tape so that it cannot slide while your child is standing on it.

2. Stand with the heel against the wall

Ask your child to stand normally on the paper with their heel gently touching the wall.

They should be standing upright, with their weight evenly distributed across both feet. Make sure the foot is flat and the toes are relaxed rather than curled.

Always measure while your child is standing, as feet can spread and lengthen slightly when they are bearing weight.

3. Mark the longest toe

Find the end of the longest toe. This is not always the big toe.

Hold the pencil upright and make a small mark on the paper at the end of the longest toe.

Try not to angle the pencil underneath or away from the toe, as this can change the measurement.

4. Measure in millimetres

Ask your child to step off the paper.

Measure in a straight line from the edge of the paper that was touching the wall to the toe mark.

Make sure the ruler starts at zero and write down the measurement in millimetres.

5. Measure the other foot

Repeat the same steps with the other foot.

It is very common for one foot to be slightly longer than the other. Always use the measurement from the longer foot when choosing a size.

How to choose the right Froddo shoe size

Use the above size chart and compare it directly with the measurement from your child’s longer foot.

The foot-length figure shows the maximum foot measurement recommended for that size.

For example:

• If EU26 is shown for a foot measuring up to 160mm, a foot measuring exactly 160mm falls within EU26.
• A foot measuring 161mm would need the next size covering that measurement.

Do not add extra growing room to the measurement before checking the chart. Simply measure the foot and match that figure directly with the size guide.

Please do not choose the size using

• Your child’s age
• Their usual shoe size
• Their size in another footwear brand
• A pair of shoes they wore several months ago
• The measurement of a removable insole
• A foot measurement with additional millimetres added

Measuring your child’s feet gives you a much more reliable starting point than the shoe size number alone.

Why don’t we measure removable insoles?

Removable insoles are often soft and shaped, and they may curve at the heel or toe. Depending on where the ruler is placed and whether the insole is flattened, more than one person can measure the same insole and get a different result.

Following our footwear-fitting training, we choose the size the other way around: by measuring the child’s feet and comparing the longer foot directly with the manufacturer’s official foot-length guide.

The child’s standing foot measurement is much more consistent and can be taken in the same way each time.

What about foot width?

Froddo Barefoot shoes have a roomy, foot-shaped toe area and suit most children’s foot widths, including many wider feet.

For the vast majority of children, measuring both feet accurately and choosing the size from the foot-length guide is all that is needed.

Individual styles may feel slightly different around the heel and instep, so we include any useful fit information in the product description. Please contact us if your child has a particularly narrow heel, a very high instep, or an unusually wide or deep foot and you would like help choosing a style.

Checking the fit when the shoes arrive

Ask your child to try the shoes indoors while wearing the socks they will normally wear with them.

Check that:

• The heel feels secure
• The toes can move freely
• The toes are not touching the end
• The shoes do not pinch across the width or instep
• There are no uncomfortable pressure marks after walking indoors

Please keep the shoes clean and do not wear them outside until you are happy with the fit.

Can I check the fit using the removable insole?

Yes. Standing your child on the removable insole can be a useful visual check once the shoes have arrived.

Remove the insole and place it flat on a hard floor. Ask your child to stand on it with their heel positioned naturally in the heel area.

This can help you see where the longest toe finishes and how the foot sits on the footbed. Repeat the check with both feet.

This should be used alongside trying on the complete shoe. The insole alone cannot show how the shoe fits around the heel, toes, width, or instep.

Standing on the insole to check the fit is also different from measuring it with a ruler. We recommend choosing the size from your child’s foot measurement and the official size chart rather than from a hand-measured insole.

Still unsure which Froddo size to choose?

Please contact us with:

• The measurements of both feet in millimetres
• The Froddo style you are considering
• Any particular fit concerns you already know about

We’ll use the longer foot measurement and the official sizing information for that style to help you choose.

Shop our full collection of Froddo Barefoot Shoes here!