Finding Shoes When Your Child Has Medical Inserts or Braces

Lately, my son has been complaining that his shoes are too tight. When we ordered his inserts, the inserts actually came with a pair of New Balance shoes. Our Physical Therapist showed us how we could remove the inserts and put them into other shoes if we wanted to.

My son liked the shoes that came with the inserts, but really loves shoes that light up. Since he was complaining about his shoes being too tight, we decided to go to Stride Rite to find some light up shoes until his new shoes with inserts were ordered (our PT is out of town). Shopping for shoes when your child has special needs isn’t easy. I was a little bit worried that we might leave empty handed. Surprisingly, Stride Rite had several selections to choose from that would fit both braces and inserts. The manager told us that they have a couple customers that have special needs, so she knew exactly the pairs that would work for us.

We found that the shoes that only had a strap across the top where the ones that a child could wear with inserts or braces. Most of these shoes also had stretchy bands in the center as well. There was a Spiderman pair, a racer lights pair, and two other regular shoes that worked. We ended up ordering shoes that were extra wide, so that they wouldn’t feel too tight. At checkout, I also saw that Stride Rite sells seamless socks as well, so I went ahead and got four pairs for my daughter and son.

Next week, I am going to have the Physical Therapist check to make sure that this is a great fit. The inserts are not moving around, and do not have much space between the front and back since we only moved up a 1/2 size, so I think I did a good job.

 I was so happy that we were able to find shoes at Stride Rite that would accommodate us. We really like their shoes.