With finding the right school shoes sometimes being an expensive endeavour, it is a necessity that the school shoes chosen are long lasting so that you get your money’s worth.
Lelli Kelly School Shoes are made to last - they are highly durable, protective and supportive; perfect for active school children.
Here we will discuss how long school shoes should last as a minimum, how often you should be buying new ones and how to take care of them to ensure you are getting the most out of the school shoes you’ve purchased.
How often should you buy new school shoes?
At the expense of your bank account, your children will keep on growing until after puberty. For girls, this is around age 14 and for boys it is around age 17.
Through the teen years, their feet will be growing at much faster rates. With this in mind, school shoes should be purchased around once a year. With wear and tear, a new pair may be needed sooner.
Should your child wear the same shoes every day?
Wearing the same shoe over and over again could lead to certain muscles and tendons being used a lot less.
With wearing a variety of different shoes the muscles, tendons and ligaments in your child's feet and ankles all stay active and are all constantly being produced preventing future injuries.
This could be done through switching to supportive trainers in PE and wearing other shoes at home.
How long should my child’s school shoes last?
As a very rough estimate, your child’s shoes should last for, approximately, at least 700 hours of wear. This number equals 6 months, as there are 6 hours in a school day and 5 school days in a week.
This is simply a rule of thumb however, as they may last longer or shorter depending on how they are taken care of.
How can I make my school shoes last longer?
One way to make their school shoes last longer is when they get wet, say from walking home in the rain or stepping into a puddle, you should always dry them naturally instead of drying them using any sort of heat source like a radiator.
A great way of making wet school shoes last longer is to:
- - Get some newspaper;
- - Crumple it into balls;
- - Place inside the shoes to keep the shape;
- - Leave them to dry naturally.
Another way to make them last is to keep on top of the shoes being polished. This creates a barrier between the actual shoe material and the environmental elements.
Cleaning your school shoes regularly also helps to prolong their life. Our guide to cleaning Lelli Kelly school shoes helps you to properly care for your child’s footwear and keep them in great condition for longer.
How to tell if my child needs new school shoes
The main way to tell if your child needs new shoes is if they are complaining. Usually, if your child is complaining about sore feet, it means that their shoes are too small as their feet have grown.
If there are holes or if the linen is worn on the school shoes, then this is another reason to get new school shoes as they are now not protecting your child's feet.
The development of blisters is another sign a new pair of school shoes are needed. Blisters occur because the shoes are rubbing, due to the shoes not fitting correctly.
How to check if school shoes still fit
When your child is wearing their shoes, press your thumb gently on top of their toes. If there is a significant gap between their toes and the end of the shoe, they may be too big. If their toes touch the end, they are too small.
If you are buying new shoes, measure your children’s feet beforehand to ensure that they are going to fit correctly.
The easiest way to measure your child's feet at home is by using a ruler, pen and piece of paper. For the full instructions on how to measure kids feet, you can follow our detailed guide.