Babies and children’s feet

Babies and children’s feet

Photograph of a baby's feet

Your foot is one of the most complicated parts of your body. It has 26 bones along with ligaments, blood vessels and nerves.

Your baby’s feet are made up of soft cartilage which can easily be pushed out of shape by poorly fitting socks and shoes. Your child’s foot grows rapidly during their first year, reaching almost half of their adult foot size. This usually happens in spurts, not at a steady pace. The first year can be very important in the development of your child’s feet.

Caring for your baby’s feet

  • Wash and dry their feet thoroughly on a daily basis.
  • Check and trim their toe nails regularly. Always follow the line of the end of the toe when cutting or filing toe nails.
  •  Never cut down the sides or cut them too short.

If you are worried about using nail scissors to cut the toe nails, file them.

As the feet of the very young are soft they are easily misshapen. It is important they are allowed to develop naturally without being distorted in any way. This development can be helped by:

  • keeping bedclothes loose fitting and light.
  • not restricting your baby’s feet in socks or baby grows that are too small.
  • encouraging your baby to exercise their feet by kicking or similar activities to help develop muscles.