When babies are born their feet are structured around soft cartilage that gradually ossifies into bones.

After a year or so, the feet are sufficiently strong to take the child’s weight when walking. However, the process still has a long way to go before the bones are fully hardened. That takes place at adolescence. So for the first 12 years or so, you have to be especially vigilant.

As your child grows, look for anything that strikes you as unusual and come to Active Life Podiatry if you see something worrying or your child is in pain. Deformities do not always correct themselves unaided.

Here are some tips:

  • Do not constrict your baby's feet or legs. The more kicking activity, the stronger they grow.
  • Do not force your child to walk before they are ready to do so. And do not think your child is backward because contemporaries are already on their feet. Children have their own timetable and when they are good and ready, they'll walk.
  • When walking starts, let them do so in bare feet or in socks. Children will overcome instability faster and they will enjoy healthy foot and lower leg development as a result.
  • It is recommended that a child should be seen by a podiatrist at least once a year. Small malfunctions and unseen deformities can be made worse by the wrong footwear leading to back, leg or foot problems in later life. We will suggest the best kind of shoes to wear and advise on gentle and easy exercises if we spot any kind of threat to future good health.

Many musculo-skeletal conditions of the child’s feet and legs are treatable at the very least we can advise on such conditions at an early stage even if treatment is not needed.

Here are some typical conditions to look out for in children:

Symptoms Possible Diagnosis