Foot Care for Your Child

Exams of the feet and ankles make sure that your child's bones are growing the right way. Your healthcare provider can also make sure that your child is walking correctly. This helps prevent some future foot problems. And if a problem does arise, it can be handled early—when it is easiest to treat.

When your child needs foot care

During a foot exam, the healthcare provider will watch your toddler walk. If a gait problem exists, the healthcare provider works to find its cause:

• Only 10% of children continue to have flat feet in adulthood.

• In most cases, flat feet do not need treatment unless your child has pain or trouble moving.

• To help with severe flat feet, special shoes or custom-made shoe inserts (orthoses) may sometimes be needed.

• Intoeing normally corrects on its own without care.

• If your child's feet turn in or out a lot, he or she may need corrective shoes, splints, or night braces. But this is rare. Wearing these devices can help reposition the foot as it grows.

Your child's active feet

The foot's bone structure is pretty well formed by the time your child reaches age 7 or 8. But if the part where bone growth starts (growth plate) is injured, the damaged plate may cause the bone to grow oddly or stop growing altogether. But with a healthcare provider's care, the risk for future bone problems can be reduced.

Treating an injury

If a bone or growth plate is damaged, your child may need to use crutches to take weight off the injury as it heals. In the case of fracture, a cast, boot, splint, or brace may be needed to hold the bone in place during healing.