This is perhaps not a surprise given how busy family life has become in recent years. Understandably and encouragingly, activities involving precious quality time as a family in the home continue to take precedence, such as helping with homework (63 per cent), reading bedtime stories (57 per cent) and bath time (36 per cent).
As the February half term is fast approaching, Start-Rite is encouraging parents to use this time to ensure their children are wearing the right size school shoes.
The importance of good fitting school shoes shouldn’t be underestimated. Wrong sized school shoes can not only affect children’s physical development, potentially causing future foot health problems, but they can also have an impact on children’s concentration and focus in the classroom.
“Well-fitting shoes take students from the playground to the classroom allowing them to concentrate on what is important without being distracted. We’ve put a lot of thought int our school uniform, from shirts to shoes, to ensure students are comfortable, as comfort can often be the key to success. Our job as educators is to provide young people with the skills and experiences necessary to flourish and part of that is being comfortable at school.”
Mr Russell Slatford, Headmaster of Bournemouth Collegiate School and Regional Director for Bright Scholar commented.
To ease the process of buying quality fitted school shoes, leading provider, Start-Rite, offer many ways to measure children’s feet. You can visit one of their 400 stockists around the UK for expert measuring and fitting, or visit their website where you’ll find a selection of helpful measuring at home tools, including the Start-Rite 3D Measuring App.
The new research highlighted that 37 per cent of parents only get their child’s feet measured once a year, while one in five parents don’t know if their child’s current school shoes are the right size.
Additionally, nearly a third (30 per cent) of parents surveyed have bought school shoes for their child several times without getting their feet measured at all – something Start-Rite is keen to help with.
“We understand how busy family life can be, and that it can be difficult for parents and guardians to fit everything in. At Start-Rite we continue to pioneer research into how children move, by working closely with biomechanics experts to create quality shoes that provide all-day comfort and support a child’s developmental needs.”
says Kate Tansley, CEO of Start-Rite Shoes
“The key to children’s footwear is to understand the stages of growth and movement. As children grow, their physical and psychological needs change in line with their natural development. Being aware of the transformations throughout a child’s key growth periods enables Start-Rite to develop shoes to be sensitive to these changes.
We have been working with Start-Rite to develop this understanding, using scientific equipment usually reserved for the sporting elite to explore force analysis, pressure distribution and changing temperatures while wearing the shoes. From the engineering of the Last, to the composition of the rubber used in the outsoles, Start-Rite has utilised this research to include elements of biomechanics across its entire range, supporting foot health and the rest of the body as children grow.“The key to children’s footwear is to understand the stages of growth and movement. As children grow, their physical and psychological needs change in line with their natural development. Being aware of the transformations throughout a child’s key growth periods enables Start-Rite to develop shoes to be sensitive to these changes.
says Martin Haines, Biomechanics Coach & Chartered Physiotherapist at Brytespark
Start-Rite offer school shoes both in-store and online. The collection is built to last and, most importantly, fitted to support a child’s developmental needs, as well as provide ultimate comfort.
To find your local stockist visit https://www.startriteshoes.com/storelocator or shop online at https://www.startriteshoes.com/