Jan 06, 2023
Caring for your school shoes is a constant battle from the day you purchase them to the day you decide the kids need a new pair, hopefully at the end of the school year. Getting them involved in looking after their shoes can help to ensure damage is minimised.
The blog article by Hills District Mums called 'Getting the Most Mileage From Your Kid's School Shoes' gives some great tips on the topic and we've added some more below.
Putting School Shoes On
The first thing to consider when caring for your kid's school shoes is to teach them how to put their shoes on to avoid unwanted and expensive damage to the shoe structure.
Putting your thumb in the back of the shoe until the foot is in will help prevent damage to the heel counter.
Then work from the toes up to tighten the laces before tying them.
When helping put the shoes on your child, get them to sit on a chair first to make the job easier.
Don't push the back of the shoe down, as many kids do to slip them on quickly, to avoid unnessesary damage the heel counter.
Removing the Shoes
Laziness gets to the best of us and kids are no different.
You wouldn't be able to count the number of times kids (and adults) will use their other foot to slip out of shoes from the heel.
This is also a great indicator that the shoe is ill-fitting or is due to be replaced. Doing so could prevent a rolled ankle and many tears.
No matter what type of fastening is on the shoes, always undo the laces or hook & loop strap before removing the shoe.
This avoids stretching the area around the ankle and areas that are essential for stability in the foot & ankle.
Weekly Shoe Care Routine
CLEAN with a soft shoe brush or soft cloth followed by a leather conditioner.
DRY naturally or stuff with newspaper.
POLISH with wax or cream that matches the leather colour.
BUFF & SHINE - remove any excess polish & buff with a soft brush or cleaning cloth.
Cleaning and moisturising black leather shoes will also prolong their life and should be done once a week followed by polish or shoe shine.
Hills District Mums also recommend using newspaper to draw out any moisture from within the shoe if they get wet as opposed to artificial heaters.
Store the shoes in the cupboard. We reccommend getting a storage rack to ensure the shoes don't get squashed by other items.
