Here at Grizzly Kids we’re an authorised fitter for the Startrite measuring system. Startrite is a leading English shoe fitting system as well as being a well-known children’s shoe brand.
Experienced children's shoe fitters
All our staff are fully trained in shoe-fitting and are very thorough and experienced. Not only that, we understand children because of our expertise in children’s hairdressing and make the experience fun and engaging for your child.
We stock and fit a wide range of shoe brands, including Froddo, Garvalin, Hummel, Camper Bobux, Petasil, Chipmunks and Pediped and understand their sizing differences. That means we can quickly advise which brands sizes will suit your child’s feet.
For example, some brands suit narrower feet and some brands come up bigger, or smaller, like Bobux.
Taking time to measure correctly
Even if you’ve had your child’s feet measured at John Lewis or Clarks we always re-measure as it’s critical we get the right fit for your child on the day we fit the shoes.
If your previous shoe fitter was in a rush it’s also possible to get the wrong measurements for your child’s feet, so we always measure and re-measure until we’re satisfied. If a child holds its foot differently you can often measure three times and get a different size, so we take time to get the child relaxed, the foot flat and so on.
Children’s feet are also growing pretty much constantly - up to 1.5mm every month - so a child can change shoe size by a ½ size or more every 2 to 4 months. And we never know when a growth spurt takes place, especially for a toddler, so it’s always worth regularly measuring.
Read our blog post on how often to get your children’s feet measured and other frequently asked questions: The importance of a good children’s shoe fitting service
The shoe fitting process
We start by talking you through the whole process, clearly and simply and will explain what the child needs. Your child can easily be up or down a size in various brands so it can be a little confusing but we’ll always make sure the shoe really fits the child’s feet. You might go home with a different brand you hadn’t considered that ends up being much more comfortable for the child.
The shoe-fitting starts when we take the child’s current shoes off, having observed how they’re walking. We check for any red marks and signs the shoes are rubbing or too small. We’re also checking for high arches, high insteps and narrow heels so we can talk through which brands will fit the best.
Once the new shoes are on the feet we’re checking there’s room for growth and freedom for the toes, but not too much room as this can also be as damaging to a child’s feet.
Due to Covid every child must wear disposable ‘tight socks’ to try on shoes at the moment.
To finish, every child gets am individually wrapped chocolate coin.
Taking shoes home
If you want to take your shoes home to check for comfort, as long as your child wears them on a clean surface and the soles are unmarked you can get a full exchange or refund.
We look forward to welcoming you, Libbie and the team
Book your child's shoe fitting
These are the brands we stock in our Abbey Road store, you can also purchase or view our best selling shoes here:
- Bobux
- Camper
- Chipmunk
- Early days
- Froddo
- Garvalin
- Hummel
- Igor
- Pediped
- Petasil
- Ricosta
- Start-rite
Read more on our blog:
