How to Determine How Much Arch Support a Shoe Has

As your child's arches develop you may notice a need for more arch support in a shoe. Everyone thinks it is easy to tell if a shoe is more supportive or more natural, by visualization, but the most supportive shoes are often the ones in which you cannot physically see a bump. Below, you will see 2 insoles from 2 different pairs of shoes (the logos have been blurred to protect our brands--keep in mind, we love and support both of these shoes and companies).

If you look at the images, it would appear that the white insole has a better "arch" than the black one. However, just because a shoe has a visible bump in the place of the arch, it does not mean that the shoe has good arch support. The flatter black insole is actually from a shoe that we know to have the most arch support on the children's shoe market while the white one is from a company that makes more natural and flexible shoes. The reason companies put "bumps" on the insole is strictly just to mold it to the foot's shape.

The proper way to test the support in a shoe is to perform 2 "tests". The first is the Twist Test: hold any shoe in both hands and twist the toe away from your body and the heel towards it. The harder it is to twist, the more supportive the shoe is.

The second test is to push on the heel counter at the back. The harder it is to push the heel counter, the more supportive the shoe will be, overall. In the first photo, I am pushing as hard as I can and the heel is barely moving. In the second one, I am not exerting much force, but the heel has completely collapsed.

**Again, I am not saying that either shoe is better or worse, because they are commonly used for very different types of feet. These shoes are simply an example of extreme support and more natural support.**