Kids' Shoe Size Chart: Baby, Toddler, Little Kid and Big Kid Sizes

Kids' shoe size chart: toddler and little kid (C sizes)

Read across from the US size or from your child's measured foot length. Ages are a rough guide only; two children of the same age can be several sizes apart.

Half sizes sit halfway between the rows: a 7.5C fits a 14.0 cm foot and is UK 6.5, about EU 23.5. Brands split the range differently. Many call 1C to 4C "baby" or "infant", 4C to 10C "toddler" and 10.5C to 13.5C "little kid" or "preschool".

Big kid and youth shoe sizes (Y sizes)

After 13.5C the US numbering restarts at 1Y. From here the sizes sit on the same length scale as adult men's shoes, so a 5Y and a men's 5 fit the same foot. The UK also restarts at 1 after its kids' 13.5.

Youth sizes usually stop at 7Y. A child who outgrows it moves to adult shoes: men's 7.5 and up, or women's 8.5-9 and up. Youth sizes 3.5Y to 7Y match the bottom rows of the adult shoe size chart, so the same conversions apply. The women's column shows a range because brands convert youth to women's by adding 1 (the Brannock scale) or 1.5 (most current brands).

What C, T, Y, K and "older" mean on the label

• C or T (child, toddler): the small-foot US scale from 1 to 13.5. A "10C" is about 6.3 in (16.1 cm).
• Y (youth), also labeled "big kid", "grade school" or "GS": the restart from 1 to 7. A "3Y" is much larger than a "3C": 8.3 in against 4.0 in.
• K, kids, infant or junior on UK labels: the UK children's scale from 0 to 13.5, one size below the US C number.
• "Older" or "adult" on UK labels: sizes from 1 upward, after the kids' scale ends.
• EU numbers run on without a restart, from about 15 for newborns to 39 or 40 at youth 7Y, which is the simplest system to follow as a child grows.

How to measure a child's foot

1. Have the child stand with full weight on both feet, heel against a wall, on a sheet of paper. A seated or lying foot measures shorter. For babies who cannot stand, measure from heel to longest toe with the leg straight and add nothing; their shoes are soft and need little margin.
2. Mark the longest toe on each foot. Toddlers curl their toes when nervous, so press gently on the top of the foot to check they are flat.
3. Measure both feet and use the longer one. A few millimeters' difference is normal.
4. Add growing room. The shoe's inside length should be about 1-1.5 cm (⅜ to ⅝ in) longer than the foot. That is roughly the width of an adult's thumb at the toe while the child stands.
5. Match the foot length, not the age, to the chart above.

Pressing on the toe of a shoe is unreliable on toddlers: they scrunch their toes and the toe cap hides where the foot ends. Pull out the insole and stand the child on it instead. The toes should stop about a finger's width short of the end.

How often to check kids' shoe size

Young children's feet grow fastest in the first three years, often by half a size or more in a few months. A practical schedule:

Signs a child has outgrown shoes: red marks on the toes or heel after removing them, a heel that slips out because the child walks on the back of the shoe, or the big toe touching the end while standing.

Buying a size up: how much room is too much

Buying shoes two sizes big to save money backfires. A shoe more than about 2 cm (¾ in) longer than the foot lets the heel lift and the child grips with the toes to keep it on, which causes trips. One half size of growing room (8.5 mm on the US and UK scale) on top of the normal allowance is the practical limit.

Kids' shoe widths

Children's shoes come in fewer widths than adult shoes. US brands that offer them use M (medium) and W (wide), and a few offer XW or N. UK brands that offer widths often use letters from E (narrow) to H (wide), with F as standard. If a strap or lace barely closes, or the shoe bulges at the sides, a wider fitting in the same length is the fix rather than a larger size. For winter footwear see the boot sizing guide, and for sock sizes by age see the sock size chart.

For summer, sandals need less growing room than closed shoes, about 0.5-1 cm, because the toes are not boxed in. Kids' slippers are usually sold in paired sizes such as 9-10 or 11-12, which suit the in-between stages.

Frequently asked questions