Kids' shoe size chart by foot length

Measure the child's foot from the heel to the tip of the longest toe, standing, and read across the row. The sizes are computed by the conversion code inside Ruban Size on the children's scales, rounded to the nearest half size.

Like every shoe conversion, it is approximate. Kids' brands build on their own lasts and round their own way, so use the chart to get close, then follow the brand's chart.

Kids' shoe size chart

How to read it

1. Stand the child on a sheet of paper, heel against a wall. Mark the tip of the longest toe and measure from the wall to the mark. Do both feet and use the longer one.
2. Find the length in the first or second column. Between two rows, read the longer one.
3. Read the scale you need on the same row.

Half a centimeter of foot is more than half a size on the UK and US scales, so a few half sizes never appear in the chart (UK 8 between 15.0 and 15.5 cm, for instance). That is the chart stepping by foot length, not a gap in the shoes. For measuring a child who won't stand still, see how to measure kids for clothes.

How much room to leave

Ruban Size's Kids' shoes template gives one number, in its note: "Children's feet grow fast: leave about 1 cm of room at the toe." Check it with the shoe on and the child standing. We don't add other growth rules, because the app's sources don't give any.

The chart itself reads the foot as measured. Its formulas already count the difference between a foot and a shoe, the same two barleycorns (16.9 mm) the adult formulas use.

The scales, and where they restart

UK children's sizes follow 3 × foot length in inches − 10, a third of an inch per size, up to 13.5. After that the UK adult scale takes over and starts again: in the engine, a 20.5 cm foot is a UK 1 and a 21 cm foot a UK 2.

US children's sizes follow 3 × foot length in inches − 9.75, a quarter size above the UK number, so the two land on the same number or half a size apart. They also stop at 13.5 and start again at 1: the Kids' shoes template puts US 13 at 18.7 cm, then US 1 at 19.5 cm, US 2 at 20.3 cm and US 3 at 21 cm.

EU sizes use the adult formula, 1.5 × foot length in cm + 2, and simply keep counting: EU 31.5 at 19.5 cm, 33 at 20.5 cm.

Japanese sizes are the foot length in centimeters, as for adults.

For feet of 22 cm and more, use the adult shoe size conversion chart, which starts there.

Why the template and the formula differ

Ruban Size's own template shows how loose kids' sizing is. At a 13.5 cm foot, the template says US 6, UK 5, EU 22; the formulas say US 6, UK 6, EU 22.5. At 18 cm, the template says US 12, UK 11, EU 30; the formulas say US 11.5, UK 11.5, EU 29.

The main difference is the gap between US and UK: the template, written like a typical brand chart, puts US one size above UK, where the barleycorn formulas put it a quarter size above. Both are reasonable charts. For a given pair of shoes, the brand's chart is the one that counts.

How a store should present kids' shoe sizes

1. US, UK and EU on their own rows or columns, marked as size systems, with a switch above the table. The first one shown follows the country: US in the United States, UK in the United Kingdom and Ireland, EU elsewhere.
2. Foot length beside the sizes, with a cm/in switch. Say whether it is the foot or the insole.
3. Make the restart at 13.5 visible: a US 1 for a school child is larger than a US 13, and parents buying the next size up can miss it.
4. The growth note in words, next to the table.

How Ruban Size does it

The Kids' shoes template lists US 6 to 13 and then 1 to 3, with UK and EU as size systems, the foot length in centimeters, the three measuring steps and the 1 cm note. It opens as a draft, so you can replace its values with your brand's before it shows anywhere.

Find my size for kids speaks to the parent: "Enter your child's measurements. We compare them with this chart." The child's measurements are saved apart from the parent's own, on the shopper's device only, so a parent's foot never lands in a child's chart. The answer gives the size in the chart, then the children's scales under "Usual equivalents (approximate)". For a 16 cm foot on the template, that reads "You are between 9 and 10. We suggest 9.", then EU 26 · UK 9 · US 9 · JP 16.

On a chart that lists insole lengths instead of foot lengths, Find my size adds the usual toe room for a regular fit, 1.5 cm, plus 0.3 cm on children's charts. To convert one length by hand, the shoe size converter is a click away.

Questions

How much growing room should kids' shoes have?

Ruban Size's Kids' shoes template says to leave about 1 cm of room at the toe. Check it with the shoe on and the child standing.

What comes after size 13 in kids' shoes?

13.5, then the scale starts again at 1. In the UK the adult scale takes over (UK 1 at about 20.5 cm in the engine); in the US the template goes 13, 1, 2, 3.

Are kids' shoe sizes the same in the US and UK?

Close, but not always. The barleycorn formulas put US a quarter size above UK, while Ruban Size's template, written like a brand chart, puts US one full size above. Check the brand's chart.

How do I measure my child's foot for shoes?

Stand the child on paper, heel against a wall, mark the longest toe and measure from the wall to the mark. Use the longer foot.