Shop for shoes in the afternoon, when the feet are naturally slightly swollen. After the age of 10, sport-specific shoes can help improve performance and protect the feet. With the exception of the running shoe, a degree of crossover between sporting shoes is usually not harmful to the feet of a child athlete. Rubber cleats are not usually necessary for children under 10, though they pose little potential harm for them. They are most useful on a soft-field sport such as soccer.
Podiatric physicians recommend molded shoe rubber cleats rather than the screw-on variety.
Metal baseball spikes can be dangerous and should not be used until the teenage years. The immature bones of children are different from those of adults. When stressed, these plates are more susceptible to injury than the tendons and ligaments that support the joints. Podiatric physicians warn repetitive overuse can cause inflammation of the growth plates. They advise parents to promote diverse physical activities for their children rather than one sport.