7 things nobody tells you about your toddler's first shoes, and the 4-second test that shows you all of them

The American Academy of Pediatrics says that in the early months, babies' feet develop best if they're not confined in shoes, and that once children start walking outdoors, they need shoes for protection. The NHS puts it simply: your child will not need proper shoes until they're walking on their own.

So daycare says shoes and you say barefoot? Both can be true. Barefoot or socks at home, something soft and flexible for the park, the pickup line and the car park. Check your daycare's own policy, then pick something she can wear comfortably all day.

The AAP's line on this is blunt: it's better to have no shoes at all than shoes that are too tight. It also says a first pair won't last more than two or three months, which is why so many of us end up ordering five pairs and finding that none fit.

Hold the shoe she wears now by the heel and the toe and try to fold it. Then twist it. Some bend easily. Some fight you the whole way. A sole that fights your hands is a sole she has to fight with every step.

Plain socks skid on tile, wood and laminate, which is why a new walker in socks looks unsure and keeps reaching for the nearest table leg. Going barefoot gives grip, but not every floor, car park or playground is somewhere you want bare feet.

The rubber sole on a sock shoe is there for that gap: it grips a wood floor better than a sock does, and it puts a layer between her foot and the gravel. It isn't a babysitter, though. Keep an adult close while a new walker learns.

The 7:40 a.m. door shuffle. One sock missing, the coat under the sofa, a toddler who has decided today is the day she runs the other way. Laces, buckles and velcro turn getting out of the door into a standoff.

A sock shoe pulls on in one motion: stretch the knit opening, slide the foot in, done, in about three seconds once you've done it twice. No fastenings to pick at, either, which matters if yours is a champion shoe-remover in the car seat.

Parents say it all the time: a sock shoe that's too big stops being a shoe and becomes a dumb floppy sock, slipping off at the heel. They're right. A pull-on only works when the size is right.

That's why we put the size chart in centimetres on the page, why the knit collar is elastic and sits above the ankle, and why you can swap sizes within 30 days. A determined toddler can still pull off any shoe ever made. We won't promise otherwise.

Toddler feet grow fast, and a first pair rarely lasts more than a few months. Which makes $50 for a pair painful, and makes the choice between buying one pair or three less obvious than it looks.

Honest price talk: we're not the $6 pair you'll find online, and sometimes the $6 pair is the right call. What you get with ours is a bend you can test, a size chart in cm, tracked shipping and a 30-day money-back guarantee. Buy three and it works out to $10 a pair. Muddy? Put them in the washing machine and they're ready again tomorrow.