You want your child to grow healthily, and always put their best foot forward. As a child ages, their feet can grow every single month, especially if they are still in their toddler or young child years. With your child's feet growing clean on into their teen years, you want to pay special attention to how they balance and walk on them. Here are signs your child needs to see a podiatrist, or foot doctor, for their ever-growing feet.

Pain

If your child starts complaining about pain in the ball, heel, or arch of their feet, then you want to take them to a foot doctor to make sure their feet are developing naturally. Foot pain can be a result of an imbalance when your child walks, ill-fitting shoes, or even deformities in their toes. Your child's podiatrist can help assess what is causing your child pain by doing a physical foot exam and taking X-rays. In some cases, your child may be prescribed orthopedic shoes or inserts to help support their tender arches.

Crooked toes

There are many kinds of crooked toes, such as:

• hammertoe
• claw toe
• curly toe
• mallet toe

Toe deformities are caused by many reasons. Joints and tendons can be compressed, leading to a crooked appearance in toes, and bones can be malformed before birth. Crooked toes can also be caused by shoes that are too tight on your child. At any rate, the sooner you can get your child's crooked toes looked at by a podiatrist, the more options you may have available for correction. Correction involves splints, bandages, and in some cases, surgery to create a more natural-looking toe alignment.

Odd walking behaviors

You may notice your child walking strangely, including exclusively walking on the tips of their toes (toe walking), pointing their feet inward when they walk, or having a swaying gait as they run or walk swiftly. While many of these seemingly strange walking behaviors will be outgrown, they can sometimes be caused by feet being sore or by an imbalance in your child's arch. The best way to find out why your child walks they way they do and if you need to do something about it is to see a podiatrist. A podiatrist can help you understand your child's odd way of walking and can help you find ways to correct it if needed.

Your child's feet grow seemingly overnight. If you notice anything strange about your child's feet, a podiatrist appointment can bring you peace of mind.