Need shoe with great arch support?

[Coolamber]

DD is extremely flat footed and needs a shoe with great arch support. Have been using Ecco’s and have been very happy with them. But would like more options. If you have a child with flat feet what shoe do you use.
Thanks
Mollie

[brittone2]

How old is she?

Most kids are very flat footed until closer to 2-3. You can't do much to create an arch or "fix" foot problems with a shoe. If she drastically rolls inward on her feet or it is impeding her function, you'd want to go with orthotics. Anything else would be unlikely to really affect her foot. THere are tradeoffs to orthotics in young kids as well, so generally speaking, I wouldn't use them unless DC is really rolling inward on her feet considerably, or she's having some sort of problem functioning/hitting her milestones due to her feet.

The whole concept of buying shoes with a "good" arch to support flat was what our parents were taught, but for the most part, a shoe won't do anything in and of itself to influence the anatomy of the foot.

I was a pediatric physical therapist before DS was born, and that's the view most of my fellow colleagues hold.

The best thing for most kids is a nice, flexible sole. As flexible as you can find...that allows for natural foot development. As kids start jumping, standing on tiptoes, etc. the arch will develop a little more, so the more flexible soles allow that to happen better IMO.