It's a Wednesday afternoon at pickup as Sophie jollily runs towards her mother's car. She hops in the car and immediately begins to fill her mother in on the day's events. Sophie's mother, Nancy, has only been listening for five minutes when suddenly- a nose hair – or three, turns. Confused, Nancy glances over and realizes Sophie’s shoes are off, and immediately knows the source of the deadly smell. Unable to believe the smell is coming from her daughter’s shoes, she quickly rolls down the windows.
Can you relate to Nancy in this situation? We know some of you out there may be able to, so let’s just get it out there in the open; your kid has stinky shoes.
If you have ever been in a situation even remotely similar to the scenario above, you may be on the search for some answers. That’s where we come in.
Why do my kid’s feet stink?
In the event you haven’t read some of our other blog posts, we’ll get you up to speed on what the main causes of shoe odor are.
- As humans, we produce sweat. Not only do we produce sweat, but according to UC San Diego Health, each of our feet has approximately 125,000 sweat glands. That’s a lot of sweat glands! Our feet have more sweat glands per square centimeter than any other part of our bodies so it’s no surprise that our feet sweat a lot.
- Sweat will create a nice moist stinky situation.
Shoe odor in a nutshell. Simple right?
Generally, children are more active than adults. So, if your child has been running around the park all day, or busy at school, it’s only natural that he/she will sweat a bit more than usual, and their shoes will have a strong odor.
How do I get rid of my kid’s shoe odor?
Here are our suggestions/tips to get rid of your kid’s shoe odor:
1. Pack an extra pair of socks:
If your child has been running around the playground at school all day, it means he/she has been sweating in the socks and shoes they’re wearing.
Our suggestion: Try to send your child off to school with an extra pair of socks. This way, your child can change into a cleaner, fresher pair after an action-filled session. This will make a difference in the way your child’s shoe smells. Also, ensure the socks your child is wearing are of a breathable, natural material like cotton.
2. Keep their shoes dry:
Does your child ever splash around in a random puddle or just naturally manage to somehow get their shoes wet at some point in the day? Do you live in a rainy city where it’s normal for shoes to get wet?Our suggestion: Whenever your child gets home from school, be sure to dry their shoes before the next wear. This will help keep shoe odor at bay.
3. Try washing their shoes:
If your child’s shoes are seriously smelly, you may just have to try washing them.
Our suggestion: While it may take a long while to throw your child’s shoes in the machine and then in the dryer, it will help to refresh and clean the shoes. Thus, lessening the chances of shoe odor.
4. Try a shoe deodorizer:
Room spray can work wonders for shoe odor.
Our suggestion: Check out this Lavender Tea Tree Natural Shoe Deodorizer.
Every day, when your child gets home and kicks his/her shoes off, simply spray this shoe deodorizer in his/her shoes and let it do its work. Afterwards, your child's shoes be smelling nice and odor free. If you're a lover of lemongrass and tea tree, this product is perfect for you. Also, did we mention this product has over 500 five star reviews on Amazon?? This is one effective spray.
A bonus of this deodorizer is that its not only good for eliminating your kid's shoe odor, but can be used to tackle other odors around your house as well!
5. Maybe it’s time to get your child new shoes:
If you’ve been trying different remedies yet your child’s shoe odor doesn’t seem to be getting any better, it may be time to buy a new pair.
Our suggestion: When purchasing a new pair of shoes for your child, be sure the shoes are made of breathable material. Breathable shoes are made of materials that allow water vapor inside the shoes to easily escape. Ultimately, this will prevent shoe odor.
6. Feet, be free:
You guessed it. Allow your child/children to go barefooted sometimes.
Our suggestion: While we know that it may be more challenging for your child to go barefooted if they're out and about, if your child is at home or somewhere a bit more secure, it’s A-OK to allow them to go barefooted sometimes and give the shoes a break. This will allow the shoes to ventilate and as your child won't be wearing and sweating in their shoes, it will also lessen the likelihood of shoe odor.
7. Foot powder, in their actual shoes:
Try a shoe powder! If you're a parent reading this, which you most likely are, it's possible you may have previously used talcum powder to combat your child's shoe odor. However, due to the recent rise in lawsuits surrounding products containing talc, we are suggesting a safer and healthier powder, made with unharmful natural ingredients instead.
Our suggestion: Give this Foot and Shoe Odor Eliminating Powder a chance. Sprinkle a bit of this powder in your child's shoes daily to help eliminate shoe odor. This will take you less than a minute to do and may be applied to both your child's feet and shoes. This product is made of 100% safe ingredients. If you're a parent that wants to eliminate shoe odor without using potentially dangerous chemicals, this is the product for you. It also contains no parabens, phthalates, aerosols, or formaldehyde!
Shoe odor happens to more people than you may think, and despite how smelly his/her shoes are, your child is no different and truly quite normal. However, if you take the suggestions above into consideration, we have no doubt you'll be able to tackle shoe odor head on and give your child's foot odor the boot!