This is according to Rebeka Farmilo, manager at The Athlete's Foot Dubbo, who has provided her top tips for buying school shoes.

As thousands of kids walk into class on Tuesday, January 30, many of them will be sporting new shoes purchased over the school holidays.

Ms Farmilo said she recommends parents buy their kids' shoes in the first two weeks of January so they fit for as long as possible during the school year.

"We find that over the Christmas break, kids' feet grow," she told the Daily Liberal.

"We're not too sure why, it's like a magic trick or something, but kids are used to wearing thongs or no shoes, so as soon as they put shoes on their feet have slightly changed."

She thought it might also be because they are no longer used to wearing tight shoes.

The most popular style at the moment is black leather shoes that come in a range that resembles a sneaker, so they're comfortable and also meet uniform dress codes.

To find the perfect fit, Ms Farmilo will encourage parents to buy shoes that are one size bigger than they think they need.

"We do a 3D scan of each child's foot. It tells us the measurements, it tells us the width of their foot, the arch height and everything. So we make sure that we're fitting the shoes correctly to their feet," she said.

"So they have wide feet, narrow feet, whatever it may be, we have multiple widths in our shoes."

They like to be able to fit a full size adult's thumb at the front of the shoe to make sure they have the right size to last them the longest possible time.

When it comes down to it, the right shoes for kids are the ones they like wearing because they're comfortable on their feet.

"The most important thing is to think of our kids' feet. So they're running around, they're literally in shoes five days of the week, so it's really important to have really good fitted school shoes or joggers because it's something that they've got to have for the rest of their life," Ms Farmilo said.

"So if we start early getting them in good footwear, it definitely makes a difference later in life for them as well."