Squeaky toddler shoes are made with a small air squeezer in the heel that chirps on every step, originally intended to help parents hear where a young child is walking. Clips of the sound spread on TikTok, Reels and WhatsApp in Malaysia and Indonesia, where the Malay phrase bunyi kasut budak is used to search for it. Creators reuse the audio as a standalone effect for baby walkers, cartoon characters and pets in shoes, because the squeak instantly reads as small, cute and impossible to miss.