Infant Shoes

[becka]

Well the time has come that we feel we need to get DS a good pair of walking shoes. He has only worn shoes one other time and that was for about 5 minutes for a picture.

Does anyone have any suggestion about the best brands or a good place to buy them?

Thanks!

[SeaSpray]

Do they still have Stride Rite stores? When my boys were young that was the best store for fitting a baby's first shoes.

Maybe some moms with younger kids can give you more current info... It's such a milestone though!! :)

[jel0511]

First off, unless your son is walking A LOT(at least 10-15 steps at a time), you don't need to buy shoes, and most children's shoe stores will also try to disuade you from buying them. It is MUCH easier for them to learn to walk without wearing shoes. Both my pediatrician and my pediatric orthopedist (DS was pidgeon toed) told me not to buy DS shoes until he was walking proficiently. So, unless he is walking very well, hold off, children's shoes are VERY expensive. I buy all my kids shoes at the local Stride Rite, and they usually run $40 - $45 per pair. DS usually needs a new pair every two months, so the costs do add up.

[Steve H.]

Another vote for Stride Rite for the first pair (and many of the pairs after that, actually). They're the best place for fitting your son with the proper fitting pair of shoes. If you can find a Stride Rite outlet, even better! :)

[mtemm]

No shoes for Daniel yet since he is only still cruising and maybe walking with his walking truck. But once he is, we're heading off to Stride Rite. There still are stride rite stores in most malls, and while they are pricey, from what I've been told they are worth it.

One tip I just read somewhere is to NOT put skid-proof socks on a child who has shoes on. I never would have thought of that, but it makes sense. The skid things can stick to the shoes and cause harm to the foot development. Makes so much sense, if you think about it...imagine putting on skid-proof socks yourself and then putting on shoes.

[aprincessmom]

Another vote for Stride Rite.

[jel0511]

mtemm - This is what I do with the skid proof socks, I turn them inside out!!! It works like a charm!!! One think I've noticed, it's VERY hard to find socks in toddler sizes without the skidproof bottoms, so turning them inside out works!!! The problem is that the foot can't slide in the shoes with the skidproof bottoms, so their feet can't fit in the shoes properly.

[RitaZ.]

Here is a good article from Parents;

http://www.parents.com/articles/ages_and_stages/3299.jsp

[becka]

Thanks for the info...what would I do without this place.

It looks like the only Stride Rite stores are in St. Louis which is 2 hours away however according to their website both the Dillards and JCPennys here in our mall carry Stride Rite. Is there enough of a benefit to drive 4 hours round trip to buy a pair of shoes or is it good enough just to buy that brand here at our local mall?

[MosMom]

I agree with the "barefoot until walking proficiently" statement and I also agree with going to Stride Rite when the time comes. Stride Rite is pricey so if that isn't the price range you were thinking, Target has some decent walking style shoes I saw the other day.

People are raving over Bear Feet shoes lately too since they are custom made to fit the child's foot rather than forcing the foot into a shoe. Their URL is http://www.bearfeet.com

[becka]

I forgot to mention that one of the reasons we are looking for shoes now is that he needs to be wearing shoes full-time before he transitions to the 1-year old room at daycare. We wanted to give him a little bit of time to get used to wearing them during the day before he has to wear them all of the time. He will probably only wear them 1-2 hours at most per day right now.

[peg2001]

Wow!! I guess I must be a bad mom but I bought CHEAP shoes at Walmart or Payless for my kids when they started to walk. I only put shoes on them once they were walking well ourside the home. They are still always barefoot at home at ages 3 and 6. Why spend big money for shoes they will wear for very brief periods of time for a couple months and then need new shoes?

The key is just getting lightweight flexible shoes. No need to spend more than $10, IMO.

BTW, my kids feet doen't appear deformed in any way so I guess no major damage done!

Peggy

[Girls Scout Leader]

I'm glad I'm not the only one who put "cheap" shoes on my kids. And they suffered no ill effects. My DH's mom put expencive hard soled shoes on him from day 1 and he has terrible arches and ankles. I grew up in bare feet and cheap canvas shoes and no trouble at all. Don't feel like a bad mom if you do not put $50 shoes on a little one.

Just don't buy something horrific looking and end up on BadShoe.com !!!

:p

[tw1nsmom]

The most important thing with shoes is the fit. My twins had stride rite shoes for their first shoes (didn't wear them much before they grew out of them) and their second pair as well. That is where we had problems. The salesman didn't fit them properly and they both developed blisters. The shoes he sold me didn't come in half sizes, but he insisted that the half size wouldn't make that much difference. I advise getting someone to show you how to fit your son yourself. I spoke to my husband's podiatrist and a friend of my mothers who sold shoes, and they showed me what to look for when trying shoes on the children. Now I buy them shoes at kmart (Thom McCann brand) and payless(payless has the foot meassuring devises that you can use) . This way I can afford to get them new shoes every couple of months as their feet grow. Just because Stride Rite shoes are expensive doesn't mean that every salesperson knows what they are doing.

[Lynn CC]

I bought Stride Rite for my DS for the first 2 years. They had great selections in 4E that he needed! He's still a 4E but a size 12 mens!

[mtemm]

what a great idea to put the socks on inside out! phew! its so hard to find the plain ones...and that way I don't have to buy a bunch of new socks.

[Krisu]

When DS was that age, the Pediatrician recommended sneakers or bare feet:D