My kids are in adult shoes!!

[iheartdisney]

We went shoe shopping before school starts and DD10 is now in ladies shoes, DS9 in the "in-between"- not quite mens, but not quite kids shoes. DD is devastated that she no longer fits into the sparkly, glittery, blingy girls' shoes. (and i mean devastated in a moody pre-teen girl way, I'm sure she will recover)
But this TOTALLY stretches my budget! i was planning on buying them shoes and two outfits. Instead they get shoes, one outfit and one t-shirt.

And let me complain about Converse for a minute. DS takes really good care of his shoes and so they will last him all year long, so I will splurge and get him a nice pair of shoes. Looking at the cool superhero designed Converse shoes, if he is a size 5, it is a child shoe and costs $45. If he is a size 5.5 it is an adult shoe and costs $60. SAME DESIGN!!

 

[StephMK]

I feel your pain! DD13 and DS11 went through that phase a few years ago and the sticker shock is tough. They still wear kid sizes in clothes but shoes are more expensive in any form now.

 

[bigbabyblues]

Oh, I can relate! My DS12 plays soccer and likes indoor soccer shoes (no cleats) for his everyday shoes. The cleats we bought last week were $60 for the youth size and $99 for adult size.

 

[descovy]

Just bought sneakers for my girls...

13yo is a size 9
11 year old is a size 10!!!
9 year old is a 7.5

We did Famous Footwear on tax free weekend. With bogo and 20% we spent just shy of $100 for 3 pair (Nike, Asics, New Balance)

The 13yo is in Juniors, and I am having to bump my 11yo into juniors. She's thin but tall, and size xl girls run wide. For ex size 14 girl jeans are too wide but not long enough. Size 00 in juniors are perfect.

The budget save is that I wear a size 10 shoe... Which means the older 2 can borrow a pair (like dressy shoes that are barely ever worn)

 

[nsmith]

I also can relate. DS went thru puberty very early and was always tall for his age. I remember crying in the Payless store when he was in the men's section in the forth grade!!!! Same
happened with cloths before he was in high school.

 

[lilaurora]

I needed to buy my DD8 a new pair of nice sandals before going on vacation in June. Imagine my surprise, when the clerk measured her and said that kids wouldn't work anymore. I ended up getting her a pair of ladies size 7! Yikes! I wear size 11/12 myself, so maybe I shouldn't have been so shocked....

 

[Squidgyness]

I remember that moment as a kid. My mother was dreading it I went through a size a month it seemed to her then lol!

I was better than my sister, she went adults but also had a bad habit of saying 'I love these shoes can I get them?' An hour later at home... 'They make my feet hurt I don't want them anymore.' Used to drive my mother nuts...

These days I make one pair of shoes last years since I'm paying

 

[Eureka]

DS12 is wearing a men's 9 1/2 already and is nowhere close to his full height/foot size. DS10 is in a kids' 5 but even so, his Nikes cost $42 at JCP! But, they wear sneakers all year and need good ones, so there's not a lot I can do about it. What kills me is when DS12 needs black shoes for band concerts and piano recitals and wears them maybe three to four times a year. I hate spending a lot of money on those.

 

[Luv Bunnies]

Well, the bright side is that their feet are getting closer to being full grown. Then they can actually wear shoes until they wear out, rather than when they outgrow them. It killed me to give away perfectly good shoes just because they were too small!

 

[MrsPete]

I wear a lady's size 7, but in a number of name brands (Toms and Lands End, for example), I can wear a kids' size 5. They're a little wider, so this might not work for someone with narrow feet.

 

[superme80]

I wear a lady's size 7, but in a number of name brands (Toms and Lands End, for example), I can wear a kids' size 5. They're a little wider, so this might not work for someone with narrow feet.

I used to be this way and having kids ruined it! OP I feel your pain. We are not there yet, but DS keeps out growing all his clothes in a matter of months. He needs new shoes and I am dreading it!

 

[3boymthr]

DS12 is wearing a men's 9 1/2 already and is nowhere close to his full height/foot size. DS10 is in a kids' 5 but even so, his Nikes cost $42 at JCP! But, they wear sneakers all year and need good ones, so there's not a lot I can do about it. What kills me is when DS12 needs black shoes for band concerts and piano recitals and wears them maybe three to four times a year. I hate spending a lot of money on those.

If he's only wearing them 3 or 4 times a year (and based upon what he's wearing them for I'm betting he's not wearing them for more than a few hours at a time) I'd definitely hit Savers or St. Vincent or Salvation Army or Goodwill or... Around here all those stores get bunches men's dress shoes and sell them reasonably.

ETA - OP I feel your pain. I got really lucky this year. Youngest DS is a 7.5 (Yeah, try finding that size almost impossible). We usually shop for shoes for the kids a Bob's because they have name brand shoes at great staring prices and amazing clearance and sales and crazy good coupons ($10 off $10 or more is a coupon that comes out 2 or 3 times a year) that can be combined with sale and clearance prices . Well, there were exactly 4 prs of shoes in the store in his size - 3 pr in adults at a cost of $75+ each; 1 pr was in the kids sizes. I paid only $12

OTH - Oldest DS' has been the same size for a year and half = YAY! Feet have finally stopped growing. Shoes are finally getting worn long enough to actually wear out. But I had to give in an buy the $100+ boots that he REALLY wanted cause I always told him I wouldn't buy them because they were too expensive because he'd wear them out .

 

[bumbershoot]

That day is coming SOON for DS.

Looking at the cool superhero designed Converse shoes, if he is a size 5, it is a child shoe and costs $45. If he is a size 5.5 it is an adult shoe and costs $60. SAME DESIGN!!

FWIW, my stepmom lives in Levi's. She's 5'11" and ALL legs. I'm 5'3" and our torsos are the same from waist to shoulder. Crazy. Last time I talked to her about this (ages ago) she said that she got to pay an extra $5 for her Levis for one inch more of length over non-Tall jeans. (it's likely even more now) Or how DH's big&tall clothes are so much more than average sizes. More fabric/etc, higher cost, after a certain point....

I ended up getting her a pair of ladies size 7! Yikes! I wear size 11/12 myself, so maybe I shouldn't have been so shocked....

Well, the bright side is that their feet are getting closer to being full grown. Then they can actually wear shoes until they wear out, rather than when they outgrow them. It killed me to give away perfectly good shoes just because they were too small!

So true.

 

[CarsFan1122]

Not sure if this will help but I always wear Puma and I'm a size 7.5 in adults but I've been buying girls size 5.5 and they fit exactly the same but are about $20 dollars cheaper. I actually went to a shoe store and found a pair of Puma's that I liked and the girl working there asked me my size and I said 7.5. She brought me out a 5.5 and I said, this is going to be way too small. She was the one that told me girls sizes fit the same and are cheaper. The shoes I liked were kids shoes lol. I wear them all the time.

 

[Claire&TheBoys]

I feel your pain. My oldest has been in men's shoes since he was 8. He's just turned 11 and now wears men's size 10. My husband wears a 13 so it doesn't surprise me. He is also 5'4 and hasn't had his big growth spurt yet; we expect him to grow another foot.

 

[theelfqueen]

Like the others... the real shock comes when you have to buy specialty shoes (for us it was wrestling shoes - OUCH!!!).

My 12 yr (Muppet Boy) old wears a men's size 10. Which is bigger than my 17 yr old (Oldest) wore at that age... he topped out at a 12 or 12 1/2... I think the Muppet Boy will end up taller. His father is QUITE tall, but his brother is only about 6'1" - 6'2".

 

[poohguys]

We hit clothing and shoes in the same year for DS12. He went from an men's 9 to an 11 in shoes in a few months. Also went from regular with to extra wide. Plus started foot problems from growing so quick and we had to buy special insoles for his shoes at $50 that are already too small! This is the first time in a long time that he has actually out grown his shoes before they wore out. I hate that he has to shop in the young men's department now for clothes too. Even they are more expensive for basically the same thing.

 

[skeettafic]

Yep -- my 8 year old DD ended up with a size 6 women's tennis shoe this summer!

FTR, the woman at show store told us that a girls size 4 shoe is equivalent to a women's 5.5 and that they go up in the same increment from there.

 

[texasroni75]

In the same boat. DD-12 has been wearing womens size shoes since she was 9. She's now the same shoe size as DD-18 (women's 8.5) so at least now they can share shoes to double their options. I myself wear a size 10 so I save a lot on shoes - the stores always seem to have my size left when styles go on clearance.

 

[figment3258]

I feel ya!

Dd10. Is a woman's size 7 and when she needs shoes not only do we need sneakers but softball least and basketball shies never a dull moment