Toddler shoe question

[mtemm]

Since my son started walking nearly a year ago and started wearing shoes, we always have gone to Stride Rite, had him properly measured and fitted, and bought their shoes. We've been so happy with them!

Well, we recently moved to the Albany/Saratoga Springs are in NY and there is not a single Stride Rite store anywhere near us...I'm talking the closest one I can find is 2 hours away. There are stores that carry stride rite, like penney's and some independents, and we've tried going there. I've had him measured at 2 different places. Both places say he is a 6.5 on one foot, barely over a 6 in the other foot. They both recommend he wear a size 7. Problem is, when I put the size 7 on him he swims in them...I'm talking they are HUGE on him. Neither store paid any attention to us once they sized him, just left us to try the shoe on him and check the fit, even when we asked questions about the fit of the shoe they just shrugged it off. Neither store had more than 2 size 7s in stock, and no 6.5's to compare. They'll special order sizes for me, but not sure how long that will take.

Any advice? It just seems so uncomfortable to wear shoes that are too big, although I know he will grow into them. We have a size 7 pair of timberland style boots that my sister gave us for something that I've tried on him and he picks up his feet like they weigh a ton each, and again they are swimming on him when you feel them against his feet.

Part of me wants to drive the 2 hours to the Stride Rite store and be done with it.

 

[Girls Scout Leader]

Ok, I am in no way flaming here, but why didn't you jsut try the shoes on him, and see how they fit? If a 7 was flipper-time, what was a six like? Or even a 5.5? You are his parent, you have his best interests at heart, not them. Do a little research and fit him yourself. DH was raised a Stride-Right kid, and I was always dressed in what was cheapest. At the end? Niether of us have bad feet, just caring parent who took the time to fit us our own way.

 

[Kimberle]

Originally posted by mtemm
Since my son started walking nearly a year ago and started wearing shoes, we always have gone to Stride Rite, had him properly measured and fitted, and bought their shoes. We've been so happy with them!

Well, we recently moved to the Albany/Saratoga Springs are in NY and there is not a single Stride Rite store anywhere near us...I'm talking the closest one I can find is 2 hours away. There are stores that carry stride rite, like penney's and some independents, and we've tried going there. I've had him measured at 2 different places. Both places say he is a 6.5 on one foot, barely over a 6 in the other foot. They both recommend he wear a size 7. Problem is, when I put the size 7 on him he swims in them...I'm talking they are HUGE on him. Neither store paid any attention to us once they sized him, just left us to try the shoe on him and check the fit, even when we asked questions about the fit of the shoe they just shrugged it off. Neither store had more than 2 size 7s in stock, and no 6.5's to compare. They'll special order sizes for me, but not sure how long that will take.

Any advice? It just seems so uncomfortable to wear shoes that are too big, although I know he will grow into them. We have a size 7 pair of timberland style boots that my sister gave us for something that I've tried on him and he picks up his feet like they weigh a ton each, and again they are swimming on him when you feel them against his feet.

Part of me wants to drive the 2 hours to the Stride Rite store and be done with it.

I found once Brittany was steady on her feet, sneakers were better than stride rights. I find the striderights wear out much quicker.

Try Payless, they have really good kids shoes! They were really well and are comfortable for kids. (Not like when we were kids.)

 

[mickeyboat]

Will it cost you anything to special order the 6 1/2? If not, do it. When you are spending that much money on shoes (ie Stride-Rite), they should fit properly. I usually end up buying shoes that are too big for my kids and they hate it. The shoes slip and fall off. It is awful!

I wonder if Stride Rite has a web site. Some sites have shoe sizers you can print out and try at home. I know that Kohl's has one.

Good Luck!

Denae

 

[Minnie824]

DD is off a half size in different brands too...she is a 24 in Elefantan shoes (my personal favorite for her, other than the price) which is I believe an 8 1/2, but her tennis shoes Nike I think are a 9. Take him to a nice department store near you and have him measured....they may even have some nice shoes for you to get. I got a lot of DDs from Nordstrom/Von Maur...they had tons of cute boys shoes too and were always really helpful. Good luck. I always have problems buying the right sizes for her shoes!

 

[mtemm]

thanks everyone for your input.

As for trying different sizes on him myself, I guess I wasn't clear in that was what I was trying to do, but the stores had no sizes other than 4s or 7s and above. We did check the fit on the 7s and they felt too big to us, and we tried to get input from the salesperson and they just didn't really have much to say...when I said they seemed big both times the person just shrugged their shoulders and didn't check for themselves or anything.

I guess what I am missing most about stride rite is that their sales clerks always seemed both well trained and interested in helping me find the best fit for my son. Apparently that can't be said for all shoe stores, as we've learned.

We really have no other choice than to keep hitting more stores (and yes, I'd love to have a Nordstrom near me, but no luck there, either) or drive the 2 hours. I'm just frustrated I guess.

 

[jel0511]

I have always taken my children to Stride Rite, and I've never had a problem. Based on what has always happened to me at my local Stride Rite, is what you're being told. If my DS is measuring a 6 1/2 on one foot and a 6 on the other foot, they will fit him in a size 7. They've ALWAYS measured my children's feet and have ALWAYS moved up 1/2 a size from the largest foot measurement. I've been going to Stride Rite for more than 5 years and it's always been the same. There was one time where DS was measuring that he needed a bigger shoe, but the larger shoes were horribly too big. I was advised to wait a few weeks for his feet to grow and come back and then get the larger size. It worked, and the shoes didn't look clunky at all, like they did before. Now, these measurements are true for Stide Rite shoes, they run true to size, whereas most other manufacturers usually run small, with the exception of Elefantan, they run big. By going up the 1/2 size from the larger foot, you give the feet room to grow, if you buy a 6 1/2, when your DS is measuring a 6 1/2 that foot wouldn't have much room to grow before needing new shoes, and by wearing a shoe too small, it could possibly cause damage. The smaller foot is always better off in a larger than needed shoe, than the bigger foot being in a smaller than needed shoe. I once asked about this at my Ped's and I was told that most people's feet differ by around 1/2 a size and it is considered normal and you should always buy the shoes to fit the larger foot.

 

[mtemm]

Thanks Lori. I'm going to try again this weekend and see how it goes. I'll try a couple of different stores and see if they have some more to at least try. I'm going to pay better attention when they measure, too. Hard for me...25 weeks pg with twins, so I usually leave the getting down on knees stuff to dh, but this time I'm going to make sure, too.

 

[ahutton]

I don't know what you do have in your area, but I've had the best luck recently at Mervyns. They carry many brand name shoes that are soft and flexible, regular and wide widths in a huge variety of sizes and styles. While they don't have professional sizers I've been lucky enough that recently my DDs will let me try shoes on them and squeeze around to see about the fit. I recently got a great pair of Nikes for my 2 year old for $12. Any stores you don't usually go to that might have a good pick? BTW - I've also had great luck at Payless for a couple types of shoes!

 

[dandelion]

In our area, mtemm, (I live in Wilton) there is a store in Queensbury that carries Stride Rite shoes. It's a discount store ... they won't have anyone to help you with sizing ... but once you find the correct size you will definitely pay less. I've seen Stride Rite shoes for as little as $5! It's called Priceless Kids and is in the Northway Plaza at exit 19.

Then at exit 20, there are a number of strip malls with outlet stores. We've found nice shoes at several of them; there is also a Carters outlet for those new baby clothes.

 

[pirateofthecarolinas]

mtemm,

Look in your yellow pages for any children's shoe stores if you haven't already. We have a local store (Sills Shoes) that is just for children. At Easter and Christmas the line is out the door and around the corner. They personally measure and fit each one of my children. I get a reminder in the mailing letting me know that they need to come back in and recheck the fitting after 2 months. I am like you in feeling that it is important for children's shoes to fit well.

Good luck. I hope you find a store that still believes in providing good service to a customer.

Lori

 

[tw1nsmom]

mtemm,
Welcome to the Albany/Saratoga area! I've tried putting my children in kmart/payless shoes, but they always end up giving them blisters or falling apart. I know it would be a little ride for you, but we always buy our Stride Rite shoes at Junior Shoe Port in the Rotterdam Square mall. I'll give you directions if you want. Depending on where you actually live it's probably about a 30 minute drive from Saratoga/Clifton Park. The older gentleman and older lady there really do a great job of measuring ( they do all the work too, shoes on and off, feeling toes, watching the kids walk in them). They don't always have the most warm and fuzzy personalities, but they get the children to follow intructions. They also won't tell you to buy new shoes if they think your child's shoes fit him properly. I've also heard that there are Junior Shoe ports in the Latham farms and Stuyvesant Plaza area, but I can't attest to how good they are at fitting children. Also, this shoe store often has shoes on clearance for about $20-$25. One last bonus is that they give a 10% discount for twins! my twins are
3 1/2, if you want to PM me I'd be happy to give you any information I can.

Dawn

 

[mtemm]

Thanks again everyone! Especially the local folks. Where is the Rotterdam mall? I know where Latham Farms is, and that store was on the list of ones to try. I'm in Wilton a lot...I have a list of places that Wilton should add to make it even more convenient. Hmmm...Bertuccis and Costco come to mind immediately. They have so much up there and its only about 15 minutes or so for me. Clifton Park is maybe 20-30 minutes, so both are convenient.

 

[tw1nsmom]

Rotterdam Square mall is just west of Schenectady (really almost a part of it). It's on Campbell Road, and can be reached via 890. I can give you better directions if I have a better idea what direction your coming from. However 890 would be on area maps if you have one. If Latham farms is more convenient, they will probably be just fine. I just don't have any personal experience with them.

 

[dandelion]

Originally posted by mtemm
I'm in Wilton a lot...I have a list of places that Wilton should add to make it even more convenient. Hmmm...Bertuccis and Costco come to mind immediately.

No - no more development in Wilton, the traffic is getting too bad already.

It's grown so much in the past 4-5 years, and I do love some of our newer stores and restaurants: Panera, Target, and Pizzerio Uno. BJs is fine for me, how is Costco better? I'm not familiar with Bertuccis.

Be sure to investigate ALL the school options when the time comes. But in the meantime, good luck on that search for Stride Rites.

 

[FreshTressa]

I just have to put in a second vote for the elefantens. They are the best shoes for toddlers. Their little boots are nice and soft and light and wear really well. We like stride rite as well, but the elefanten's seem to fit my kids a little better and they are a little lighter and easier for a toddler to walk in, IMHO.