Another shoe question

My DD's boys are 14 mos old today and walking great now. They go barefoot most of the time of course, but there are situations when it would be nice to have some sandals or tennis shoes for going out in public. However, their feet are still pretty small for regular hard-soled shoes, they are just now in a size 3. The selection of hard-sole shoes are hard to find that small (seems most styles start at 5) and when we can find them, their chubby little feet can't squeeze into them. Both boys' feet are very "thick" (for lack of a better word!) but not necessarily wide. (Does that make sense?) It's murder trying to squeeze those little sausages into a shoe! Robeez-style shoes are fine at times, but even those are tight and tend to cut off their circulation, plus they're just not the outdoor shoe style that DD is looking for.

Where can we find hard-sole shoes in a size 3 that fit a chubby little foot?

Thanks!

 

Have you tried Crocs? My DD has fat feet too, and once I bought her those she won't wear anything else!! And now we all have them!! I think they actually have a fitted one for smaller sizes...she started in a 4/5, so I am not sure how small they start. They are not cheap, but well worth it in my opinion!

 

We LOVE pedipeds. They are recommended by many peds. You can google them and get their website and order a variety of cute little shoes for both boys and girls. They are very comfy for the babies and perfect for first shoes.

 

stride rite has wide and extra-wide shoes that come in small sizes, and look for their outlets!!!

 

Ditto on the Stride Rite

 

we just bought our boys their first pair of stride rites- and J is in a Wide and B is in an extra wide!

 

I'd take them in to be sized first (or print off the sizing tool on Stride Rite's website and do it yourself). You might be surprised by the results. I used the printed tool and when you measure width for a toddler, you measure all of the way around the foot so it's really more like girth than width.

 

Is there a reason it has to be a hard-soled shoe? We used Preschoolians for their first year or so of walking and loved them. They are a very soft, flexible shoe, so the "thickness" shouldn't be a problem. The shoes also come with 3 insoles to make the shoes fit different widths. And they look like "real" shoes, not like Robeez type.

Preschoolians are a bit expensive, but they have a 40% twin discount!. The info is on the website, but they just asked to be emailed a picture of my twins and they sent me back a discount code to use. Also on the website you can request that they send you their foot measurer (don't know what these things are called) so you can choose the right size.

Good luck!

Rachel

 

I would say to try Pedipeds and Stride Rite. I think Pedipeds will be cheaper at @ $30/pair.

 

We had a lot of trouble finding shoes for the boys last year as they had narrow, but THICK (top to bottom) feet. To complicate matters further, they were a size 2 when they started walking so it was a challenge to find a decent shoe that was sturdy enough for outdoor use, yet flexible enough for new walkers.

We used the Teva Psyclones in a size 2/3 last summer...they were great b/c I could adjust them fully for narrow (side to side) AND thick (top to bottom feet for a perfect fit. We also had a pair of Crocs that were great, but we had such small feet that we had to get fake Crocs b/c Crocs don't start until size 4/5 (and finding a retailer who stocks that size is even difficult, you'll likely need to purchase that size online).

 

QUOTE(RachelJoy @ Jun 5 2008, 12:06 PM) [snapback]811872[/snapback]
Is there a reason it has to be a hard-soled shoe? We used Preschoolians for their first year or so of walking and loved them. They are a very soft, flexible shoe, so the "thickness" shouldn't be a problem. The shoes also come with 3 insoles to make the shoes fit different widths. And they look like "real" shoes, not like Robeez type.

Preschoolians are a bit expensive, but they have a 40% twin discount!. The info is on the website, but they just asked to be emailed a picture of my twins and they sent me back a discount code to use. Also on the website you can request that they send you their foot measurer (don't know what these things are called) so you can choose the right size.

Good luck!

Rachel


WOW! That is a FANTASTIC deal!!! I just looked at the website and the shoes are super cute too. I had sticker shock at StrideRite this week and for the price of one pair of walkers at SR, I can get 2 pairs of Preschoolians.

 

I had the exact same problem (Amy started walking at size 2) and wound up buying Merrell Sprint Jr.
http://www.upsideover.com/Merrell-Sprint-Jr-Kids-p/m-sjr.htm

They seem to be pretty well-made, are comfy, come in several colors (even though that "Upside Over" website only has pink), and are a lot cheaper than most of the high-end brands. They start in a size 3, and are very adjustable for fat feet because the top opens WAY up when you undo the velcro. I still buy them even though I have a lot more choices at size 6.

FYI, the smallest size for Crocs is a 4/5. And Crocs run big, so they wouldn't fit a true size 3. (Amy wears a size 5 in regular shoes and a 4/5 in Crocs.) Plus, although Crocs are comfy and kids seem to love them (I love them myself), I wanted to wait till they were much better walkers -- it seemed that with the loose fit and lack of any way to adjust them, they'd be harder for kids to walk in.

 

Thanks for the help! I'll definitely look into Preschoolians ... I didn't really mean "hard-soled" as much as less Robeez-looking if that makes sense, so Preschoolians would be great for them. I did find them some croc style shoes (Sketcher brand) that are very wide but still don't have enough room for the "girth" of their feet (thanks for the term, I couldn't think of it!). I'm off to check the Stride-Rite website now to print out a measuring guide since I'm here in Arkansas with DD and the kids this week so I can measure them tomorrow. I didn't know SR carried wide and extra-wide - thanks for that info, that's sure to help too.

You gals are awesome!


Edited to add:
Rachel, you're in big trouble!!!! I just checked out the Preschoolians website and they are so stinkin' cute!!! I found quite a few pair that "Grammy" just HAS to buy for her boys once I get the size info correct! (I'll just tell DH it's all YOUR FAULT when he gets the credit card bill, lol!!) Thank you!

 

I just wanted to say that I have bought the girls a few pair of the Preschoolians and loved them! The discount is great and the shoes are cute. Now that they are older, I haven't bought any, but I loved them for their first shoes.