how important are shoes?

My babies' (toddlers'!!!) first shoes were cheapies from Target, and they're falling apart at the seams. I need to get them some new shoes.

Does it matter if you get them cheap shoes, or is there really a big difference with Stride Rite and stuff like that? I know their feet are still developing, just don't know how critical it is to have high-quality shoes.

In case it matters, they're in shoes maybe 2-3 hrs a day max - the rest of the time, they're barefoot or in socks.

 

I prefer Stride Rite for their everyday sneakers because you can get the appropriate width. We have an outlet near us, so I usally pay $20 or less per pair. I've noticed that some of the cheapies at Target and Wal-Mart cut into the tops of their feet. But...some of their Mary Jane's have come from Payless because their wide shoe is good for them.

 

I like Stride Rite too because of the width. My guys have extra wide feet and Stride Rite is the only store that carries them. I also think that they last a long time so the quality is worth it. Can you go to an outlet? The shoes are half price there!

 

I do Target or Walmart without issue and have since they outgrew the $45 stride rites 3 mos after we bought them! they've NEVER had a pair of shoes over $15!

 

All summer my girls wore sandles from Target and they were just fine. Now that the weather is turning colder, I got them fall shoes at the Stride Rite outlet... mostly because M's feet are wide and target doesn't carry wides (at least I didn't see any in size 4). FWIW, at the outlet I paid $12.95 for M's pair, and $25 for A's (both originally $45) so if you have an outlet near you it might be worth the trip.

 

DH and I both grew up in cheap shoes and have problems with our feet. His podiatrist gave him some tips for shoe shopping for the girls when they were about 1 yo. Most StrideRite shoes passed all the tests as did a few other of the higher end shoes-can't recall names but looked at them at Nordstrom. The "cheapies" we checked at Target and WalMart didn't bend in the right place on the sole. We hit the StrideRite outlet for shoes to save money but do feel better having the girls wear leather shoes(I can't stand man-made materials on the uppers in my shoes) that meet the podiatrists tips. She later mentioned to DH that StrideRite is what she puts on her kiddos.

 

For us it depends.

My kiddos aren't in shoes a ton during the late spring/summer/early fall. So they did get cheapie sneaks this summer (canvas) and I found them leather sandals for $12 each at Burlington Coat Factory. I won't get them enclosed man-made only shoes, I think tootsies need to breathe (as I lament the end of birk weather for me )! This winter I'm probably going to spring for another pair of striderites (had some last winter/spring) just because they will be wearing shoes more during the winter and they are more substantial and seemed really comfy for the girls. I just got cranky at the outlet place near us and didn't shop there this summer

 

There is not a medical reason to where shoes when a toddler first begins to walk other than for inclement weather or protecting their feet. So buy the cheap shoes, they grow out of them way too fast anyway! Here's a link to info I found on the subject

 

I think it's most important that the soles are flexible, and that they bend where the ball of the foot hits, NOT in the middle, as most cheap shoes do. But, I've found shoes at Target and even Payless that meet these criteria...

I usually buy cheap for dress-up shoes and sandals and such that are only going to be worn occasionally, and will splurge on Stride Rite for one main pair of everyday shoes.

 

QUOTE(Becca34 @ Oct 17 2008, 09:44 PM) [snapback]1031174[/snapback]
I usually buy cheap for dress-up shoes and sandals and such that are only going to be worn occasionally, and will splurge on Stride Rite for one main pair of everyday shoes.


I'm with Becca on this... also, Jackson's foot is HUGE so it works pretty well in that I only have to buy one pair of each size because Jacob (with normal-sized feet) can take Jack's hand-me-downs. When you're done with your Stride Rites, there is a market for them on eBay as well, if you are into that.

 

I learned about what makes a good kids' shoe and then went and looked. I was appalled by what I found -- there are a lot of bad shoes out there! If there were good shoes at the cheap places where I looked, they didn't have any in the size we needed or weren't sized as marked ("medium" width is apparently subjective in toddler shoes). The Stride Rite shoes we've gotten have outlasted the duration that they fit and every pair has been accurate for sizing and flexible in the correct location. I'd balk at spending $50/pair also; I buy them on mega-sale. T&T generally wear "any season" sneakers so I buy the next size up when I find a good sale rather than waiting until I NEED to find new shoes for them. My system so far has kept them in SR shoes for under $20/pair... right now they have some brown dressy shoes that are built to be played in and basic white sneakers and I paid $25/kid for BOTH pairs. I have their next size sitting in the closet and paid $19/pair for those but they are fancy Superball sneakers and the boys can't wait to grow into them. I know the shoes are comfortable because they're old enough to tell me if a shoe feels funny or hurts their foot (and they do... they complained about the cowboy boots that were outgrown 1/2 size sooner than marked and are now in the Goodwill bag).

 

DD is my early walker (started at 11 months) and now that it's colder I bought her a cheapie pair of shoes from JcPenney. She struggled and struggled to walk in them, I thought it was just b/c she needed to get used to walking in shoes. Finally I took her to Stride Rite and they fit her in a walking shoe and it made ALL the difference in the world, she is as steady in the Stride Rite shoes as she is barefoot. I am super cheap and hated to part with the $$$ but it was worth it and hopefully the shoes will last until Spring. Maybe once they are better walkers it won't matter so much but for now Stride Rite it is.

 

We spent over $100 including tax on Stride Rites for T &E. I think they are terrible. E trips in them all the time and when wearing any other shoe she can run. Today at Payless we got them champions (which come in Wide Width for T) and they were running and playing in the quite well. My total bill was $34. I was very happy.

E started walking at 10.5 months and T at 12, so I really dont think the issues walking in the Stride Rites is because they dont walk well. I truly think they didnt fit right. Even now I think E's are too big for her and she has had them for 3 months.

 

I'm not sure it matters a TON. I've had lots of varieties of kids shoes (everything from Kmart to Stride Rite) and they've all been fine on my boys, especially since they get new ones so frequently anyhow. The one exception was my son Drew. He received PT for low tone and he was a very late walker. When he did walk pushing a walker toy, his foot and ankle turned in. The therapist insisted that he needed some high top leather new walker shoes from Stride Rite for him. We bought them ($45.00!!!!!), and they really did help him learn to walk properly by holding his ankle and foot in the proper position. I'm still not convinced, though, that it's necessecary for all babies!

Jake does currently have Stride Rites, but that's because I found some in his size at Ross dress for less for only $11.99. I'm going to scope out that store each week or so and buy them in subsequent sizes when I find them there. Marshalls, TJ Maxx, and Ross are all places to find last seasons Stride Rites for a great price! I've also found Nike's, Merrill's, Teva's, and Adidas shoes for my boys at these stores.

 

I bought some leather soft sole shoes from someone on TS for our girls. This is what they were: http://www.overstock.com/Baby/Happy-Kids-C...39/product.html

They were great because they protected their feet and were really nothing more then like socks. They even wore them outside.

I was impatient this round and didn't purchase them second hand or offline. Instead I bought these, which are very similiar but look more like shoes, Pediped:

http://www.pediped.com/Home/Home.aspx