shoes for pre and early walkers

Hi, I have one son who is walking and another who is still cruising. I have never bought shoes for them! Can you recommend a brand or store that won't cost a fortune? I had them sized at Payless and they both wear a 4.5. I didn't like any of the Payless shoes because they were all hard bottom and I know they shouldn't be wearing those yet.

Thanks!

 

We bought Robeez for both of the boys when they first started cruising. I think you can get a knock off pair at Target too.

 

I believe the concensus is no shoes is best until they are adept at walking. Mine don't wear any shoes at home. I have Robeez for when they go out (primarily for warmth and keeping the socks on), but those are kind of pricey. But you can often find gently used ones in consignment shops and Target has a good knock-off of them. My experience has been that the Target shoes run a bit big, but otherwise I think they're just as good as the Robeez.

 

lol, stop typing to take a kid to the potty and someone sneaks in a post identical to yours. Sooo... What Rachel said! :laughing:

 

:blbl: Keep up would ya!

 

I couldn't get my two to keep any shoes on, including Robeez, until I found these Bical Grippers things. They look kind of like water shoes attached to a sock but they were easy, not hard soled, and the kids had a harder time getting them off (still could remove them, but just took longer and they would lose interest sometimes). They have a knock off of those at Target that are pretty good too. Mine had a hard time with shoes because they never wore them until recently when they want to walk around and play outside all the time so we eventually did get them some little running shoes that tie and are pretty clunky because they will keep them on and like stomping around in them. I got those at the consignment sale - some people don't like to buy used shoes (which I understand), but I could get a better shoe for them that was really gently used than I could have bought full-price!

 

We use the Target Robeez knock offs and like them a lot. They are very easy to put on and they stay on. At home they often just wear socks.

 

We also found the Target Robeez knockoffs to be just as good as the real thing (we had a pair of each). I also bought a pair of See Kai Runs for Sarah because they had to have "hard soled shoes" for daycare starting at 13 months, but she wasn't even walking yet, and those were the softest hard soled shoes I could find. They were kind of expensive, though, and they fell off all the time. <_<

Amy was already walking at that age and I bought her some leather shoes at Target -- $12 and they were totally fine. I've had very mixed success with Target shoes (both the Circo brand and the Osh Kosh ones) -- some seem fine and some just fall apart. It's a cr@pshoot.

I also buy used shoes. I'm not paying $50 and up for my kids' shoes, but you can sometimes get the really high-end ones for $10-20 used, and they're barely even worn.

 

We used the Robeez as well and got most of them from twin group sales, which a lot of them run in the spring so keep an eye out GL!

 

When Jake started walking (late - around 16 months) he hated shoes on his feet. But he needed SOMETHING when we went out, or when he was walking outside, so we bought him Pediped's. He wore those until they were falling apart. It really was a great 'introduction' shoe to him, as he was more receptive to a regular shoe after those.

 

I like those moccasin like shoes too--Target and Robeez. I got them Robeez tredz for outdoors; those shoes were great, but little did I know how much of a great deal I got--$15. Those suckers are usually pretty daggone expensive.

 

We used the robeez or Target knockoffs in the early stages of walking. Once they were pretty stable, I put them in Pedipeds for outdoors. They're super soft but more cushioned on the bottom, very flexible. They're recommended by pediatricians. Eventually around 20-22 months or so I started getting them in See Kai Runs and you can sometimes buy used ones on ebay for a good deal. Pedipeds were my fave though and they come in size 0 to 24 months.

 

We had some soft Robeez-type slippers before my guys started walking, but once they were on their feet we bought THESE and THESE from Target.

My guys' feet must grow really slowly because we bought them in a size 4 when they hit 1 year, and they're still wearing them. :blink: They're getting a little tight so we'll retire them soon. But they've held up really well, and have a nice thin and flexible rubber sole for early walkers.

 

My girls have been walking for about 3 months now. They learned in their bare feet and still around the house are just in their socks. For church and other dressy occasions, I bought two pairs of mary jane type Stride Rite shoes from a consignment sale. For their birthdays they were given Squeaky Street Shoes, which they love and they stay on well and can walk very well in them. They have a pair of very soft soled tennis shoes from BRU that work well for walking outside. I've also heard good things about Preschoolians and if you email them a picture of your twins, they'll send you a discount code for 40% off. I just received my discount code and plan to buy some shoes there soon.

 

I'm really scared about what we are going to do next with shoes.
We have been loving our gentlyused-ebay Robeez & these guys figured out
how to take off their Carters shoes within 15 minutes playing with the velco.

Thank you for starting this post.

 

We never used shoes inside... they do better barefoot. For outside we did robeez until 15 months or so (they didn't keep any knock off on), then stride rite (I get them at the outlet or on sale, but I think good shoes are important at this age). Honestly last Summer half the time they just went out barefoot, DD wasn't walking yet and would have a meltdown if we let DS walk, so we almost never did. The first 4 months of Fall/Winter they were taking their shoes off all the time in the car and driving me crazy, DD got over it eventually though and DS now keeps them on half the time in the car, so I guess there is some improvement... but yeah, sticking to Stride Rite, mostly because I like that they measure their feet, so I know what size and what width they need (I'd never have guessed that DS needed extra-wide shoes otherwise).

 

We go barefoot or with socks in the house, but I just buy cheap shoes from walmart or target for when we go places. I can't see spending a small fortune on shoes they are going to outgrow within months! They don't do a whole lot of walking when we go out, it's more to keep their feet warm than anything else, oh and to keep their socks on, they like to pull them off in the truck! :lol:

 

I have found the best shoes at Striderite. They are pricey, but they tend to last the longest. And I ALWAYS buy during a buy one get one 1/2 off sale. Luckily for me Isabella is a 1/2 size larger than Sophia, so when it's time to move up I only have to buy one pair!!! Compared to other shoe's I've purchased for them these seem to be the most comfortable. They are very soft and REALLY cute!!

Oh I also have a Striderite Outlet store near me and I get REALLY good deals there!

 

Thanks everyone. I decided to get pedipeds and the boys are okay with them so far. Michael (my walker) has adjusted well, but Ryan pulls at them like they're uncomfortable. I wanted something more substantial than robeez for playgrounds, but didn't want hard bottom shoes either. They were $30/pair at BBB, but I used a store credit so I don't feel so bad about spending the money. I hope by the time they're wearing hard bottom shoes I can find something I like at Payless or Marshalls.

 

try STRIDE RITE outlet store if you have one. got fitted and they only cost me $19.99 each pair! super cute too! good luck!