Shoes

Do I have to get those white shoes for my kids when they start walking? Or can I get something else? I have heard those little white shoes (you know the ones we all wore growing up) are good support for their feet and ankles. I just HATE the way they look!!! What are my options? I want something supportive....yet fashionable!

 

Oh my goodness......there are sooooooo many options!! I've looked at a lot of shoes, since my dd has had some gross motor problems I wanted to have good shoes for her when she started to walk. I talked to her therapist last week about it, and what she actually told me was you don't have to spend a lot of money for the fancy shoes. The most important thing, she said, is that they fit well. She told me what to look for with dd's shoes & said just to look at Payless. And unless they're going outside, really the best thing while learning to walk is just to be barefoot.

Still, I have a dd who's completely obsessed with shoes (I know, already!!) ..... and I have to admit, they just look so darn cute! A couple brands that I've looked at are:

Pediped
See Kai Run - very cute styles for boys this fall!!
Stride Right

Those would probably be my favorites. DS started off with some Robeez, but he quickly outgrew the use he got outside. In any pair you get, just bend them a little & see if they're flexible. You don't want something super stiff.

 

We used Robeez style shoes pre-walking, and Stride Rite as their first pair of official walking shoes. I know that Stride Rite does make those basic white style shoes, but they have many, many other (cuter) options.

 

Mine have some really snazzy Stride Rite sneakers right now. They look absolutely nothing like the clunkers I wore as a toddler. In fact, you want flexible and as close to bare feet as possible for new walkers. The current theory is to allow the foot and ankle to exercise, not "support it" by bracing with a stiff shoe.

I bought my boys' sneakers from Amazon (<$17 on sale). I had them try on some shoes at Payless and Target but they walked funny in everything they tried on which told me the shoes were too stiff. Most of them were also too wide for their skinny little feet. In their Stride Rites, they walk & run as well as they do without shoes and a medium width from them is really a medium width.

 

We wore robeez until now.. now we use the Stride Rite Cruisers (I like them better than the walkers!)

 

Ditto on the sooo many options. My boys wore crocs all summer and they are now wearing some Stride Rites, Buster Brown's and a pair of Sketchers. Even after they started walking we stayed mostly in Robeez since it was a while after they started walking that they were really stable enough to be roaming around outside (without a parent per kid) happy shopping!

 

The current wisdom is that "supportive" shoes are actually not good. Bare feet are best, or if it's cold, nonskid slippers or Robeez, or very flexible shoes for outside. People seem to like Pedipeds a lot.

I actually bought my girls' shoes at Target for the first several months of walking, which is not really recommended, but no one makes high-end shoes for walkers in a size 2-3. Once they were a size 4, I could switch to something better.

 

Our ped told us that they no longer recommend those shoes. They are not necessary. He said to just make sure it's a comfortable/flexible shoes. I put them in pretty much anything (usually sneakers) that seems comfortable for them. I have bought shoes at payless, target, and stride rite.