shoes

My girls are getting close to walking so the physical therapist wanted us to get them some firm soled shoes. When your kids started wearing shoes, did you designate shoes for each child, or did the kids end up sharing the two pairs of shoes?

On a slightly different topic, buying shoes was a pain. We live in rural MN, so options are very limited. The girls are small, so they are wearing size one at 14 months. Trying to find a reasonably priced pair of shoes in infant size one was challenging. There was no way to get two pairs the same and since I only found two pairs of girls shoes in size one, I didn't exactly have options. And (this is the part that bugs me the most) the only shoes I could find had stupid cartoon characters on them. I tried looking online, but it seems like shoe sizes start at size 4 most places. Grrrr....

 

Mine have always shared shoes .. they have the same size foot, although Jesse can get away with a half a size larger than Jayden .. but I only do that if I cant find 2 the same size.
If your looking for GOOD shoes .. I recommend Stride Rite .. thats where I got my boys first walking shoes and was very happy with them. Plus they have TONS of sizes.

 

It's funny because when my girls started walking the ped told me to put them in soft shoes and let them be barefoot whenever possible. We started out with Robeeze or knock off Robeeze like the brand that Target carries (which is half the price). At that point, they were sharing shoes and were more or less the same size but as they got into regular shoes, we never let them share shoes. Arwen had much chunkier feet than Lorien and ever since they entered about size 3, they have been different sizes. Lorien has always been at least one full size bigger and Arwen still has a wider foot. I think with regular shoes, it's better for them not to share if possible because they have different shaped feet and may stress different parts of the foot when they walk/run so the shoes become molded to the child's particular style of walking. I was told by the shoe salesman that their feet grow and develop differently and it's not really a great idea for them to share shoes, especially when it's a shoe that they may wear on a regular basis but for us it doesn't matter anyway because as I said, their feet are completely different.

 

I buy two of the same pair of shoes and they end up sharing them. They don't have their own designated pair. If they wore different sizes then I would have to do that, but so far that is not a problem here.

When my girls first started walking they could not walk in hard soled shoes, so I got them pedipeds. They worked Great!! They do not go off of standard sizes, but in age ranges (i.e. 6-12months, 12-18months etc...) I ordered them online. Just recently we switched to hard soled shoes, but my girls have been walking for several months now.

Good Luck Shoe Hunting!

 

QUOTE(double-or-nothing @ Feb 24 2009, 07:36 PM) [snapback]1203968[/snapback]
It's funny because when my girls started walking the ped told me to put them in soft shoes and let them be barefoot whenever possible.


I think that's probably true for kids who don't need physical therapy services. My girls tend to try to walk on their toes, so that's why the PT wants them in firm shoes.

 

I would try to find a Stride Rite, they will fit them properly, and it is worth the trip to one, especially since they have PT issues. Mine have never shared shoes--partially because they have always been different sizes, but even if they were the same size, I wouldn't let them share. Like a PPer said, they will wear their shoes differently, and especially with toe walking issues, you want the shoes to be consistant for each child.

 

I agree-- Stride Rite is great. Their shoes are very sturdy and high-quality. My boys are a full size apart, so they always have their own separate pairs.

 

My girls are in the same size shoe, but they don't share for the same reason that other posters cited. We have always bought them the same style of shoes. When we have the option of two equally cute but different colored shoes, we get the same shoes in different colors. But when there aren't two good color options or when the girls insist on the same color of shoe, we just buy two pairs of the same color and put one of those shoe label stickers in the bottom of the shoe with their first initials written on it. There are times that the shoes get mixed up and the girls are wearing one or two of the other kid's shoes, but mostly they just wear their own.

 

I agree that if good shoes are that important to their walking skills, go to a place that sells and FITS Stride Rite shoes. Had I tried to buy shoes for the boys myself, I am 100% certain that I would have bought them the incorrect size. In fact, B first wore a 5.5XW, and J a 5W. Looking at their feet, I don't think they look wide at all, so I know I would have ended up squeezing them in regular widths. :blush: Also, for us, we just buy one pair of shoes- and that's it. No separate dress shoes, tennis shoes, etc... They have one pair and that's what they wear. So it makes it a little easier paying so much, since that's all they wear. (Though come summer, I'll probably try to find some relatively inexpensive sandals.)

IMO, I feel that it's best to ensure they have their OWN shoes. THink about it, when you get a pair of sneakers, after wearing them awhile, they really conform to your foot, so I'd be afraid they would fit as well if they were swapping. Of course, mine wear different sizes, so it's not an option here.

 

I recommend Stride Rite also. My boys needed shoes for the beach so we looked everywhere. NO one had shoes small enough for them. They were a size 1(I thought) but we had only bought soft soled shoes before this. We got them fitted at the Stride Rite outlet store. They were actually between a 1 and a 2. So we bought the 2 and we found them on sale! I know how frustrating it is to find small sized shoes. We share shoes here. That is if I can get them to keep the shoes on. LOL

 

If you want to keep the separate you can get shoe labels. We have them on almost every pair of shoes they own. It makes it easier when they go to preschool or at the gym daycare. You can get them at Stuckonyou.

 

robeez has really good online sales. so far, that's all we've worn (for the whole month that we've been walking, lol). i read in a few books taht shows conform to the wearer so they should not be shared. so, so far we have not. then again, i never thought they'd be sharing bottles, eating utensils and the like. sometimes they take these things upon themselves!.

good luck, jl

 

You should go have them sized to be sure you're buying the correct size if you haven't already done so. There aren't many hard-soled shoes for prewalkers because as a PP mentioned, the typical recommendation for babies is soft & flexible. So, I'd contact the PT and ask if there is a brand recommended for your specific use.

I shop online and use sites like Amazon where I can limit the displayed items to only those offered in their size. They also have some terrific sales. I skimmed and saw several popular sneaker brands with rubber soles in tiny sizes... many of which did not have characters.

 

Yet another suggestion to have them each have their own shoes, for all the reasons that have already been stated. We have ended up with the same exact pair for both boys a couple of times, and we just used a permanent sharpie marker to mark their initials on the bottom. It's worked just fine to keep them separate.

 

We've been sharing this newest set of shoes, but I think we'll stop. I've just been lazy and just grab whatever one I get first and put it on the nearest kid. It may be worth a drive to a bigger city just for some good shoe shopping! Once you know the proper size you'll be able to shop online. We had the opposite problem with my boys' feet. They were too big for the supportive "first walker" shoes and I had to search for some with more ankle support.

 

For there first pair of good shoes I agree with everyone else have them sized especially since they are getting pt since you want them to have a certain shoe. My girls have never shared shoes. I have one who is flat footed so she always wore out her shoes differently than her sister. I tried buying them the same shoes but it just got annoying when it was time to put them on since I always had to check sizes first (they were in slightly different size shoes). When I got them different shoes but somewhat similar it was so much easier just being able to grab a shoe and know which child it belonged to (so if I was holding one to put shoes on for I knew what shoes to grab so it went quicker and they didn't squirm as much to get away). Now they pick out their own shoes and I agree with you I hate character shoes and they aren't aloud to pick those out. Sometimes it's hard not to find characters on them (atleast where I shop for shoes).

 

My girls are often in the same size, so we share shoes here.

 

We share everything. Nothing is just for one of them so we share shoes too!

 

QUOTE(Beth*J @ Feb 24 2009, 08:47 PM) [snapback]1203992[/snapback]
I think that's probably true for kids who don't need physical therapy services. My girls tend to try to walk on their toes, so that's why the PT wants them in firm shoes.


Ahhh, got ya. :good: Sorry, didn't realize that. GL

 

When my girls wore the same size, they shared shoes. However they quickly developed a preference for one pair over the other and would go get 'their' pair of shoes. Thankfully they agreed on who had which pair.

 

I also use the Stuck On You stickers to differentiate between shoes. Aiden is a 1/2 to 1 size bigger than Conner now, so we differentiate that way. Other styles (different brands run differently) they just share. I never thought about conforming to your feet...I may start designating 1 shoe to 1 child.

I know people have mentioned Robeez & I want to second them. If you need a firmer shoe, we got Robeez Tredz for when the boys were FIRST walking & we needed shoes for outside (we also loved our Pedipeds, but those weren't firm). You can find them in various places.

We just bought Stride Rite for our summer shoes & it was nice to actually get them measured. Some websites have printouts so you can measure accurately & still order online, since I know you mentioned you're in a rural area. I just ordered a bunch of sandals online from Kohls, but I can just return the ones that don't fit to our local store.

One last suggestion...Payless. The boys' first pair of 'real' shoes was from there...they were Champion brand & hard soled but I think they were a size 3. I've seen smaller sizes there, though.

Like others have said, I'd ask your PT. I'm sure you're going to have some difficulty due to the huge 'soft soled shoes for early walkers' suggestions out there, so good luck!

 

I always get them their own shoes -- it just makes it much easier if we all know whose are whose, even if they wear the same size. If I'm buying them the same type of shoe, I buy different colors. The only one who forgets whose are whose is DH. :ibiggrin: For some reason it's just always easy for me to remember, even though they each have like 7 pairs of shoes by this point....

I had the same problem with very small feet (mine were a size 2 and size 3 at 12 months, when they needed hard-soled shoes for daycare), and I wound up buying their first shoes at Target. They were in the "pre-walker" section, but no different from the "toddler" shoes that I could see. We love the Merrell shoes for toddlers, but they start at size 4.

 

I always kept shoes seperate and put an initial on the bottom of the shoe or inside on the tag to keep them straight.

 

I was always taught that you don't share/hand down shoes (except maybe wellie boots). The main reason being, as others have said, that each person will wear their shoes down a different way. It really is not hard to keep track of which shoes belong to who-if you have identical shoes then just mark them with a sticker/permanent pen. My big girls were not in the same size shoe for very long so we could tell them apart on the sizes.

 

my girls have been about 1/2 size difference. we "color in" the inside tag on the tongue of the shoe. purple for syd. pink for sam. they quickly know who's shoes are shoes and now can even put them on themselves. you don't have to buy shoe labels. we just use sharpies.

 

I am guilty mine share. They want the same shoes all the time and I never bothered to mark whose was whose so whichever ones are a pair and close go on that kid. They dont care, maybe since they both wear them it molds to both their feet!!! plus they only wear shoes when we leave the house and that is not all that often anyway...