First shoes?

[HeadFairy]

My ds is starting to walk, just a few steps at the moment but it won't be long.... it got me thinking I should buy him some shoes. I'm happy for him to be barefoot at home as it's easier for him to learn to walk like that but if we go out and he wants to walk in the park for example, with all the rain we're having he can't really go barefoot and his little suede softies don't really support his feet enough. Do I have to take him to a shoe shop to be fitted for his first shoes? Is that how it works? Or does it not matter at this stage?

[Lizzzombie]

I would go to a proper shoe shop to be fitted, as they do widths there too.
I waited until DS could confidently walk across the room before getting his 1st shoes. I was finding his soft shoes just disentigrate when worn more than once outside.

[HeadFairy]

Oh ok, thanks for that lizzzombie. It may be a good idea to wait then as I'm sure his feet will grow in the couple of weeks I think it'll take him to learn to walk across the room.

[Indith]

When you get them then yes you really must get him fitted properly.

If you took him to Clarks now thye would go on about the different stages of walking and most likely try to sell you cruising shoes (which are a load of rubbish and just a money spinner IMHO) so that they can then sell you proper shoes when he is walking well.

I would wait 2 or 3 weeks, the difference in his walking then will be amazing. Then take him to buy some shoes.

For playing in the park, realistically soft pram shoes etc will be fine for now, how much walking in the rain is he actually going to do?

[Lizzzombie]

My DS wore his first walkers from Clarkes for about 4 or 5 months before growing out of them. They are a bit more robust than the soft shoes, but sturdier enough to wear outside.

[HeadFairy]

No you're right, he doesn't really walk in the park much anyway. It was just the other day he was dead keen to have a little stagger pushing his pushchair (he uses it like a walker) but the ground was so boggy!

I didn't realise that about cruising shoes, thanks for the top tip. What kind of shoes do you usually buy for their first ones? Trainers or trainer type or something else? I haven't a clue what kind of shoes little boys wear other than trainers.

[Indith]

ds just has sturdy little trainer types. Before he was walking properly he just wore soft leather things (that someone kindly gave me, I don't think I would have spent the money otherwise!)

But yes watch out for them trying to sell you stuff if you go to Clarks etc. When we went and I got ds out of the pushchair he threw himself at the seats so the woman goes "well obviously he isn't walking properly yet he is just cruising round the furniture so what we have...." Yeah right.

[HeadFairy]

Thanks for that, I'll have a look on the clarks website. Considering how quickly ds has gone from crusing to first steps to several steps in a row there's no way we'll need cruising shoes. He'll be out of them in a week.

[stealthsquiggle]

I like the 'cruisers' or whatever they are called - the ones which go in the washing machine - they are fine to walk in, IMHO, and I found them tougher than the next range up - DD inherited DS's and they still look good as new after 2 lots of use (disclaimer - I did take DD and DS's old shoes to the (really good) shoe shop and get them to check the fit and they said they were absolutely fine)

[Lizzzombie]

Basically its important not to give them shoes which are too hard when they first start walking. The soles should be fully flexible, as their little feet are still growing. I would avoid trainers. DS (18mo) wears trainers now, but started off in clarkes first walkers, then clarkes doodles. I never had them try to sell me anything.

[HeadFairy]

Looking on the clarks website, are their (can't link it as it's a flash site) pre-walking shoes cruising shoes? They look a bit sturdier than the ones I was thinking of http://www.inch-blue.com/uk/product/starry-navy-baby-blue like these

[stealthsquiggle]

The pre-walking shoes are like the ones my DC had to start with, and they were both walking pretty well (and wanting to walk outside) before I got them shoes at all.

[HeadFairy]

oops I got that link wrong..

here it is again

[MummyAnnabella]

i got ds his forst shoes on sat from clarkes. they are cruisers as he isnt doing more than one or two steps and a lot of cruising.

he was properly measured and the shoes (cruisers) are so cute. they were £20 and i know i didnt have to get them but i too liked the ides that he can stand up in the garden etc even when wet. plus girl said they last 6/8 weeks and he can still wear when proper walking so long as they still fit.

in my opinion they are lighter than proper first shoes and so it is nice to get ds used to them on his feet before heavier proper first shoes.

[KazzaL]

My mum always made me & my sister wear Clarks shoes through school and we both have really straight feet & toes now with no bunions & corns etc, so I always vowed that my kids woudl be subjected to the same.

I got DS1 his first shoes at the end of jan when he was 9mths as he was struggling to crawl on our hardwood floors and kept slipping - Clarks do crawlers, cruisers and then walkers. Also i hoped it would help keep his socks on whenever we were out as he would find shoes harder to take off than the softies he had (no such luck he quickly worked out the velcro straps)

Although he could stand up he was nowhere near to crusing even as he could barely crawl and so we got the crawlers which have soft bottoms and sides with grippy bits on the fronts.

I've only just had to buy him a new pair last weekend as despite taking him religiously every 4 weeks for a refit his feet hadn't grown and so although he's been walking for a couple of months now, he's been in crawlers all this time and so has missed out cruisers and is now in walkers.

Again he tends to slip over easily on our hardwood floors if he is just wearing socks, which with this weather he needs to be, so he does wear his shoes quite a lot. But I do try to make sure he doesn't wear his shoes unless he needs to.

Another point to consider is that their feet get wider as they start walking, DS went from a F to a G fitting, so it may be worth waiting till your DS is walking a bit better

We've just bought DS wellies for when it's wet - he loves walking in them...

Finally sort out an overdraft before heading to Clarks - you'll need it

[HeadFairy]

Thanks for that Kazza. I'm slightly dreading the financial outlay I'm going to have to provide for shoes, but it's got to be done. I can feel a shopping trip coming on (after payday!)

[stealthsquiggle]

That reminds me - don't get velcro ones if you can possibly help it - lace-ups ideal, or buckles - the harder for LO to undo the better.

Look for sales as well - I think all DD's shoes so far have been bought in sales .

If you have other reasons to go there then there are also Clarks outlet shops in some outlet centres (Swindon, for example) - under 5's don't tend to care too much if their shoes are last season's style, thank goodness.

[HeadFairy]

Now that's a good idea stealth, I'm sure ds won't be too precious about wearing this years' shoes! I'll have to take a trip to Bicester.

[Lizzzombie]

Clarkes outlet store in Street, Somerset is fab. Literally half price & millions to choose from... But none in 5E, my ds's size!

Jones have a huge 70% sale on atm, and their doodles and startrite doodle styles are bout £7!

[HeadFairy]

A bit far for me Lizzzombie, but I'll have a look out for sales nearer. I do have a Clarks shop in my road, but I haven't ever looked in there, silly really.

[stealthsquiggle]

Lizzzombie could Street be considered to be 'on the way' back (to Midlands) from Cornwall, do you think? If so I think I may have a cunning plan for re-shoeing DC on the way home from hols (a few days after most schools go back as wekl, so hopefully it wouldn't be too crowded)

[calsworld]

I put my DS in Clarkes cruising shoes when he was quite small as he was at nursery and crawling round outside alot and the soft shoes he had just weren't up to it. He ended up staying in them for ages, even though we kept going back to get them checked, they just said, yep, they still fit. Was beginning to wonder if DS had some sort of growth problem (we're talking three months here!) when the girl actually took his shoes off, rather than just check the fit and measured his feet. His feet had grown, albeit slowly but because shoes were well worn in the shoes just stretched with his feet!

I deliberately chose velcro shoes for him as he loves to practice taking them off, and is now trying to put them on again, and see this as part of learning skills.

Totally OT, I can't wait till he can put his own t-shirts on so that we don't have a panic if he doesn't IMMEDIATELY get his arm into the sleeve .

[Lizzzombie]

I think Street, is most definately on the way back to the midlands from Cornwall! There is one massive clarkes outlet shop in the shopping village, and one full priced one. Then on Street high st, (which you can walk through to from the shopping village) there is another outlet shop which has tons of clarkes shoes, its called Crocs, I think. Or Croclets, or something like that.
There is a FAB Next sale shop there too. I got t-shirts for £2 and dresses for £5!!! There is an adventure playground place for the kids. But, the food places in there are gross and overpriced. Enjoy your shopping trip!

[HeadFairy]

aw bless calsworld. Ds is the same, he gets all panicky if I don't slip his teeshirt on in one swift move.

[BambiBaby]

The highstreet store in Street is Crockers Lizzzombie, and I agree with you about the outlet store. The staff seem to be mainly surly teenagers, but the shoes have such big discounts, it's worth it.

[monkoray]

does anyone know what damage it would actually do to a child's feet to use trainers rather than clarks. My DS's feet are growing so fast he's already grown out of his first clarks walkers that i bought 2 weeks ago. I really can't afford £30 every fortnight. We have a Nike outlet store near us and they do trainers for £10 which seem to fit really well and my DS walks better in them than the clarks, but i'm worried i might be damaging his feet for the future.