Hand me down shoes for siblings?

[faithfulbird20]

Does anyone not keep hand me down shoes for siblings especially if they have a 4 year age gap? It's said that hand me down shoes have already moulded to the previous wearers feet and thus damage the next wearers feet...not sure how true this is. But my 4 year has worn wellies on and off for a year and a bit of the print of the sole has come off (there's black marks inside the shoes too)...no point keeping them but DH wants to keep everything for baby...

[YouCantBeSadHoldingACupcake]

Wellies yes, they don't get worn much anyway. Trainers get handed down as PE trainers, they get new ones for general wear. School shoes never, mainly because they are worn the most and get trashed.

[OverByYer]

I never handed down shoes as they would have been well worn, but did with wellies and sometimes football boots

[Mamamamasaurus]

Hammy downs are fine but I draw the line at shoes - apart from Wellies, crocs or emergency trainers to leg it to asda and back.

[amgine]

Keep wellies, waking boots, crocs and sometimes trainers that haven’t worn out.
Also I buy secondhand walking boots and trainers off eBay. You can get some good quality stuff at a bargain still (2 pairs of good walking boots, barely worn for less than 1 pair new).

[ThreeFeetTall]

What do people mean here when they say 'fitted' shoes? I measure my kids feet and get them the correct size/width shoe. Is there something else I'm missing?

[UntilYourNextHairBrainedScheme]

ThreeFeetTall I think they just mean shoes which need to fit properly/ which shape to the wearer's foot somewhat over time. Anything except wellies/ croc type plastic shoes/ clogs / water shoes really.

[neededafart]

Welllys/sliders/slippers. Yes.

Anything Else - no.

[Thepurpleturtle]

I have no issues with 2nd hand shoes but I am very particular and they must be in excellent condition ie only worn once or twice. There are loads of Facebook eBay or Vinted that are brand new or as good as new. Wouldn’t use well worn second hand shoes though.
Wellies / Crocs I am less fussy about

[Skyeheather]

@ThreeFeetTall

What do people mean here when they say 'fitted' shoes? I measure my kids feet and get them the correct size/width shoe. Is there something else I'm missing?

I think people mean shoes like Clark's where feet are properly measured in store and come in different widths?

Both my boys are a G fitting so no issues with the younger one wearing his older brothers shoes.

[astoundedgoat]

My house is TINY so I wouldn't be storing stuff like wellies for 4 years. I have two girls close in age, and child 2 inherits a lot of child 1's clothes, and some shoes/boots, but it's handy for us.

For the sake of putting something away where I'll REMEMBER I had it put away for 4 years for the sake of saving £15? Nope.

[MarmaladeToastAndAMarmaladeCat]

I use hand me down everything for Ds2 but the one thing I make sure he has brand new is shoes because I don’t want to cause him any problems with shoes that aren’t moulded to his feet. I do keep wellies though.

[Thepurpleturtle]

I try to employ common sense: clearly if a child always wears very worn down shoes from another child their feet could be affected.

But if the shoes have been worn once or twice and are pretty much as new, or if we’re talking about party shoes or Crocs that are not worn for long periods I struggle to see the issue.

[BertieBotts]

This is a very British idea that shoes mould to feet and can't possibly be worn by any other child!

I always assumed it was true as I was always told so but I think it was simply very clever marketing from Clarks. When I moved abroad people are passing shoes around like crazy in our little parenting expat group - all nationalities, American, German, French, Portuguese, Malay, etc etc. It's only the British families who worry about it :o

[AudTheDeepMinded]

Wellies and trainers (if not too knackered) all passed along. I have three DS and they have an older male cousin who passes down shoes. I am myself in fact wearing some rather fetching timberland boots today that were his, and were barely worn! School shoes tend to have been too heavily worn, but occasionally, after a growth spurt, will be in good enough nick to be passed down.

[TeenMinusTests]

I passed down wellies, party shoes and waterproof shoes.

Trainers & school shoes properly fitted and new.

[5thnonblonde]

@BertieBotts this and the god like worship of Clark’s! Both DD’s have grown up with supermarket shoes and have perfectly healthy feet and great posture. Surely if Clark’s fitting was so important you’d have to make a special trip for trainers or any shoes where they’ll be exerting themselves...

[Hen2018]

Never.

No second hand shoes here and we live on the breadline.

[RandomUsernameHere]

Wellies, crocs and football boots get handed down (DD is not massively keen on football anyway so she really doesn't mind). School shoes and their main trainers I don't pass down, but keep trainers as spares just in case.

[Keiki]

Fitted shoes : their feet are different shapes so regardless of age gap or gender stereotyped shoe they wouldn't be kept. I've ebayed the non trashed ones though.

[ThreeFeetTall]

@Skyeheather thanks, that makes sense.

I was rather put off Clarkes when I went in to get my kids feet measured and the young uninterested staff member did exactly the same thing I would do at home with the plastic shoe measurer. Spoilt the mystery I seemed to remember from my own childhood

[ParkheadParadise]

No, I had a 23 year age gap between my dd's.
When I had dd2 (5) I was obsessed with shoes and trainers for her 😂😂
I gave all of my Lelli kelly, nike, vans to my niece for her kids after dd grew out of them.

[JoborPlay]

Wellies and 'occasion' shoes (i.e those that have been worn a handful of times) I keep or get off friends. Day to day shoes are new per child, professionally fitted. Literally everything else they wear is second hand!

[elbea]

I think it depends on the shoe, I was pretty set on no second hand shoes but just found an immaculate Clark’s pair for a couple of pounds at our local charity shop for my one year old. I’ve had a good look and feel inside and can’t feel any moulding. Fine for two mornings a week at nursery I think!

[BertieBotts]

We did used to get trainers from Clarks when I was young.

The problem with Clarks is they just aren't that good these days. I think they were once really knowledgeable and helpful, but now their staff are poorly trained and there are better places to go for a proper fitting if you want that. Or you can avoid it altogether if you don't.

[mathanxiety]

I handed down everything that was still in one piece, even if well worn. There were a few pairs of toddler Nike sneakers that all five wore, winter boots of all sizes, school sneakers and shoes. We don't have Clark's here, and there's no faffing about with fitting.

Nobody has foot problems (DCs now aged 20-31).