To not get their shoes properly fitted?

[deemented]

Am planning on a trip to a local retail village at the end of the month, before DS starts school as they have a clarks retail outlet where i can buy decent shoes at discount prices.

TBH though, the thought of dragging round a whiny five year old, a whingey two year old and a seven months old, as well as the Manshapes mother fills me with utter dread, especially as she wants to make it an all say outing.

I had thought i might take the older two to clarks in town and get them measured the day before i go, then perhaps i wouldn't need them to be there - they could spend the day then with their Ganga (who has offered to babysit) having fun whilst i get to mooch around relatively stress free, but am unsure if i should have them there to have fit checked ect.

So AIBU in buying their shoes without having them properly fitted?

slight tangent here but why isn't the same consideration given to grown-ups feet? the shop properly measures your feet and they go into the store room where they have every size and width imaginable and you are given comfy shoes that fit your feet. instead grown ups have a vague sizing system and we all end up with hard skin corns and blisters. if i got 5 people with size 5 feet they would all be completely different but they have to squeeze into too narrow shoes or trip about it ones that are to wide. we are very rarely given more than one option.

I took my kids to get their feet measured on Saturday. Apart from the general nightmare the fitting was rubbish. She said my son was a 9, when he can't get his feet into the size 9s he has. My daughters , she said one of them was a size 3.5 - I pointed out her sandals were a 4 and her toes were almost over the edge, and the other, who has bigger feet (they are twins) she measured as a 3!

From now on I'll just check they fit myself.

I agree that you can't check the fit without trying them on, but IMHO you don't need a shop "expert" to do it for you, as it's mostly common sense. Startrite have a video on their site about how to check the fit if you're not sure.

I haven't always been impressed with the fittings dd has had. I do it myself now but she is older than your two

maighdlin, Grown ups are considered able to tell if a shoe fits them or not. With children, the shop has a duty to ensure the shoe will last a certain amount of time and therefore fit with the appropriate growing room. The fit makes sure that when the widest part of the foot moves down the shoe, there won't be any problems. Also, their feet are developing and growing. I think it isn't so much extra consideration as a different type of warranty. Is it obvious I used to work in a shoe shop? (not clarks)!

Can you imagine how happy an adult would be if every time they tried to buy a pointy shoe or a high heel they were not allowed on health grounds!