Not to buy 11mo DD any shoes yet?

[stressheaderic]

Need some opinions here.

DD is 1 this month. She is not walking, but taking a few wobbly supported steps and standing up alone for second or two. She is slight of build and only 17lb in weight.

Shoes hadn't really entered my head yet - we have thick carpet throughout our house and she is happy crawling and pulling up on that. We haven't tried any practice walking outside yet as its still cold out.

2 of my friends with DC the same age have been to Clarks, had the fitting done and bought 'cruiser' shoes - which the DC wear every time I see them, a few times per week, inside the home, in the pushchair, etc. Even at a party the other day when everyone there was shoeless, including the adults, the child had shoes on and one was put back on promptly when it fell off. They have asked me have I not thought about shoes yet, and even tried the shoes on my DD's feet, saying 'see, they fit, she's ready, she likes them'.

OK, DD does look a bit daft going out in coat, scarf, hat, mittens and then just socks but I still don't think she's ready. She is in a footmuff in the pushchair so I know her feet aren't cold.

When did your DC first wear shoes? Is there any evidence to support not wearing shoes just yet, in terms of bones growing etc? Or an I just being a mean (and slightly tight) mum?

DD is 13 months now and sounds similar to your DD with how well she can walk, OP.

She goes barefoot at home, or in rubber soled socks, and she wears those same socks in her pushchair.

Would not occur to me to get shoes yet. I am hoping to leave them until the weather picks up a bit so I don't have to put her in winter boots.

YANBU. Like all of us your dd will eventually need shoes for protection from cold/being trodden on/ being run over by older children with trucks etc/ being outside. You can decide when this is for your dd.

YANBU at all, there is no point in buying 'cruiser' shoes, a pair of thick warm socks will suffice. Only when your dd starts to walk than you can go and get her measured.

YANBU. Mine had Babypaws leather padders until they were walking well.

I had to buy cruisers for my walking and running 13mo as she was then because her feet were too small for second size Robeez, too small for proper shoes, but just a tad too big for first size Robeez. It was the start of winter and she had nothing to put on her feet outdoors. I even started a thread asking for help. In the end I got her size 2.5 cruisers. Now that her feet have grown a little and she can walk in the second size Robeez without falling over that's all she's wearing. So she wore Robeez then cruisers then Robeez. She's also now able to wear tiny diddy size 3 wellies with thick socks as well for puddle-jumping and chicken-feeding.

She's now 17 mo and I can't think when I'll get her "proper" shoes. Maybe when we're spending more time outside in the spring. Maybe she'll go into third size Robeez some time instead.

DD was bought her first pair of shoes after she had been walking for a week and she was 15 months old, no need for shoes before then. Clarks flog "cruisers" to make money, they are not needed, barefeet are best.

YANBU at all - children do not need shoes until they are walking confidently and even then the shoes should be for outdoor use.
Soft shoes, slippers, socks etc.. are perfectly fine and will do no harm at all.
Cruiser shoes are a money making gimmick - no child needs a special shoe to cruise in.
I work in shoe retail and none of the other major manufacturers make or recommend cruiser shoes.
Your friends have sadly fallen for the Clarks propaganda.
Save your money for now and buy a good pair of shoes when your daughter is ready for them.

Their feet flatten as they get used to walking, so they'll change size and shape over the next few weeks and months as she's on them more.

She doesn't need 'proper' shoes until she's walking outside independently for more than a few steps. Mine were both over 18 months until I coughed up!

Doesn't sound that there is any need.

FWIW I did buy DS1 some of those cruiser shoes because it was the summer and he wanted to walk holding on outside and his feet were too wider for any of the padder type things.

If it had been winter I would have waited.

YANBU

Sometimes I'm amazed that my daughter can walk, these "cruisers" were just coming onto the market as she was starting to walk, and I didn't see the point of them-call me cynical but it's just clever marketing. Parents are made to feel they "should" be buying them.

I didn't buy shoes for my children till they'd been walking independantly for a good 4-6 weeks and believe me I'm ANAL about well fitted good quality shoes.

If your child isn't walking yet, be glad that it's a wee while longer till you need to extend your mortgage to keep them in shoes!

Shoes are not necessary until a child is walking confidently. I used to work for Clarks years ago before they sold cruising shoes and we always wanted to see a child walking before we'd fit shoes. When the cruisers came out it was basically so Clarks could cash in keep up with the market as there was a demand for shoes for non-walkers. It's a personal choice, and I have to confess we had a pair of cruisers because DD was a late walker and I thought she looked strange without shoes. She didn't walk till about 22 months though.

Really good to read all of your opinions.

Thinking about it further, DD still walks on her tip toes quite a bit, when I'm holding on to her hands, so I don't even think her arches have fully dropped yet. I know we had a couple of pairs of fluffy bootee things bought for her when she was younger and they wouldn't seem to stay on as her feet weren't flat.

Despite the fact that they wouldn't do her any harm, I still think we will bypass cruisers (as v v skint), and go straight to first shoes when the time comes and not before. God knows what size she'll be, she's still wearing a lot of her 0-3 socks!

Once you start buying shoes,you will never stop,so wait as long as possible is what I say.
It looks like I may have another early walker but I will not be spending until I absolutely have to

I've just bought cruisers for my 14mo DD who isn't walking unaided just yet. I got them more to keep her feet warm so she can play outside on her trike and when they play outside at nursery.

Otherwise I wouldn't have bothered. She only wears them in the house. Most of my friends have had shoes for their LO's since they started crawling

I believe in no shoes being the best shoes. Mine wore these when we had to go out (more Summer time granted but think your DD will be in a buggy outside in this weather anyway?).

They're cheap and alow barefoot style walking.

My DDs (all 3 of them) only ever had SOCKS on before they were walking independantly and unsopported for a few weeks.

They had no canvas shoes, no decorative shoes, no cruisers no nothing.

We made the decision to buuy them shoes the after the first time we said "oh if she had shoes she could have walked outside". Then they are ready for shoes and not before IMO.

p.s. we got spotty!

I bought shoes at 15 months, when they started wanting to walk outside. They'd each taken their first faltering unsupported steps at a year old.

Bare is better as long as possible for such rapidly growing feet- even the Clarks' literature says so! The bones are so soft and malleable at this age. It's easy to permanently damage their shape.

YANBU

I never bought DS or DD cruisers. They both started walking at 10 months and got their first shoes at 11 months when they were walking outside, mostly round the park. Inside they both go barefoot, in fact one of the first things DD does when she comes in is ask for her shoes and socks off. Their feet are supported by the muscles, the shoes are just protection from the ground IMO so I wouldn't bother until they're walking confidently outside

I well remember DCs 1+2 (then 6+4) crying with laughter in the shoe shop (dc3 in padders, as per norm) at the Clarks 'stages of shoe buying' chart, which suggested their first, soft shoes "to protect delicate feet from carpet" ?!!!
You only need 'proper shoes' when they're going a reasonable distance on the pavement.
Bare feet is best for the rest of the time, or slipper sock type things if it's cold.

I didn't get DS his first shoes until he was nearly 17 months as that was when he was confident walking unaided (despite cruising around the furniture like a whirlwind from 9 months on).

Prior to that he was mostly bare foot or in socks, when he would keep them on.

Never saw the point of cruisers/pre-walkers, particularly as they are expensive and his feet were growing so fast.

We have cruiser shoes for 10-month-old DS, bought in the Clarks sale for about £12. Two reasons for buying them: one, it was freezing cold outside and we're usually out and about without a car, and two, he's a crawler and climber, and when visiting anywhere with wooden floors he kept slipping on his socks and bumping his head. At home we have carpet and I don't bother with shoes.

YANBU. However, I've had to get some of the 'crawler' shoes [shudder] for 8mo DD as she keeps kicking the floor when she's on her front and breaking her toenails, to the point of bleeding almost every day. I was concerned that she'll start to get ingrowing nails if it carried on like that.

It really annoys me, as I was adamant that I didn't want her wearing shoes until she was walking confidently so her feet could develop. But I took her to Clarks to get her measured properly, so I feel slightly placated.

She's been crawling for about 6 weeks and pulling up/starting to cruise for about a fortnight, and has those lovely soft leather boots, but still manages to break her nails all the time

Sorry to be completely ignorant but what the hell is cruising?

Walking whilst holding on to things, before they can walk unassisted Pixie.