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?

I have been having heated debates with ILS about shoes for DS who is 18months - he has a pair of wellies for puddles but otherwise pads around in barefeet or socks. There is a huge amount of evidence (some backed up by Clarks) that barefoot walking is best for children up to and beyond school-age as feet & bones dont form properly for years. The websites are admittedly marketing quite expensive products but have some interesting articles.
www.feelmax.com
www.terraplana.com
www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2010/aug/09/barefoot-best-for-children

HTH

DS is 11 months and not walking (just pulling himself up on furniture, knees etc). Had him measured last week when getting new shoes for his sister, and the assistant said not to bother buying for him until he's walking.

So I don't think you're being mean, OP.

WTF are cruisers?

YANBU, most of that baby crap is moneyspinning for clarks and similar. When DS actually needed shoes I took him to Brantano and got a pair of clarks half price. None of those silly photos and £30 shoes for me, oh no.

My dd had shoes at 11months as she was walking at 10months and I wanted shoes to correct her inwards feet.my ds had cruisers at 13months didnt walk til 15months.I would wait until they walk for propar shoes

A good shoe shop won't sell you shoes (even 'cruisers') until 6 weeks after they have started walking. If you're concerned about cold feet, either get socks with grips underneath or soft leather ones like Robeez, Shoo Shoes, or Snugglefeet (less expensive!).

It depends what kind of stuff you do with her activity wise.
My DCs have had cruiser shoes at a similar stage purely because we go to several toddler groups where the little ones cruise around on a hard floor and are in danger of having feet trod on by others if they are the only ones in bare feet.
Also we go to the park/outside even in winter and I let them toddle about and play on the little slides etc so obviously the feet are much better off in shoes for that.
Not for indooors though obviously.

OP sounds liek your DD spends a lot of time indoors so probably no need for them in your situation.

Neither of my dc had shoes til they were walking...whats the point? They wore nothing in summer and sock in winter.

YANBU

I used to work in clarks and we were always told babies didn't need shoes, and are better of without them until they could walk but to only tell parents that if they specifically asked I got fired for not selling enough childrens shoes

DD has been cruising around for about three months now and taking confident steps aided and has had a go at unaided a couple of times too. She's not getting any shoes until she's walking properly outside. ! don't wear shoes indoors...
An unnecessary expense and also I have been told that bare foot gives the arches more chance to develop and that shoes too early can hinder this?? No idea if true or not.

my DD is 15 months and was walking from 11 months, we only bought her shoes once she was actually walking, and even then she only wears shoes if we're out the house and it's cold.

I should add that we seem to have a genetic thing with long toes that tend to overlap each other, so I have been very careful not to put her in shoes, and was extremely annoyed at Clarkes who after measuring her then sold DP the worng size of shoes and said it's ok, they'll fit but just be a bit tight!

I also used to work for Clarks but way back in the days before they even sold 'cruisers' We never sold shoes for a baby unless they were confidently walking without holding on and had been for a number of weeks. In my opinion 'cruisers' are just them out to make money when people don't really need to spend it!

My DD is almost 14 months (and only 16lbs!) and doesn't have any shoes. She's cruising about quite happily in her grippy bottomed socks and more than warm enough in her buggysnuggle.

Baby's feet are far too delicate to put them in anything until you really need to

I never intended to get DD cruisers but at 11 months (last July) she was cruising outside a lot, using her pushchair as a walker and doing terrible things to her socks. Pram shoes came straight off... I did use the shoes sparingly though, only for circumstances where she would be cruising outside if you see what I mean.