Why are H width children's shoes so rare and why can't I find anything wider??!!

[heroinahalfshell]

We bought our DS's first shoes aged 9m (he started walking at 9m) and he was already a H width fitting then.

We just got his second pair (aged 12m) and our choice in clarks was of ONE PAIR (5.5H).

What on EARTH am I going to do if he goes up a width fitting??! They don't seem to exist!!!

His feet don't look that big to me? (Maybe it's in proportion - he's VERY tall) AIBU to think shoes should stock wider sizes or does my child have freaky big feet??!!

oooggs - I'll be fighting you for the only Hs in Cornwall!!!!

My poor DD is a 2 I (it is on the measures just they are not making the shoes yet) so we have to buy 3H to fit her. She is about to be 8 and the nearly the shortest in the class. The only good thing she feels is next summer she can have a pair of fit flops, but adult shoes at 8. It must be that celtic blood in me if we are short adn have nice big feet we won't get blown over in scottish wind.

When the assistant measured DS's feet as a F fitting I almost kissed her after the difficulties of getting an H fitting for DD. Who would have thought something so minor could cause such problems? And don't even get me started on finding ivory satin shoes for DD when she was a flower girl at my sister's wedding. We managed to find one design with a wide fitting on the BHS website but even then they had an elastic strap that dug into her poor little feet :(

You are ok hero, we do shoe shopping in Plymouth as up the Devon end of the county!

Ugh, I hated having wide feet as a child! I was always a G or H fitting, and my parents would take me to Clark's, and while we were waiting to be served I'd look at all the pretty girls' shoes, only to be told ten minutes later that none of those came in my size and they handed me the only pair that did - undoubtedly the ugliest pair of shoes imaginable. In the end, my mother learnt to not let me look at anything on the displays and just march in and ask the assistant to bring out whatever they had in my size in an H.
Good luck OP!

My daughter is now almost 8 years and is at the higher end of an H fitting often having to go up 1/2 a size. (she started off as a G/H fitting). she also has very short feet, nearly 8 years and only in a 12.5. she is now getting to an age where accepting what shoes are on offer is no longer acceptable!!!! It is so annoying that there are so little styles and options. Im wanting to get her some nice canvas shoes for playing out/riding her bike as she does not like trainers and i really do not want her to play out in school/best shoes, but guess what no H fittings in sight. PLEASE SHOE MANUFACTORERS PLEASE MAKE MORE H FITTING STYLES!!!
How do we get a petition started!!! lol.
Rant over.
good luck to everyone trying to look nice in an H fitting !!

Pooh god- this thread has brought back memories. When I was a child I measured as an h or an I and I remember to this day the lady in the Clarks shop suggesting I try on boys shoes as they might be more comfortable. I cried and still have issues around shoe shopping today

That's meant to say 'oh' not 'pooh'!

DS had huge wide feet as a toddler and pre schooler!

At 3 he was reduced to ugly black school shoes in Clarkes. Then there was the awful fitting debacle that resulted in him having a massive melt down and getting shoes that were too small. (Ds has an ASD at at that time was very resistant to change so I assumed he was screaming over his shoes because they weren't his old shoes!)

We then jumped ship and went to an independent shoe shop where he was able to have the sort of lovely shoe a pre school child should have before the dullness of regulation black shoes!

We still go there as they are brilliant even though they have been taken over by Clinkards. You can book fitting appointments! Bliss when you have one child who has an ASD and one child who probably has an ASD!

I do think the lack of choice for wider footed children is pants.

There's a lack of choice for children with particularly narrow feet too. I was one of the children forever condemned to wear T Bar shoes at primary school, because anything else just gaped around the toes due to my scrawny feet. I was chuffed to bits when I went to secondary and could wear a full black loafer type shoe.

DD has inherited narrow feet from me. When we go to buy her shoes there are mountains of F and G, but very little choice for her, and she can't have anything but T Bars due to gaping.

All three of mine are G or H fittings. Independant and expensive shoes/boost tends to be the way to go. Dd3 currently has two pairs of angulus boots. One bought at vast expense new and one bought from ebay for £6. Both brilliant.

In any size any colour or different leathers you want

and you can even send them back to get them stretched to give an extra half or more size, they are very comfortable, children like choosing their own colours, if you go there it's great fun looking through all the amazing options.

Good independent children's shoe shops often have a better choice of styles and width fittings. My dd very wide and have found angulus shoes amazing and very hard wearing!

Another childhood Clarke's trauma survivor here! Maybe we should start a group, like the stately homes thread only with Clarke's and less serious obv.

Am still haunted by memories of clumsy brown leathery things that had one of those hideous fringe things across the top; another case of "the only shoes that fit"...

To this day I have ishoos finding nice shoes. Hence I live in trainers, and therefore jeans, and therefore t-shirts. Funny how your shoes can dictate your whole style!

Just had my baby measured & she's an I fitting! All your comments have been so helpful xx

Two of my dd's are a C that's equally a nitemare.

Mine both have H width feet, getting H width shoes in a size 8 for an 8 year old was a nightmare!

I was an H as a kid - perfectly average size 6 now (I'm 5'7"). I am sure your DS will do the same!

John Lewis do two fittings. When I took my niece, the man said delicately, "she's a rather chunky footed child so we'll go for the wider fitting."

He won't go up a width. It's toddler chub. My son was a h fitting as a toddler and could barely get his chubby little calfs in wellies. He's very slight now and an e fitting I think.

Zombie thread,!!!

If the OP is around her kid will be 7/8yo.

I wonder if they did slim down...

My daughter was the same & had a choice of 2. Clarks fitted her with shoes & the fat bit at the top was bulging but they said it was a perfect fit & I believed them. I went to another clarks & they asked who did such a bad fit.

Anyways I go to independent shoe shops now & Usually end up with this brand www.bobux.co.uk/walking/girls. The shoes are slightly (£42) more expensive than Clarks but they are nicer & fit so much better.

A high instep can also add to the 'width' fitting.
It'll get easier as his feet get longer. And you'll become an expert on spotting the right and wrong type of shoe for your DS (wry grin emoji please).

My DS is 9 and has always been a H fitting. We have found that Kickers school shoes are quite wide and that Skechers do a wide fit too. Always more expensive for his shoes than DD. It's odd because he is really small for his age, except for these flipping feet!

Oops- zombie thread!

Clarke are rubbish for anything really narrow or really wide, I've never been able to get shoes for my lot there who are all narrow. Luckily we have an independent shoe shop nearby that has a really good range. Try somewhere like that?