Are you a bad mum if you don't buy...

[btfly2]

to your children Clarks, Start Rite, Hampton school shoes? Would you think badly of me...? In our school it's the non written norm but I'm thinking to be brave and break the rules...aibu ?? ;)

IMO Clarks shoes are shit. DD has had three pairs and each time, within a fortnight, they were scuffed and tatty and looked terrible.

I get her Converse and Kickers off eBay now for as cheap as I can find.

puts my academic hat on

I'm studying for a PhD that covers motherhood and consumption. There are a lot of sociological studies that suggest mothers believe the brand they buy matters and is a reflection of their identity and ability as a parent.

However, it doesn't really matter. A plain shoe is a plain shoe, so long as it fits and it's of a reasonable quality for what you can afford it's fine.

So buy from whatever shop you think is best.

The only thing I would advise you is to look at why you are concerned that people would think badly of you based on the shoes you buy for your children. It's that lack of confidence which is more likely to affect your children more than what other parents think of you.

You get the best shoes you can for your children and they wear them knowing you've done your best. That's what makes a good Mum IMO.

Anyway, both mine have had Ricosta. They both have narrow and shallow feet (not fallen arches, just slight of foot) and Clarks always seemed to rigid.
Ricosta are nice and soft but hard wearing. Clarks are fine for trainers etc.

I have 4 chilren none of them wear those brands to school. (ok 2 are in 6th form so more scope for shoes but still)

Clearly I am on the naughty bench

Pediped are great - much better than clarks/startrite.

I get my DS1 feet measured then buy online. Much easier - then when they arrive I do the checks someone mentioned above.

Although at the moment he is in Adidas orthopod trainers. Velcro straps to allow for his feet width. Brilliant and £15 from TK MAxx.

Mine wear shoes from Asda
Better call social services!!!!

Brand is irrelevant but fit and flexibility is really important for growing feet and can have a long term effect on how the whole body develops.

I've bought DD's last couple of pairs from the brands they stock at Happy Little Soles, like Pediped, Bobux and Plae. They're not cheap but no more than Startrite and they do have sales sometimes...also you can sometimes find past seasons' styles from the same brands on Amazon, which are cheaper.

This brings to mind Half Man Half Biscuit's David Wainwrights Feet.

My DS has orthotic insoles and has to wear something very sturdy. So that means an expensive shop and means buying new (also because he destroys them so a second hand pair of quality shoes doesn't last till the next size - he's gone through 3 pairs of Kickers in a single size, that were only a tiny bit scuffed when we got them). When we go to have orthotics fitted they always check the shoes themselves and let us know what features in the shoes are desirable/not. I imagine if he was in canvas pumps they would point out they are not supportive (ditto barefoot shoes unfortunately)

At the rate DD is going through shoes due to growing we can't afford the barefoot brands though I would like her to have something flexible. But we get more expensive ones as hand me downs or second hand.

When she starts school I will try very hard to get her in e.g. patent Kickers rather than open topped/Mary Janes style as we live in the NW and rain on the school run is the norm!

I think clarkes are shit

I went to 2 different clarkes shoes with DD1 in the same day (first on only had 1 pair in her size) and both stores measured her a completely different size.

More recently I didn't have time to travel to our usual independant shoe store when DD1's school shoes got too tight - went to clarkes, they didn't have her length in her width so tried to sell me a too short pair in her width! - walked out!

I think the actual Clarkes shoes are average, they're not the best but they'll do. The fitting service is rubbish. The stocks are rubbish - kids pick a style from the shelves, get measured, then here's only the choice of one or two styles in that size and not the one they liked.

It's just brand familiarity

I also hate the way they try to sell you very rigid shoes for toddlers - just to make their feed dependant on lots of support rather than letting their feet develop properly so they're not reliant on "support"

My son has marks on his toes from blisters that have not properly healed due to wearing badly fitted clarks shoes. one day I happened to be near 3 different clarks shops so had his feet measured in each, and got 3 different sizing!

My DM used to bankrupt the family to make sure that DB and I had properly fitted, leather shoes every year for school. The whole performance of getting our feet measured and the width done and finding shoes that fitted absolutely and provided support etc stays with me.

I have shocking bunions and a very uneven gait now, but I think that's genetic, because otherwise she wasted her money and I might as well have lived in plastic sandals (which I loved).

Cheap shoes are, more often than not, a false economy in my experience. They might be cheaper initially, but they need replaced more often. I've always stuck to Clarks school shoes/boots for DD and the quality has always been fantastic. We tend to go a half size up at the beginning of the year and buy a small insole to make the fit just right. As soon as she doesn't need the insole we take it out and DD still has room in the shoes. Last year her shoes lasted all year, but then her foot growth has never been drastic.

It does all depend on the child, of course. Not every child will be comfortable in certain brands. For us though, Clarks have always been great.

Your not a bad mum - Ds is 8 and I have saved & bought Clarks shoes for 4 years now, as it better value for money. I once bought a normal pair of school shoes for the new school year, that cost between £15/20, they got scuffed after a week back at school and I had to buy another new pair at xmas as they were ruined. Compare that to the Clarks, the pair from last year are still in good nick and could of been used again this year, but I will keep them for spare.

I always buy them half a size bigger to allow growing room and get the ones with a raised scuff bit on the front - it's better than having to fork out £20 every few months, spending on average £60 to £80 per school year, when you could just get Clarks at approx £40/45. (There are some from £30 or get them in the sale call in ask when they're next 1 is)

When most of us were kids, Clarks shoes were made in the U.K. and were along with Start Rite, the best shoes for children. The last U.K. clarks factory closed in 2005, and Clarks were restructured into a shoe selling company rather than a shoe making company.

These days, Clarks shoes are just as likely to be made in a factory that makes Asda/Lidl/Shoezone shoes. Fit and style are way more important than brand.

Yeah I believe that Clarkes were the "best" a generation ago Kit.. but like mothercare, they're a bit shit now and coasting on their no longer deserved reputation from the past.

I have mothercare stuff from when I was a baby that's stayed as new through the years and also used to death on my girls too and still perfect, any new stuff from there is rubbish though.

I think of Clarkes in the same way

Geox shoes are fantastic.

My daughter has very wide feet and deep arches and is currently in Clarks...but the embellishments seem to drop off and the Velcro on the straps comes away. She has had Start Rite but there is no shop nearby at the moment after the nearest stockist closed down. The best shoes she ever had for long wear came from Kickers.
Also GEOX for trainers but they are very expensive. I must say that despite the price, the Lelli Kelly wide shoes were impressive also.

Agree with OohMavis, Geox are fab.

I don't like Clarks shoes as the quality is rubbish, the designs are horrible and I've never encountered someone in Clarks who I felt did a proper fitting.

I like Start-Rite shoes, and their pre-walker and first steps ranges were good for my girls but I find now they don't really work. Both girls have quite narrow feet and they seem to be too wide at the front.

We go to a small independent shoe shop and tend to end up with one of the German brands - I've bought from a range of them and couldn't tell you which one. We just go on fit.

I agree with all the comments about properly fitted shoes, although they do have sparkly cheap ones from Next for parties that get worn for an hour at a time. Or sometimes they wear ballet shoes to parties which look nice with party dresses.

I prefer to splash out on a decent pair of well fitted shoes, always in paton as dd scuffs anything else. I agree that clarks are poor quality and they scuff far too easily for the price of them!
I stick to start rite and I love lelli Kelly but they are expensive so I make sure they are fitted first.
DD had a pair of Lelli Kellys last year and they lasted the full school year without a scuff! 45 quid well spent in my eyes.

Shoe zone is awful. Your not a bad mum at all but in my experience buying cheap shoes means your just going to be paying out after a few months each time.

Shoe zone is a mixed bag, sometimes they have great shoes in amongst the crap, I ended up getting work shoes from shoe zone as my expensive shoes hurt and the shoe zone ones had lots of arch support and padding

I remember reading a study a few years ago that showed most mothers could fit shoes on their childrens feet as well as a trained shoefitter.
You can't magic money out of thin air. Just pick the best shoes in your price range and stop worrying about what other people think.

If those other shoes were really bad for childrens feet they;d be recalled.

I worked for Clarks as a teenager and did the fitting course etc I must have fitted thousands of pairs. My son has wide feet and I got his leather school shoes from a large Tesco store for £18. They are lasting okay... But I don't mind replacing them for £18 once a term. Trainers however have to be bought from Clarks / Jones etc because the Tesco ones simply aren't wide enough.

I wouldn't have fricking clue what brand of shoes other children have.

OH bought DS some Kickers this time, I was a bit at the price as I usually get him some from Clarks outlet