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

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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 ?? ;)

DD always has Clarkes. No complaints. Later well. Lovely styles. Sold on eBay when too small - still looking good with lots of life left in them. For secondary school she wanted DMs and after a year's wear, they're still like new and she's wearing them yr 8 too. If whe feet grow - I'll be wearing them as we're the same size at the mi.

And re the post if growing feet. I was a size 3.5 from age 9/10 and 5 ft 1/2 inch tall. I never grew any bigger until Afte I suffered from pre-eclampsia during last 3 months of pregnancy when my feet grew almost over night to size 5.5. A year later I was a size 4.5 and have been that size for 11 years

Happylittlesoles.co.uk

Is a good website for kids shoes

A trained fitter uses a ten point system and three months training and courses to fit shoes. I've seen kids with blisters, hammer toes and cut ankles from people who don't respect that. However, my dd often wears H and M shoes etc as her feet are an f width and I'm qualified. I think they're ok for parties or weekends and most people can check they don't rub and have growing room. However please note it's not just fit. Good quality shoes provide support and have stiffeners in to prevent flat feet and inward foot and knee roll. This is why kids complain shoes feel stiff after a summer in trainers. But not having them is setting your child up for years of knee problems. People also forget how pliable kids bones are so bad shoes can cause deformed feet and a child may not realise they don't fit until they complain they hurt.

OP,
Of Course not, don't even think like that.
As long as the shoe is comfortable and fits your little one properly then that's all that matters.

We buy shoes from a shop that stocks Start Rite, Recaro, etc but it's the staff who measure and fit each pair who really make the difference. We've been to Clarks twice (DD's first shoes & then a year or so later) and they didn't measure her feet properly or seem to understand the fit of their shoes. At 'our' shoe shop they take time to measure her feet carefully, find out what we're looking for and why and then take time and make DD try on lots of shoes. Each different style of shoe has a different fit & they know (and can explain to me) what they're looking for. If they don't feel the fit is right they won't let us buy them and conversely if they think the shoes we already have are still fine & fit well they don't pressure is to buy anymore. 'Our' shop has the same experienced set of staff but Clarks seems to have new staff all the time (I still go in there for my shoes). I wouldn't buy DD's shoes at Clarks now if you paid me, to me it's the fast food outlet of shoe shopping. I'd much rather go somewhere with experienced, well trained staff and pay a bit more. They might not be the most fashionable but I wouldn't take any chances with her feet.

Firstly for the people who say their children wreck shoes (flappy toes and hollow worn down heels) you NEED this product - Shoe Goo. Honestly it's amazing for repairing shoes. DH has a pair of ancient DM Chelsea boots that are held together by this stuff. He's on his 3rd extra winter now with these boots. Its not the prettiest looking repair but very handy, particularly near end of term to stretch 'still fit but a bit flappy' shoes out to the summer holidays.

Anyway back to the point. No you are not a bad mum if you buy something other than clarks, startrite or Hamptons (never heard of the last brand). So long as the shoes fit well and suit the shape of your child's feet then it doesn't matter what brand you buy. Watch YouTube videos on how to fit shoes, once you know what you are looking for its easy.

I personally like to buy DD shoes that are a good quality, soft, flexible leather. We have tried clarks, startrite, ricosta, Lelli Kelly and Tesco for school shoes. The Ricosta held up the best and looked practically new/ scuff free after a full years wear - only the soles showed any real sign they had been worn.

The Tesco cheapies (real but not very soft leather) were a stop gap pair I bought as I was skint and DD had outgrown her school shoes but they actually lasted about 4 months before the leather strap stretched out too much and became flappy and dragged on the ground when pulled tight enough to hold the shoe on. Couple of scuffs but polished out fine. Ok for the price I suppose and if it was all I could afford then I would feel bad about it.

The (plain/ non blingy) Lelli Kellys were disappointing. The sole wore out and was really thin and flat after 3 months. My DD is easy on her shoes and a tiny little thing so no excuse for them to ware out as fast as they did. Shame as the leather was still scuff free and buttery soft.

This year we have startrite princess Serena shoes and they are holding up beautifully so far.

On another note. I don't really notice and probably couldn't tell at a glance what brand of shoes other children have on their feet (well apart from the blingy strap Lelli Kelly ones because you can't miss it!) I would guess in DDs school there is a large mix of supermarket to more expensive brands as its a mixed catchment area. I would never judge a parent on the brand of shoes they choose for their child as it's none of my business.

Windsor are great for school shoes, lots of styles, wide fit options, great prices and a reward scheme (1 stamp for every £10 spent, £5 off with 10 stamps) with 3 needing shoes every term (inc. 15yo who has to have the expensive ones, grrrr), I rack them stamps up easily and use the discount for me.

My little girl got a very painful archillies tendon when my husband bought her an incorrectly fitting pair of shoes. She will be correctlyy fitted at Clark's from now on.

It is the support around heel that is as important.Agree that they only have one pair of feet and need to look after them.If you can't afford good brands in leather get them from ebay and buy your own measure to use at home, cheap from Clarks.Their feet too soft to realise damage is being done until too late.Some good German brands available too but also expensive.One thing not worth skimping on.

I had to stop buying Clarks for dd as her feet badly pronated the Clarks shop actually told me they could not sell them to me. They suggested Startrite or Kickers, she now has size 7 adult feet ( 11 yrs old) and is wearing Doc Martins shoes!

I buy clarkes or start rite because they are in the shop where they can have their feet measured correctly. They also sell Geox, hush puppies and a few others. Always £48 a pair so I have no idea where people get £35 ones in clarkes. Mine all have small feet too. I saw one poster at the beginning of the thread with a 5 year old with size 1 feet. My son is 13 next month and only a size 2!

As long as they have a shaped insole it doesn't matter how cheap/expensive they are. I'm a firm believer in trainers but dd school just decided this year (4) to get firm on their uniform and it's black shoes or black shoes. They've also introduced the Daily Mile this year which is a FANTASTIC idea but ridiculous in hard, black, leather school shoes. I vote trainers and am nagging head.

DD's best ever school shoes were a pair of skechers, they took everything she threw at them, never found the same pair since.

She is currently wearing a pair from Matalan and they have been absolutely fine so far

I bought geox last year and were good lasted all year... bought start rite sept and looking shabby already... no blisters or any problems though.. I would never buy store own brand for school shoes for my son ...

My son. Is just 8 and in size 1

What would you do if you were completely skint, I would buy my kids shoe zone/ own brand shoe if say that was the only way I could afford to buy food or a warm coat as well. People don't generally buy cheaper inferior stuff cos they care less but because they often have no choice.