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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

To not understand why people buy non-fitted shoes for toddlers?

100 replies

user1480954406 · 06/02/2017 13:40

How do people feel about this? I've seen babies get converse etc for their first shoes, but I was always led to believe kids needed width fitted shoes until they were at least two? All the clothes shops from Tesco to marks&spencer do kids shoes from size 3/4 but I just wouldn't feel right if they weren't properly fitted by somebody trained in shoe fitting? Aibu?

OP posts:

HookandSwan · 06/02/2017 14:04

I've had this exact conversation with my boss. I told her to stop buying tacky shoes that don't fit properly and go get measured for and buy some pre walkers lol. Baby's don't need shoes until they can walk, it's not good for their developing feet.

ILostItInTheEarlyNineties · 06/02/2017 14:05

I bought fitted Clarkes shoes for my first toddler. They cost far more than I could really afford and were leather so had very little 'give' in them

I was horrified when the sales assistant told me to bring him back in 12 weeks to be re fitted.

I think that wearing slightly too small, fitted to the foot sturdy shoes can cause more damage than wearing softer cheaper shoes that can be affordably replaced regularly.

roseshippy · 06/02/2017 14:05

YABU this stuff about fitted shoes is bollocks from peddlers of over-priced shoes.

Your PFB is not going to develop club feet because you didn't spend £50 on a measured pair of shoes from Clarks to last for 2 months.

Notso · 06/02/2017 14:05

Fitting shoes isn't especially difficult though. Converse for example are quite narrow and fit DC4 really well.
Over the four children I've had to take a few pairs back due to them being badly fitted instore. There's only one woman in local clarks I trust to fit my DC's shoes. Once in an independent shoe shop the assistant said the only shoes in the whole shop that fitted then 3yo DD just happened to be £105 D&G sandals

WhirlwindHugs · 06/02/2017 14:06

I used to worry about this but ask questions when your child's shoes are being fitted and you will quickly learn how to do it yourself and become confident buying from cheaper shops!

Most discount stores (brantano deuchman(sp?)) have foot measures you can use to get the size then check the fit yourself.

DS currently has a perfectly good pair of batman trainers from a discount store, they cost £14 vs £30 for his first pair of school shoes from Clarks.

bumsexatthebingo · 06/02/2017 14:06

Shoes that don't fit can cause problems but its really not rocket science to check the fit of a shoe. I also read that second hand shoes don't fit so well as they have slightly molded to the wearers feet.

Ellapaella · 06/02/2017 14:06

I did a little experiment with clarks - I took ds to 3 different stores to get his feet measured and they all told me something slightly different! And if they don't have the size you need in store and it looks like you might go elsewhere they quickly tell you it doesn't matter if you go up half a size to accommodate for width. So I tend to just try shoes on him and see what I think feels ok in regards to having plenty of room.

EdmundCleverClogs · 06/02/2017 14:07

I had Clarks as a child, I still ended up with issues with my feet. My 16 month old is barefoot in the house and doesn't walk outside yet, I'm sure not bothering to waste good money in overpriced shoe shops unless there was a good need to. I'd just be happy to find a pair of shoes/socks that cannot be removed two seconds after putting them on the child's feet!

TheFirstMrsDV · 06/02/2017 14:07

Clarkes first shoes can cost £40.
That is why.

Converse are not bad for kid's feet. They have some ankle support and the smaller sizes are wider, proportionately than the bigger sizes.

Uggs/Fuggs are not supportive but they are not going to do any harm.

Its not hard to check if some £5 trainers from Tesco fit your child.

DS2 is big now but I can't take him to buy shoes so I draw round his feet and take that to the shop. It works fine.

I 100% agree that its marketing crap. How else would they get people who dress their kids in ostentatiously second hand clothes to pay £50 for a pair of shoes?

WhirlwindHugs · 06/02/2017 14:09

I agree converse are great for narrow feet. Also a good motivation to teach your child how to tie laces!

tovelitime · 06/02/2017 14:09

Most European countries don't even fit children's shoes, it's really not hard to fit them yourself

bumsexatthebingo · 06/02/2017 14:10

Yep we've been told the 'go up half a size and get a narrower width' as well. If I wanted my kids foot to be squashed into a shoe that was too narrow I'd get one half a size bigger from Marks and Spencer or similar for half the cost!

Meffy · 06/02/2017 14:10

When we had DS1 we didn't have much money at all but we would go without so he could have Fitted Shoes.

AppleMagic · 06/02/2017 14:11

Last time I took my DC to Clarks they fitted the shoes so badly her feet were bleeding in 5 minutes of wearing them. I took them back and she and her brother were m refitted to completely different sizes. Apparently it was the original fitters "first day".
I now go to an independent shoe shop where the staff are much more experienced (and the shoes are better quality).

RedBugMug · 06/02/2017 14:12

yabu
you can fit shoes for dc yourself.
plenty of youtube tutorials if you are unsure.

BriocheBriocheBrioche · 06/02/2017 14:14

I live in France where shoe fitting for kids doesn't exist - you just have to do the best job you can yourself!
None of my French friends have limps or misshapen feet from not having had Clarks shoes as children.
I think it is a very clever marketing strategy that they have going on.

Original poster

user1480954406 · 06/02/2017 14:15

Apparently clarks don't give the training they used to. I usually go to jl as they have a wider selection and are q good about fitting.

When ds1 was at nursery they insisted o bought him prewalkers when he wasn't walking instead of soft bottomed shoes, when I went to JL the lady said she was v uncomfortable selling me a pair of start rite pre walkers as they actually don't reccomend pre walkers because barefoot is best until their feet are walking.

OP posts:

PigletJohn · 06/02/2017 14:17

you can't trust children to tell you if shoes are a good fit, because their bones are relatively soft and the foot will deform to the shape of the shoe. This is not at all what you want.

I've seen foot-measures on sale on ebay, the more expensive are a Clarks one and the cheap ones come from China. I was thinking a useful thing to have around the house.

Feet vary by at least half a size up and down between brands, sometimes a whole size. I believe feet also get bigger on hot days, or with walking or standing.

bumsexatthebingo · 06/02/2017 14:17

Yep prewalkers are a waste of time and make walking more difficult imo. Barefoot or grip socks if it's cold are all they need until they are walking outside.

Mumzypopz · 06/02/2017 14:18

Most of the time I've gone to Clark's, the kids are measured by 17 yr olds that I know are straight out of school. They may be 'trained' but they are no better at measuring feet than any of us. If you go to deichmans, they will give you a plastic card measurer to take away and you can measure them yourself

nocutsnobuttsnococonuts · 06/02/2017 14:20

I wouldn't and don't buy my children Clark's. We went to schuh and got measured there. There's a much larger range and different types of shoes. My eldest came away with doc Martin's school shoes which are amazing - still look new and she wore Clark's out in 6 weeks! And vans for outside school. Youngest came away with hush puppies which I wouldn't buy again as they got holes in by December. She still had a cheap pair of trainers that still fitted her.

They also give u £5 off when you bring in old shoes (even falling apart primark jobbies)

I buy crocs in summer from the crocs store who measure them to get correct sizing too.

savagehk · 06/02/2017 14:21

IMO a 'structured' shoe is possibly worse for feet than a 'barefoot' shoe for a young child. (I have no idea where converse/ugg fit in to this though, I suspect they're neither).

My now 4yo's shoes have been of the types offered here www.happylittlesoles.co.uk/

I'm not happy to have them handed on to other kids though as he tends to only have one/two pairs max at a time so he does really wear them down to his particular foot/stride.

Puremince · 06/02/2017 14:22

I got a lecture on the importance of fitted shoes as part of my NHS ante-natal class. The class was taken by a retired midwife and she told us horror stories about children's feet being damaged by non-fitted shoes.

Mind you, she also said that we weren't to lean into our wheelie bins whilst we were scrubbing them out and we weren't to stand on a chair whilst dusting our lightshades. Apparently it wouldn't matter if our wheelies went unscrubbed or our lightshades undusted "for a few weeks"

As I wasn't in the habit of scrubbing my wheelie or dusting my lightshades this was pretty pointless advice.

haggisaggis · 06/02/2017 14:23

Do any countries other than the UK fit kids shoes? Kids in US seem to spend their time in either trainers or flip flops (at least that's what I've seen when I'm on holiday) and I don't think they fit shoes there.
My mum always took me to Clarks to get proper fitted shoes. I've now got flat feet and bad bunions!

Teapot13 · 06/02/2017 14:25

I am probably more switched on to this because one of my children has an orthopaedic problem but we do not scrimp on shoes. Each child has one pair, no hand-me-downs except boots/wellies. It is extremely difficult to find something suitable.

It's like getting enough sleep or eating vegetables -- most kids turn out fine whatever you do but proper shoes are important.

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