t-bar shoes when lashing down

[vandrew4]

Why are girls put in T-bar shoes in the pouring down rain?
Looking around today, every single girl bar one going into school was wearing T-bars.
every single boy was of course wearing proper shoes without great big holes on the top of them,
every single mother was wearing boots or full shoes.
Why do they think it's OK for girls to get wet / cold feet?

Lindt I promise DD never says anything, these are some of her best friends. But she personally wouldn't wear those kind of shoes she just likes pretty things :-)

Look OP, if you go to a shoe shop for school shoes, the vast majority of styles for primary girls are these t bar Velcro Mary Janes. Parents hadn’t sat and thought oh who cares about her feet getting wet.

It’s actually pretty hard to get something else. If you got brogue style for that age (6) of child, they’d struggle with laces. Or you’d have to buy elastic laces and fart about trying to get them cut and put in. If you put “boys” shoes on your girl, everyone asks you and them why you have done it.

Our school let’s kids wear plain black trainers which is brilliant. Although this year I tasked my husband with picking shoes for my DD1 and he showed me a pair online which were great but then ordered a pair that were hideous for some reason which don’t actually stay velcroed up so now I’ve had to buy her another pair of shoes. I’ve gone for Boots since they will be better for winter. I’ll get her another pair of trainers once it warms up in the summer.

Children's shoe designers are still decades behind. It used to drive me crazy when I was buying shoes for my narrow-footed DD. As far as Clarks were concerned, girl's shoes had to be pretty (and didn't need grips) while boys shoes were practical and tough. I'd have hoped this would've changed by now but evidently not.

Honestly these threads are so boring now. It’s not that hard to buy your daughters ‘boys’ shoes if you’re that bothered. It’s not as though boys have different shape feet.

If your daughters want the ‘girls’ shoes then that’s more to do with your parenting than what’s available in shops.

And yes, so called ‘proper’ shoes, even ‘boys’ ones do bugger all when it’s really peeing it down. My boy wears wellies to school. We have a 20 minute walk, any shoes let the water in.

@CrookedMe Don't be angry. All you have to do is look. This is the Clarke's page for girls school shoes. www.clarks.co.uk/Girls/School-shoes/c/g18?q=%3Arelevance&page=0&itemIndexInPage=1

6 of the first 12 shoes are fully closed. It's all down to parental choice at the end of the day.

I buy my dd kickers which are good and cover the feet whilst meeting school uniform rules (they aren't allowed boots).

Some of her friends have the most awfully impractical shoes.

why are children not wearing wellies in the pouring rain?

I don't understand why parents would put boys or girls in unsuitable footwear. If there's no space for the wellies at school, change their shoes when you drop off, and keep the wellies with you until pick-up. Most 6 years old don't walk to school on their own.

Why is it ok for boys or girls to get wet feet because of lazy parents?

Also don’t the the availablitg argument. Have none of you realised that you can just buy shoes from the boys section?

Yes, we tried many styles from the boys section. They were all too wide.

I’m not great with boundaries so when DS started at preschool I got him the doc marten t-bars and he loves them.

In bad weather he has a pair of kicker boots, however it’s hard to get them on him because he wants to wear t-bars.

If it makes it that bit easier in the morning to put them in shoes they like then that’s the compromise. A bit of wet feet won’t kill them, besides they are ‘proper shoes’

The sole is thick, they’re sturdy and provide good support there is just two holes on the top of the foot. Again, it won’t kill them.

Yes, we tried many styles from the boys section. They were all too wide.

of course they are!

😂 why would I lie about it. They were. She’s a D width fitting. I could barely find any girls shoes narrow enough, and none of the boys ones were.

My dd is wearing ankle boots to school - they do exist. She also has a pair of calf length boots. No one has to go to school in t-bar shoes in winter.

Anyway, she wears wellies in the rain! So having t bar shoes in her dry classroom is a non issue!

When the dark mornings hit and weather deteriorates is when I switch to black boots for school. Clarks do boots too! I wouldn't wear dolly shoes now so why would I send my child in something equally as unprotective!?!

A lot of uniform policies don’t permit boots

these fit small children. They aren't t bar.

Unless the boys shoes are all waterproof I don’t see how it matters. Brogues keep your feet warmer and drier for a little bit, but once soaked through they take ages to dry. T-bars leave your feet more exposed, but because of that they dry out significantly quicker.

If people are seriously worried about it then they should be buying wellies, because there’s no ‘proper’ school shoe that keeps out water.

If boots are not allowed (and I would complain and escalate to governors/LEA, because boots are sensible and practical), then they ought to wear wellies and change to shoes in school.

I wouldnt put mine in Tbars in the rain, but luckily I have the means to get more than one pair of shoes for my daughter.

Sometimes kids will want to wear impractical shoes though, and I guess they have to learn to make the right choices by getting cold and wet in the flimsy ones. It aint gonna kill them. There ARE other shoes available. There are boots, knee boots, ankle boots, brogues, lace ups as well as the t bars and alice shoes even if your girl is not keen on the boys section

They start at an E width fitting Elderflower14. We actually tried those ones (they’re lovely) but they were unfortunately too wide.

My dd is at a school nursery. They have to wear black shoes (boots aren't allowed) although nursery and reception can wear black trainers. I have no hope in hell in getting my 3.5 year old in black trainers, she likes 'pretty' shoes. However, she is more than happy to wear her wellies which is just as well because we have a 15 mins walk to nursery. I then change her into her shoes when we get there (she has another pair of wellies which have to stay at nursery in order to play outside). Despite the 'hard concrete' we walk on to nursery, it's a bloody assault course with the amount of puddles so it's much quicker to walk in the rain if she can walk through the puddles rather than going around them all.

I look forward to the summer thread op when girls are able to wear flimsy summer dresses and thin soled t-bars whereas the boys have to wear trousers and clumpy full foot robust sweaty shoes.

She’s a D width fitting. I could barely find any girls shoes narrow enough, and none of the boys ones were.

The only D fitting shoe on the Clarks website is a closed brogue, ironically.

Well they obviously weren’t available when we bought DD’s shoes, otherwise we’d have got them .
I got the only pair available in the shops near me that fit her.