To think that buying half sizes shoes for toddlers is silly

[SweetSally]

Am I the only person who thinks that buying half size shoes for toddlers is just silly? Especially for winter shoes when naturally they wear thicker socks?

*Preparing to be slaughtered by other moms

Well when mine were in the age 4 plus phase I would let Clarks do their thing then ask to try the next size up. Often they fitted as well so got them.

People are crazy.
How do you know it is a toddler's shoes making them trip? Toddlers trip! Did someone seriously complain to Clarks because their child tripped? And still hold a grudge a decade later?

Clark's shoes are designed to last a whole shoe size. So if you buy a 3 it will last until they're a 4. However, if you child is only a 2.5 why wouldn't you buy a 2.5?

That said, I say this as mother of a child who's shoe once fell of COD it was too big.

Several times Clarks staff have checked the fit of my dcs' existing shoes and said they are fine and do not need to be replaced yet so I don't think there's any great conspiracy to make you buy shoes you don't need.
They also advised me not to buy the next size up in the sale once as they said my dd might never be that size. I ignored them and it turns out they were right and she bypassed that size altogether so they were a waste of money!

I want shoes to last as long as possible because good ones are expensive, so no half sizes for me.

Does OP mean it’s a con to buy every size and half size? If so I agree - no one does that!

From my experience toddler gets measured, buy that size, then 4 - 6 months later, you try to put the same shoes on that fitted the day before and somehow their feet have grown 1 to 1.5 sizes overnight.

I've found clarks like to suggest you buy the tightest fitting shoes possible. I'm convinced it's a ploy to get you to buy more shoes. Last time I went, they suggested a size 5, when size 5.5 seemed a slightly better fit, with some growing room. They'd happened the last 3 times I've been there.

I've found clarks like to suggest you buy the tightest fitting shoes possible

I’ve found the opposite, they size mine far too big!

Does OP mean it’s a con to buy every size and half size?

Well yeah that would be pretty insane.

OP I’m not sure you’ve understood how shoes work Do you mean you think people buy shoes for their child in a 5, then 3 weeks later a 5.5 then a couple of months after that a 6, and literally buy every size and half size? Because that’s not how anybody buys shoes for their child. You buy the correct size shoe for your child’s foot. Whether that’s a 5, or a 7.5 or whatever. By the time their foot grows too big for that shoe that will mean a whole additional size so you would buy a 6, or an 8.5. You don’t buy all the sizes in the middle!

The argument is nonsense. You just buy the size that fits. And for a child it might be that it's all the half sizes that fit them best so they progress from a 3.5 to a 4.5 to a 5.5 onwards. Which means for that child all the whole sizes are a silly waste of time.

Not everything is a rip off and this is t one if them. A an adult I'm always pleasantly surprise when shoes come in half sizes as I'm half way between a 6 and 7.

By the same argument if you're kid is measured a 4 then you should only buy them 4.5s because you don't believe in buying the right size!

You don’t buy all the sizes in the middle!
But this means that, for at least some of the time, your child is wearing shoes that don’t fit properly?
If it is important that they are in the right size then you need to be getting them measured more frequently.

Europeans dont have half sizes eg. 26.5. They just call them different sizes eg. 32, 34, 36 etc. If you think of it like that you might stop being hung up on half sizes being a rip off!

I got one of those free takeaway measures from deichmans. I always measured them with that, then went to Clark's and got them measured there too. A couple of times Clark's were wrong.

But half size don’t mean you have to buy shoes more often It only means that at the point when you decided to buy your child shoes he/ she was a half size. So when you buy next shoes for summer they’ll most likely be next half size up too.

@Elisheva if you buy the correct size in the first place then shoes should have a full size’s wear in them. Ie they shouldn’t become too small until your child’s foot has grown a whole size, whether that be from a 3 to a 4 or a 6.5 to a 7.5. If you buy a size 5 and your child completely outgrows it before needing a 6, you bought a shoe that was too small in the first place.

@Cutesbabasmummy last I checked, here in the UK we are Europeans too!

Having reflected on this, I suppose it depends how often you get your child's feet measured.

DS was measured in the summer at Clarks size 7.5G so I bought size 7.5G up from a 7F 4/5 months before. When he was measured again a few weeks ago he was 8F so I bought 8F. I guess if I had waited and not got his feet measured for another few months he might have jumped to another bigger size, so I could have saved myself the expense of the 8F shoes but he would have been wearing the wrong size for who knows how long.

Often half-sizes make the shoes wider, not longer? The sole is pretty much the same but there’s more leather/fabric on top.

@FenellaMaxwell correct but in the UK we use UK sizes not European sizes.

This thread is odd. My children and their feet don’t grow steadily and predictably. Sometimes they have stayed in the same size shoe for ages, sometimes they have gone up half a size and sometimes they have had a growth spurt and jump to the next full size. I bought both of them new trainers and school shoes in September this year and both of the buggers have outgrown them already. But previous years, their shoes have fitted them for months longer.

As an adult, I’ve had to have surgery twice on my feet for damage caused by a lifetime of wearing ill fitting and impractical shoes (once I got to teenage years and started wearing heels and pointed toes). My kids have inherited some of my foot problems like hyper mobility so I absolutely get them measured and have their shoes thoroughly checked. This time, the gauge measured them at one size but when we started trying on shoes, my eldest needed a different size due to the style we were buying anyway.

It’s not a case of buy a shoe, then buy a size up twelve months later. They need shoes when they need them and children are growing all the time. I buy the shoes that fit them the best and don’t pay attention to whether that’s a half size or full size.

I have size 7.5 in Clark's adult shoes. Size 7 are too tight and size 8 rub because they're too loose. Maybe looking from the outside theres no difference between a 7 and a 7.5 but it certainly feels different when I wear them. I wouldnt buy the wrong size shoe for myself so why would i buy the wrong size for my child, who can't tell me if their shoes are uncomfortable.

We dont wear thicker socks in the winter. Maybe if your shoes fit correctly, you wouldnt need to either.

I bloody wish more shops did adult shoes in 1/2 sizes.

I’m a 6 1/2. Not a European size 40. When l find a place that does my size it’s like walking into a little bit of heaven. Not a 7 , not a 6 but a 6 1/2. Why would l buy shoes too big or small?

This thread is bonkers 😂