To be surprised how many parents can't afford children's footwear?

[moita]

I must have been living under a rock but: I recently started volunteering for a charity that donates coats to children who need one.

I live in a village just outside a deprived city and we have lots of requests for coats from struggling parents.

It was eye-opening. We then started having the same request: for footwear, most specifically wellies. We put out social media messages for used but good condition wellies. Lots of people donated and they were all pretty much snapped up.

I've got to say: I was surprised, naively so? I felt guilty buying my toddler wellies from the supermarket but here were parents happy to take used ones away. And a lot of the people who came to use are single mums who have fallen on hard times.

I don't know. I just feel so sad that our service is so needed.

Is this a covert ‘why have kids that you can’t afford’ thread?
Peoples circumstances change. Surely you can see that, especially now?

DS has gone up from size 3-4 to 6-7 trousers since the beginning of the pandemic- he’s 4 he’s also gone from shoe size 11 to 13. That’s 3 lots of wellies x 2, school shoes, trainers and spare shoes to buy in 12 months.

For those with spare wellies wanting somewhere to donate to.. if you have no luck finding a charity, you could always ask preschool / forest schools if they want any spares? I've donated ours to them.

Or offer them for free on Facebook local sites maybe might help a family in need?

Our local independent shoe shop is mostly £40-60 for shoes. I would like to support them but I just being myself to pay that.

I've just bought my DS size 12 wellies and he's just turned 5. They were £12 from Matalan and are pretty basic and cheap.

Let's say he first wore wellies at 18 months and he was size 3, that means that in 3.5 years he's had 10 shoe sizes. In every size he's had wellies for home and wellies for nursery so that's approx £240 on wellies alone.

Then there's trainers, smarter shoes, winter boots, summer sandals, slippers... I've probably spent £500 on shoes for him in 3.5 years and I buy supermarket shoes.

My DD is now re-wearing many of them thankfully!

those who want to donate, how about contacting your local food bank ?

The school I work on asks parents to provide wellies for their children to leave on school. Some parents obviously cringe at having to buy yet another thing (we do make it clear we have lots of spares) , while others are horrified when we say we have lots of spares and request their child's feet go nowhere near them, and send in a pair of Hunters.

We're in a very middle of the road area, so I'd hate think how it is in other areas.

I’m not sure why you find this surprising. Children’s shoes are expensive as are children’s coats. I can easily see how parents can’t afford them it’s even worse now we are in a pandemic, no charity shops open, only supermarkets which in my opinion aren’t the best.

I paid £44 for dc1 and £38 for dc2 school shoes —from Clark’s— as that’s the only place I could buy them last year before they started school.

They have both outgrown them and will need new shoes before school re starts.

They are both currently wearing shoes from eBay (got a foot sizer and hoped for the best) I will happily donate their barely worn ones I might do a Facebook post for them.

Our secondary school requires black leather school shoes (no boots or anything remotely trainer like), football boots, and trainers for the sports hall that can never be worn outside. For out of school DS needs trainers and hiking boots. That's 5 pairs in every size.

I think a coat is much more affordable as once they are school age you can buy it to fit two or sometimes three years.

Those asking what charity...look up your local women's refuge, they are always massively grateful for kids clothes

Good shoes that are well fitting are so important to growing feet. It's a shame that all kids can't have them sized to fit.

If one looks at Victorian images of poor children, so few have shoes.

The Scottish Vet Eddie Straiton was desperately poor as a child, and spoke of playing football in bare feet....and later, in boots too big, with toes stuffed with newspaper.

You could also Google the name of your area and "community clothing scheme", it should bring up any that are near to you.

I have four DC and when kitting them out it is coats and shoes that are the biggest expense. By the time I get school shoes x4, PE trainers x4, out of school shoes x4, and hiking boots x4 plus football boots for DS I will have easily spent close to £500 then roughly another £150-£200 on coats/hats/gloves. School uniform, excluding the shoes and coat, comes in at around £100-£150 per child. I can very easily see how a struggling family would have difficulty in affording it.

How do I find out about charities like this? I’ve loads of kids clothes and shoes and nowhere to take them.
I don’t like taking things to the oxfam bin because Ive been told they are just cut up for rags.

I’m also surprised at how much kids shoes cost. I think I’m lucky though as my 10 year old and 8 year old seem to grow so slowly that shoes last a good 6 months or more before I need to replace. I’m shocked when people say that their kids grow out of shoes within weeks.

A good sturdy pair of shoes is expensive and also schools have super strict rules so that limits options.

My children don’t have wellies as they are an expense I can’t afford at the moment. They tend to have one pair of trainers, one pair of school shoes and plimsolls. They never have sandles either. I was shocked how much places like Clarke’s cost and they only last 5 mins. Since becoming a single mum I buy most of their shoes from sports direct or shoe zone.

No car boots, no charity shop and even no primark, not surprising.

I see many children in my class without decent shoes and coats. Parents cannot afford them. It is really awful.

As a child of the 60s, I remember having to put plastic bags between socks and shoes if rain or snow was forecast.

Sadly, it doesn't surprise me. Children's shoes are expensive and they often grow quickly.

I am fortunate that my local Clarks store are great at fitting with growing room. That said, I went in August for DS's school shoes plus a pair of shoes to wear out of school as his feet had grown. Two pairs of shoes and I was £85 lighter 😳 for one child!!

Imagine that multiplied by two, three or more!

We are outdoors a lot so I buy his wellies from the outdoor shop - again, £20, in the sale!

Coats are another. We need a good, properly waterproof one. I buy them in the summer sale from an outdoor shop so it's usually about £25 but full price, you're looking at £60😳

It was the one thing my mum always made sure we had to fit. She'd scrape by in other areas to make sure we had proper Clark's shoes fitted. Trainers and school shoes. She says now it was hard and cost her a fortune. She gave me and IOU for DS first birthday, whenever he needs them she's going to get his first pair of shoes.

I think it's especially hard at the moment, as, for example, we've not had a village jumble sale for over a year now. We normally have them twice a year. It's harder to get second hand stuff through the usual outlets.

This thread is so sad I’ve just looked for women’s refuges locally and can’t find any info. Just charity shops that are shut.

Kids feet can grow so quickly. We bought our DD new school shoes end of November. She wore them for a few weeks. They've been sitting on the shoe rack since then, but she tried them on the other day and they are nearly outgrown.
Fortunately we can afford another pair. (And die to lockdowns, they were only an Asda pair,not Clarks or Startrite).

I'm genuinely shocked by this. As a single mum on minimum wage, I could always afford my son's shoes. That's his school shoes, plus two kinds for PE and a few pairs of trainers plus a pair of wellies and slippers.
I got them from the super market and they'd come in anywhere from £3-£15 a pair.
Are times really that dire now?