What is a reasonable amount of time that school shoes should last?

[deenymcqueenygoreandguts]

Got some cheepy ones from Woolworths for ds in September.
We polish them every day but the sole is wearing and has a hole.
The tops look like new tho.

How much longer do say Clarks shoes last before they start to drop to bits?

We always used to get clarkes, but I was changing them every half term (bloody football!) so now I get them from debenhams or next or something, still only last half a term but at least they are half the price!

you get what you pay for really
dd usually needs a new pair by Easter (bought new in the Sept) more because she has grown out of them rather than wear/tear

I'd expect the soles on decent shoes to last longer than four months, certainly. Do they still fit?

What would worry me about Woolworths would be whether they fitted properly in the first place, tbh. Very important for growing feet to have properly fitted shoes, it's the one thing I'd never cut back on. (But one of my grandads was a shoemaker, so my mother was always very particular about it and it's rubbed off on me.)

Ds1 has got a year out of his clarks. I don't think that I've ever had a pair fall to pieces - he outgrows them and even then they are still in a fit enough condition to pass on. But he does wear different shoes out of school.

On average I'd say 2 terms, although some have lasted less and some more.

TBH it depends on the child. I've bought cheaper shoes for all my DCs at times. With DD they lasted nearly a year and she outgrew them rather than wore them out. With both the boys they were shredded in months - but having said that DS#1 also shredded his expensive shoes in much the same sort of time. I think that school shoes take a hell of a battering.

They do still fit yes.
My problem was that we went to Clarks to get measured up. there was a waiting time for 1.5 hours to be measured and the shelves were empty, or had horrid built up shoe type shoes.

went to woolies and ds saw these shoes.

only wanted them for the short term but they have lasted well.

Clarks shoes are about £30 and i could not justify that spend on a pair of shoes.

Im looking around for some new ones (for the very reason you give edam...guilt guilt guilt,,,saving like mad to be able to afford them)
Just wondered how long they will last before the guilt and need to save again sets in.

I am always thankful if they last for longer than a term.

When dd was smaller I used to fork out for Startrite and Clarks, made no difference because they were either grown out of, or shredded to pieces, or both. DD is just hard on shoes.

Thought things might change now she's 12 but no, her school shoes (new in September ) I noticed after Xmas were wrecked, sole come away from the upper. This added to the fact they are scuffed to bits (football at lunchtime)

Drives me mad.

Sorry about the guilt trip, I know how bloody expensive they are (£35 I pay for ds and he's only five - in a size 10.5 already, he'll be in 'adult' sizes soon and I'll have to start paying VAT. Eek).

Do you have any independent shoe shops near you? I'm lucky enough to have one and it's MUCH easier than Clarks.

I agree with OrmIrian. I bought new shoes for both Ds's in September ds 2 is on his second pair of shoes and in need of a third,while ds 1 still has his shoes from September.

It seems to make little difference on what you pay for them.

Im just looking around at the moment.

Funny because i absolutely refused point blank to put him in shoes as a baby and toddler because i was so worried about his soft little bones growing and bieng restricted.
Its very important i know but i just cant do it financially.
He kind of tells me when shoes are not right.
I get his "play" type footwear from Asda or Tesco for every day knocking around and he always says if they are not comfortable...they go to the charity shop and i dont make him wear them.
Going to keep looking for replacement shoes.

I'd say as long as they fit. take them back.

As long as they fit; Clarks always replace with no quibble as well.

Have a look in the Clarks factory shops (most retail outlets have them I think).

I don't think you save money by buying from cheap shoe shops and IMO it is important to have their feet correctly measured and fitted but I have also been brainwashed into this attitude by my family like Edam

just bought ds1 some new ones. he had new ones in september. they were £11 from asda. tbh i dont give a stuff about clarks. money grabbing they are. the only time i have ever bought clarks was for dd2 as her fifrst shoes as we couldnt find any anywhere else small enough!!

Next time I would spend a bit more and buy a brand such as Startrite or Buckle my Shoe. They are a bit more expensive but will last the yeatr

We now have school shoes and play shoes (all from Clarks as nothing else fits their feet) and they seem to wear better and last longer than when they had only one pair for everything. The dc are 5 and 7, and their shoes seem to last about 6m. I wax the school shoes from time to time, using silicone spray the rest of the time, and re-black the scuffed bits with permanent marker. The play shoes get washed and siliconed. It's worth getting good quality shoes and looking after them.

It's also worth getting shoes professionally fitted, because if they then don't fit well you can return them even if they have been worn out-of-doors.

The one time a pair of Clarks shoes started falling to pieces less than a month after buying them, the shop told me that they would have exchanged them had I kept the receipt. I used to chuck the receipt after a few days, once I was sure of the fit, but now I keep it for a couple of months.

yes i agree about looking after shoes. This is an overhang from my childhood tbh.
we use black wax polish on them every morning, they are like new.
(I also worry because they are cheep that they will leak and let water in so he will have wet cold feet all day, so thats another reason to waterproof them every day )

DD's Clarks shoes lasted until Christmas but weren't falling apart just horribly scuffed on the top. The soles were fine, the velcro on the strap had started to get a bit fluffy and non-sticky though. I actually thought that lasting a term was quite a long time given that they're in them every single day.

I bought DD a pair of shoes from Brantanos and they fell apart within 2 months . Its the second pair from Brantanos that haven't lasted so I get the kids shoes from Clarkes - last ages.