First Shoes - DS won't wear them!!

[BooseysMom]

Hi,
I took my DS to have his feet measured for his first shoes as he has been walking for about a month now and is fairly confident. (he is 11 months). Went to Brantano's and tried a couple of pairs. He is a size 5 on the left and a size 4.5 on the right and the girl said to go with the size 4 as the 5's were too wide. They are Start Rite which I know is a good first shoe. The problem is since then the little darling won't let me put them on his feet! I have tried kissing them like he kisses his teddies and he will happily play with them as toys but wear them .... no thank you!! I know he might get used to them in time, but if the one is a size too small anyway, he'll be grown out of them before he lets me put them on him! I think I need a second opinion from another shoe shop. Anyone had any similar experiences?
Thanks
x

I'm not an expert but it seems strange advice to go down a size because of the width - my 3 boys all have quite narrow feet (D/E) but I've never been told to downsize if they don't have the correct width. Maybe he's not letting you put them on because they're too small and scrunch up his toes? I'd go to another show shop and get him measured again.

*shoe not show!

Never heard of going down for width or because one foot is smaller my son has half size difference in his feet and we always have been told to accommodate the bigger foot !

First of all start rite are half a size bigger so if he's measuring 4.5 that would be a 4 in start right.

However he should be given a 4.5 because of the other foot. They come in different width sizes so she should have tried that or a different style not go down a size.

They are too small and hurt clearly

Thanks to everyone for the advice. Very helpful. The girl didn't mention half sizes but I think she should have done. I'll go and get him re-measured and then take the ones we've got back to the shop. Thanks again
x

Start rite might be a good first shoe but I'm not convinced that a girl in Brantanos would be well enough trained in measuring to sell them properly. I used to work in a cheap shoe shop and the foot measuring training for babies consisted of showing me where the tiny foot measuring thing was hung up. Nothing about widths or what to do if feet are different sizes or anything.

Go to a shoe shop that at least measures width. Charles Clinkard sell a range of shoes including Start Rite.

Thanks noblegiraffe, that's really helpful

I thought advice today was wider the better to allow the feet to develop naturally

I suspect they are too tight and uncomfortable for him to wear - as you hint at.

return them.

but remember he doesn't really need shows until he is walking outside.