Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. Child-safe in minutes.

Meet the Other Phone.
Child-safe in minutes.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
Other subjects
Original poster

2nd hand shoes for kids

39 replies

lewislewis · 06/12/2005 08:43

Have been given 2 pairs of shoes for my ds, they have been used and are a bit manky, but look great on him and he seems to be able to walk in them. Do you think it is really bad for small kids to wear 2nd hand shoes?

OP posts:
Twiglett · 06/12/2005 08:47

yes I do

but I think I might have swallowed the Clarks / Startrite marketing guff too .. I thought that shoes mould to a child's feet with wear and all feet are different

Twiglett · 06/12/2005 08:47

I do know the bones in their feet are really soft when they're little .. I am exceptionally careful about feet because you don't know how much you need them till they deform on you

Blondeinlondon · 06/12/2005 09:41

Would you wear 2nd hand shoes?

NannyL · 06/12/2005 09:42

Yes it is VERY bad....

when we walk we all put pressure on different bits of out feet so the inside of the shoe over time fit OUR OWN feet and you can also see this on the bottom where the sole wears.

It is very important that children wear shoes that havnt been 'worn' by someone else cause other wise they cant walk way they naturally walk.

I think the only excep[tion would be wellies, cause you dont seem to be able to wear them out!

Jasnem · 06/12/2005 09:44

I've let mine wear 2nd hand wellies before, and sandals which are adjustable have gone from DD1 to DD2, but I wouldn't let them wear some one elses shoes.

Jasnem · 06/12/2005 09:44

I've let mine wear 2nd hand wellies before, and sandals which are adjustable have gone from DD1 to DD2, but I wouldn't let them wear some one elses shoes.

Tommy · 06/12/2005 09:46

we do wellies and slippers but not shoes. I wouldn't wear second hand shoes

frogs · 06/12/2005 09:58

I am the queen of tightness, but I wouldn't pass on shoes that have been worn everyday for any length of time. Wellies fine, jelly shoes or beach sandals fine, party shoes worn occasionally fine, or even school shoes that were bought in the summer holidays and outgrown by September after only a couple of wears.

Anything that could be described as 'worn' or 'manky' definitely not fine, IMO.

harpsiheraldangelssing · 06/12/2005 10:00

I am also the queen of 2nd hand but not shoes, no. slippers, jellies and wellies only

ItllBeLonelymumThisChristmas · 06/12/2005 10:04

I let my children wear second hand wellies and I pass plimsolls down through the family, and beach shoes, sandals, trainers, weekend shoes etc where appropriate, but then I have to say that my children don't wear shoes very much, except for their school shoes, so they a) don't look very worn when they are passed down (sometimes they look new) and b) they aren't being worn much by the second wearer so I don't worry about their feet being put out of shape by the shoes.

That said, I would prefer them to wear new shoes (apart from wellies and plimsolls) but it can be too expensive. When I take my kids shopping for shoes, I always pray that one of them doesn't need new shoes and I can get away with a bill under £100.

Original poster
lewislewis · 06/12/2005 14:04

Oh dear, very strong opinions, please don't call Social Services just yet. Your are probably right though! By the way I personally do wear 2nd hand shoes, I don't see anythng wrong for adults to do so. Thankyou.

OP posts:
aprilgirl · 06/12/2005 14:14

i worked in a shoe shop specialising in kids shoes and i must say i dont believe there is aything wrong in 2nd hand shos as long as the child has enough room in them and they dont dig in anywhere!

HRHQueenOfQuelNoel · 06/12/2005 14:15

I (sometimes) wear 2nd hand shoes - unforutnately most of my friends have much larger feet than me - so don't often get any. Both DS's have worn (and DS2 is currently wearing) 2nd hand shoes - some came from his brother - and some of them, in turn, came from their cousin.

expatinscotland · 06/12/2005 14:17

I WISH I could find second hand shoes for DD. Not a chance! She's a 6D. Only brand that even makes that is Start Rite. Just stumped up £59 for one pair of boots and a pair of dress shoes. . My purse is crying a river.

Epiffany · 06/12/2005 14:19

expat, we have to get dd's made she is a b fitting, how she even walks is a question...
Fortunately the NHS covers it for now...

motherinfurrierfestivehat · 06/12/2005 14:19

I am a total tightarse on all kids' things except shoes. Do pass down wellies. Wouldn't pass down their (horribly expensive) shoes.

CliffRichardSucksEggsinHell · 06/12/2005 14:24

My dd and ds both wear second-hand shoes - sorry! Some of us simply cannot afford to pay £30 plus for pairs of shoes. I would love to be able to, to be able to go into a shop and actually pick out my own taste in clothes and shoes for my kids would be lovely! But I can't. Just recently dd got 2 pairs of good trainers, and a pair of boots, second-hand from a neighbour. We had her feet measured and then got her a cheap pair of shoes for school based on the measurements.

Ds got given 3 pairs of shoes and a pair of walking boots from another neighbour. They are very good quality, we'd never be able to afford them new. They are a little big for him but better than nothing! When we return at Christmas though we will get his feet measured and Clarks and see if we can get him a pair of shoes in the sale.

I'm very grateful for my neighbour's generosity.

expatinscotland · 06/12/2005 14:26

ALL DD's clothes are second hand, from Tesco (the only kind of trousers that fit her long, thin frame), or gifts from my parents in the US.

So we have to stump up for her shoes. Just cannot get any to fit that width. Clarks only goes down to E width.

OComeOliveFaithfOil · 06/12/2005 14:30

Do you not pass on siblings shoes? I was going to pass on dd1's to dd2's (once she gets her arse in gear and walks that is).

Should I not bother?

Bozza · 06/12/2005 14:33

I have been given some shoes for DD. They have hardly been worn - the little girl in question had 4 pairs of shoes and 2 pairs of trainers in size 5F. Thats not a lot of wear between all those for an 18 month old thinking how fast their feet grow at that age. So DD is wearing them after I took her and got her feet measured and checked in them. If they looked worn (especially inside) I wouldn't do this. DD is also wearing DS's old wellies. So her only new footwear are her slippers but she probably wears them more than anything else anyway.

Bozza · 06/12/2005 14:34

olive it will depend if they are the same width and how worn they are. DS is an H and DD is an F so even if they were the same sex it wouldn't work for me. Although as just posted DD wears a pair of very cute red postman pat wellies that were DS's.

CliffRichardSucksEggsinHell · 06/12/2005 14:37

Here in France they don't do width sizes and don't seem to be that fussy on measuring either. Yet their children's feet seem fine, not heard anyone complaining about bad feet anyway. Is this just a Western thing?

Bugsy2 · 06/12/2005 14:39

Funny isn't it how nowadays, it is almost like commiting a crime putting your kids in 2nd hand shoes. Yet, when I grew up we all wore 2nd hand clothes & shoes. My sister rarely had a new pair of shoes as she was the youngest. Yet as far as I know, we've all grown up with normal, fully functioning feet.
Personally, I think alot of the shoe thing is clever marketing by shoe manufacturers who know that they stand to make more money by all of us having to buy new shoes all the time!

Bozza · 06/12/2005 14:42

Well we never wore them second hand but by the time they were replaced they were thoroughly worn done which makes me think they can't have been replaced very often. And I certainly never remember having my feet checked "just in case".

Jasnem · 06/12/2005 14:43

My family all have 2nd hand clothes, but stil wouldn't do shoes (even if I was given any that fitted - see thread on kids with wide feet!)
They do only ever have one good pair of shoes at a time, I couldn't buy school shoes, best shoes, boots and trainers, as some people seem to.