Do I need to buy ds shoes now?

[wibblyjelly]

9 month old Ds is slowly walking (1 step last week, 3 at the weekend, 4 today ). One of my friends has said I now need to buy ds shoes right away.
Is this right? I'm happy for him to walk around the house, but as he loses his balance, and falls over, I'm going to wait until he is more steady before letting him walk outside.
When do we need to buy him shoes, and does it need to be a 'proper' pair by getting him measured in Clark's or the like? TIA.

They don't need shoes until they are walking around outside

Total waste of money before that and bad for their growing feet

He does not need shoes until he has been walking well unaided for a few weeks. The shape of a baby's feet can be damaged by wearing shoes before they have gained their natural walking arch.

That's what I thought, thank you!

I left it a month or so until I got my little man shoes. I went to a small independent shoe shop and the chap said he was ready for pre-walkers but to leave him barefoot whenever possible.

He also said I wasn't to go back for another 3 months when he would be ready for proper shoes.

step back from the shoe pushing brigade.

My DD was eager to walk very young, I got her some slippers ("pram shoes") just to keep the dust etc at bay when we were not at home (church halls and so on).
We got her some clarks shoes sometime after she learned to walk independently, for going outside. She was too small for proper walking shoes at that stage, although she'd been walking unaided for a while.

Only if you think he'll be walking outside or out of the house. We ended up buying shoes very early because she wanted to walk outside, and it wasn't the time of the year or in areas where bare feet were the best idea. Also as she was going to toddler groups with her CM and desperately trying to walk it seemed a better idea to not be bare foot around proper running toddlers in their shoes. But at home, definitely bare foot.

Thanks again, will be holding off buying proper shoes for a bit then