How bad is it that she's not in proper shoes?

[Zoomtothespoon]

Hey all

My DD has been walking for 1 month now.

I stupidly never bought her any shoes as I thought they'd be a waste of money unless she was walking and when she was we would pop along to Clarks for a fitting and she would toddle around in the correct shoes and we would all live happily ever after in smart sensible shoes.

Obviously that hasn't happened,

My daughter SCREAMED every time I tried to put shoes on her, genuinely distressed cries. She's flinch and hide when she saw we would bring out another pair for her to try, and she's even avoid putting her feet to the floor once they were on.

The lady in Clarks said to maybe try her with some pram shoes then build it up. She's got 3 pairs now, which after some reluctance at first (no where near as much as with the harder shoes) she enjoys wearing and will bring them to me to put them on her and sit patiently whilst I put them on.

I'm planning another attempt at some more supportive shoes again soon but wanted to know if I'm doing her any damage by letting her walk around in pram shoes in the mean time? She's very petite (still in 6-9 month clothes) and the measurement at clarks showed she was a size 3 G. Can I let her enjoy pram shoes for a while longer or is it really best to get her into some proper walking shoes?

I'm not a foot expert but I thought babies only needed shoes when they started to walk outside. Shoes aren't 'good' for feet; they just protect them from getting wet, dirty, cut on sharp stones etc. You're not supposed to put a baby's feet in shoes before they need them.

I can't see why there's a rush. I suggest you let your daughter get used to shoes in her own time.

I am no podiatrist but I thought softer shoes are better whilst they're gained no confidence on their feet. I'm sure someone more knowledgable will be along in a bit, but I wouldn't beat yourself up.

Gained confidence, no idea where the rogue 'no' came from

I just thought that as there's crawlers and walkers and apparently you get walkers after 6 weeks of walking there was a reason. If there's no particular reason to get her hard sole shoes I'd ranger just let her enjoy wearing pram shoes for now!

There's still wine left?

I thought the advice was for babies to go barefoot as long as possible.

I left my kids a good 6 weeks without shoes after they started walking, so they could learn to walk on their feet.

One of them was 21 months before they were shod.

I wouldn't worry about it.

No harm is being done to her.

The main reason to get her in shoes is for your convenience - life will be a bit easier when she can walk outdoors.

My DD only got "first shoes" when she was stable enough to walk outside- before that she just wore little leather slipper things. I felt they were enough to protect her feet to toddle round indoors, even in shops or whatever and in the garden. Don't worry she will get there.

There's no reason to put her in shoes at all if you/she doesn't want to - unless of course you are walking outside, and then you'd probably want to do something to protect her feet from cold/wet/sharp things/dog poo depending on where you are walking. I think the advice is to leave off shoes for as long as possible as it's better for foot development.

It sounds like you are doing the right thing, building her up to the idea of shoes gradually - she will get there in time. Could you maybe do some role playing with a teddy or doll ("look, teddy has her shoes on, would you like to put yours on?") to help her? Or maybe "look, mummy and daddy have their shoes on, would you like to be a big girl and put yours on too?" Has she had a chance to choose some shoes for herself to give her more excitement/ownership? (sorry if you have already done all those things - just thinking off the top of my head!)

Thanks everyone! I might just keep her in pram shoes until the autumn if that's the case!

She loves playing with shoes, she has picked a pair out and adores walking around with them and showing us them, putting them on her is a whole different story though!

Yes it's best to leave them without shoes for as long as it's feasible, it will allow her feet to do their best work and the muscles to engage properly.

My DD has been walking for 3 and a half months and she only wears "proper shoes" if she's walking out and about - sometimes we let her walk round shops on her little backpack baby reigns, or playing in the garden or park. Other than that, I never put shoes on her, and she's not a big fan of socks either! We got her first shoes from Clarks, and the man who measured and helped us choose shoes said that the shoes with a blue shape on the sole (can't remember which shape!) are their softer shoes for babies just starting to walk, and then the ones with the green shape on the bottom, which are marketed as "first walkers" are better for babies who are confident walkers and walk outside quite regularly.

Posted too early!
We bought the ones with the blue shape on the bottom, and DD walks fine in those outside on pavements. I also got her some trainers with a thicker sole, but she couldn't walk in them at all at first! Not worth spending loads of money on shoes when they grow out of them so quickly and don't really get a chance to wear them often - my DD walked at 9 months, but was still in the pushchair majority of the time.

DD is 18m and has been wearing Clarks "cruiser" shoes since January - she started walking in December. I've just bought her some more summery shoes - Doodles canvas ones - but my main criteria was getting some with super flexible soles as she doesn't seem to like the harder ones. I nearly just bought her another pair of cruisers. They have held up pretty well but the rubber on the sole is a bit softer than the walker shoes, and the bumpy grip is starting to wear down now, and she doesn't really walk that much outside. But they're still fine and i sent her to nursery in them today as it was too wet for her new canvas ones.
So anyway I'd stick with the nice soft ones for now. The cruiser shoes go up to size 5 I think, so that's an option for when you want something a little more hardwearing for walking on damp pavements, but which are still really flexible.

We had the same reaction as you when we first tried to put shoes on our (now) 15mo around a week after he started walking. So we took the shoes back and waited another 2 months or so before we went to try and buy shoes again (at another shop). They don't actually need shoes unless walking outside. And if they are still scrunching up their toes while walking you should wait.

2 months later DC was still not too keen but at least not the dreadful sobbing we had before, and slowly he has accepted them, so that now (around 1 month later) he is happily running around in them.

We took it slowly: first happy that he had them on and then we removed them and let him run around without shoes, then slowly started leaving them on for longer till he decided to walk in them (with some encouragement). Good luck! I thought it would be just as simple as putting on shoes and off they go, but it was nothing like that.

Yeah we only put shoes on DD2 if she's properly walking outside (barefeet in the garden). As an aside though - have you tried boots? It might be with the extra support she feels better in them though her wee feet might get hot in the summer granted.