Advice needed regarding First Shoes

[BexusSugarush]

My 1yo daughter has been walking for a few weeks now and is getting very good very quickly. My question would be, where do I go from here regarding shoes?

Where do I get her feet measured? Does it cost? How much should I spend on first shoes? etc etc

You can take them to a shop to be measured, or you can order a start-rite measuring guague online and then buy the shoes online (eBay), new ones from eBay are about £15.

I am inclined to say startrite shoes. I wore them as a child and DD does. Not sure if all of MN will agree as I hear they don't wear well. I haven't found this but she is only 2.

What I would say is go to an independent childrens shoe shop. They will measure your DD's feet and have lots of brands to choose from. Aside from the colour (I don't do pink) different brands come up with a slightly different fit. German shoes are bigger. Spanish shoes smaller n so on.

Clarks measure & supply shoes. They make sure they walk properly in them too

I used to take DS (2yrs) to Clarkes but I was unhappy with the fit of the most recent pair. We now go to an independent shop, was recommended to us and can try different brands for fit. He is currently in Ecco's.

I wouldn't buy on eBay. Each shoe style will fit differently and you really need to fit them before you decide to buy

Lots of people disagree but I like clarks. Free fitting and you can return any store fitted shoe if it no longer fits within a certain time frame (6wks I think). They still have a sale on so you should be able to pick up a nice pair of shoes for under £15. I took DS (2.7yo) to get measured yesterday and got a lovely pair of shoes reduced from £38 to £11.

Hold off getting shoes for as long as possible - she doesn't need them until she is walking outside, and definitely not inside. Barefoot inside the house.

Happy Little Soles (internet) have a fantastic range of shoes for new walker's and they will give you the advice you need to fit them yourself.

If buying from a shop you want to make sure they are as light and flexible as possible, the sole should be able to bend back on itself and should be completely flat, no heels and the upper should be super soft. Make sure her heels are held firmly in place and that there is plenty of wriggle room around all of the toes. Try and get shoes rather than boots so ankles are not restricted in movement.

I was going to recommend Happy Little Soles, too. Great range, fantastic customer service. The Stonz are particularly good for little ones in winter.

We would only ever go to Clarks.

I'm not convinced that buying first shoes online is a good idea unless you know how to professionally fit shoes yourself. The bones in babies' feet aren't fully formed and are made up of cartilage that can easily be pushed out of shape or damaged.

It is essential that you have their shoes professionally fitted by any shoes shop that has trained people who can fit children's shoes.

It is popular on MN to hate Clarks, but I have never had a problem with them even though DD has very narrow feet and has to wear insoles.

We often ended up at Kids at Clinks and usually ended up with Clarks shoes simply because they were the best fit.

I had massive problems with Clark's. I'm not sure why a teenager with a couple of hours of training is somehow deemed more capable than a parent who has read up - it really isn't rocket science.

I too was a Clark's devotee, until the time I went in tonget her feet measured and they were two sizes smaller than the last time she had been measured. After that I went to an Indy who sucked her teeth at the Clark's fitting, and was great until she started fitting DDS feet to the shoes she had in stock, rather than send me away with nothing.

The advice I had from Happy Little Soles, both from reading their site and directly from the owners has been excellent, and as someone who is paranoid about foot health and getting the right shoes it is very reassuring to know how to fit DDs shoes myself.