Toddler shoes - how many pairs and what types

[Jellybeans20]

I have an almost 2 year old who loves to play with sand, run in grass, explore mud, join us hiking, attend playgroup, paint, ride a trike and go to parties/weddings.
What are the different types of shoes a toddler would need?
What do your little ones have? Are there any particular varieties that you have 2 of? For example, I bought some waterproof sporty sandals and I'm wondering if I should buy some smart leather sandals (it's warm weather where we live). What are the essentials and what are the luxury extras?

My almost 2yo DS has 1 pair of well fitting comfortable shoes in navy. And a pair of wellies. That works for us temperate, Northern hemisphere dwellers. During the summer he had a pair of closed toe sandals too.

That covered it all. Their feet grow so quickly that I wouldn't buy any luxury extras, they may not even wear them once.

@DioneTheDiabolist thank you for that. LO had a pair of sneakers (grown out of), and has wellies and a sporty sandals too. There were a pair of dress shoes that LO has grown out of. I'm thinking I should replace the shoes grown out of.

Wellies/Snowboots
Trainers
Boots if cold season

We have 3 pairs at all times generally. Wellies, trainers & either boots or sandals depending on the time of year!

We live in the UK & it’s often raining so wellies are worn most of the year We always have trainers/sneakers for nursery as she wears her shoes indoors all day. And also for dry days at home. And then in summer we have sandals and winter a pair of leather boots for looking a bit smarter than wellies (and warmer generally)

I don’t buy extra shoes, they are expensive! My kid has wide feet so I have to buy shoes from a proper shoe shop as opposed to high street!

Three pairs, wellies, trainers and something a bit smarter - shoes or sandals depending on season.

I used to work in a children's shoe shop and I wouldn't waste the money on multiple shoes. We used to steer people towards having one proper pair or shoes or boots and a pair of wellies or sandals depending on time of year rather than lots of different types. boots tended to be better as they help keep the knees and hips in line

Buy shoes as and when you need them. Their feet grow so fast! The they only need one pair and, depending on your life style, wellies or beach shoes.

In the summer, my 2yo DS mostly wore waterproof sandals (these Crocs) and canvas trainers.

He also has good quality leather trainers which he wears pretty much all year round, they are smart enough if he needs to look smart (he doesn't really). And welly boots obviously.

His feet are growing so fast that I don't buy lots of extra shoes for the sake of it, I would rather he has fewer pairs but decent quality for his growing feet.

@LauraPalmersBodybag Thank you! 3 types at any given season seems to be the way

@Bol87 Thank you! I agree regarding the high end shoes. Do you have any brand recommendations for wider feet?

@NannyR
Thank you for your advice. 3 seems to be the magic number. I am going to replace LOs dressy shoes. Perhaps I should get leather T-bars since its warm weather and perhaps LO will grow out of them by winter.

@EscapeTheOrdinary Thank you for responding and for your advice. I've been reading everywhere that barefeet is best and that supportive but minimalist footwear is the new health trend. We do get a lot of barefoot time but what you say about alignment and boots makes so much sense. Are there any particular brands you recommend?

@BertrandRussell Thank you for the advice. Makes sense. We usually don't have many shoes. However, with Christmas round the corner, I feel like something dressy is required.

@NameChange30 Oh thank you so much for your summer recommendations. We are just about to move into summer. LO has waterproof sporty sandals. I've been told aqua socks are better than aforementioned sandals on sand and in water to protect from unpredictable things in the sand. LO has so far been bare on sand. not entirely sure if ill purchase but thinking it might be a good idea to protect as beaches get busier and more unpredictable as we get closer to end of year

DS usually has 2 pairs of shoes and a pair of wellies. Usually trainers and warm boots in winter, and trainers and sandles in summer.

Other shoes bought when we need them - he has some supermarket crocs to use as slippers at DMs as she has tiles, and had acqua shoes once and snow boots bought for/on specific holidays.

1 velcro Clarks style in red or blue, and one pair of wellies.

Winter:
Wellies
Trainers/canvas shoes
'Smart' boots

Summer:
Jelly shoes
Trainers/canvas shoes
'Smart' shoes/sandals

Might have the odd extra pair but generally stuck to the above as there's no point having too many the speed their feet grow m!

With all of ours I've stuck to one pair each of

• mucky trainers
• smart trainers
• smart shoes
• wellies
• slippers
• either winter boots or sandals depending on the season.

My son has a pair of shoes that are like laced ankle boots. These are what he wears daily. He also has a pair of sandals (can get wet in sea), wellies and snow shoes - these are all weather dependent and not worn as often but very much appreciated when needed 😊. Only the daily shoes are from Clarkes.

OP, I use Clark’s mostly and also Bobux who are online. I have a local independent shoe shop that stock Bobux & they are generally quite wide fitting, particularly their trainers. I’ve had the same style of Bobux trainers for 3 shoe sizes now as I love them! I just mix up the colour They are fantastic quality!

When you start potty training a pair of emergency crocs or similar can be helpful for when you have pissy shoes...

Pediped Sahara sandals are incredible for warm weather-water safe, ‘barefoot’ (wide, flexible and no lift at the heel) and they go in the washing machine. Couldn’t love them more. Other great barefoot brands are vivibarefoot and bobux.

*vivobarefoot

One pair at a time as a toddler. Could never afford more than one.

Then the DC start school and after a year or two it went up to a pair of school shoes (black, smart) a pair of wellies (essential if to be allowed out to play) a pair of trainers (needed for PE) a pair of pumps (again essential for indoor wear) a pair of football boots (again for PE but also used after school to be fair) and a pair of ballet shoes. So from one pair to six pairs in a year, or two - then junior school also added a pair of walking boots and a pair of jelly shoes/crocs. Not 100% essential but if child was to take a normal part of school life and not feel left out, they were needed. Eight pairs!!!

1 pair of Clarks or similar leather every day shoes
1 pair of wellies
In summer a pair of sandals and also cheapy sea shoes for the beach. Sandals annoyingly rubbed on the sand!

One pairs of shoes and a couple of pairs of wellies. We mainly wear wellies in our family

Our son just 2 years has

I pair park trainers
2 pairs Adidas trainers
1 pair high top Adidas
1 pair timberland boots
1 pair wellies
2 pair sandals
1 pair Nike Sunray
1 pair brogues

My daughter is nearly 3, she has some gross motor delay and issues so she has a pair of Mary-Jane style shoes from clarks which have a decent ankle and heel support and boots now it's autumn. She's gone up a size less than every 2 months lately so that's pretty much what I stick to or in summer waterproof sandals and supportive trainers or Mary Jane style shoes
She has wellies during spring if her boots don't still fit but shoes are expensive and as long as they suit purpose I stick to 2 styles/types
She did have an accident in her shoes at nursery last week and didn't have back up so an extra cheaper pair when potty training can be useful (doodles/sports shoes/wellies)

Always barefoot over any shoes but good fitted lightweight boots are really supportive. good quality shoes are too buy boots give that little extra support. I used to sell a lot of start rite shoes and boots and they are great quality

DS (just turned 2) has 2 pairs - a pair of leather ‘proper’ shoes and a pair of wellies.

DD (4) has 4 pairs - a proper pair of ‘weekend’ shoes for eg. going to the park, a smarter pair of leather shoes for pre-school (she wears a uniform), wellies and a pair of leather boots. I probably wouldn’t have bothered with the latter but they were a hand-me-down from a friend.

In the summer they have one pair of sandals (usually something waterproof like Croc sandals), then a pair of proper shoes (could be canvas). DD might have an additional pair of smarter sandals to wear with dresses.