Can toddlers’ feet get wider as they grow? Expensive babies shoes…

[Doughnut100]

Basically I am horrified by how expensive proper Clarks baby shoes are. £30 for a one year old? They are the same price as shoes I’d buy for myself! And she will grow out of them instantly.

If I wait to buy until she needs the next size the right shoe won’t be available and I’ll have to go to the shops and pay full price. What I’d like to do is keep an eye on Facebook marketplace and when a good bargain pair comes up I can buy ahead of time so I have the next size ready as she grows.

But this won’t work if her shoe width is going to change as she grows through the sizes. Can anyone tell me if their baby’s foot width changed? Or did it stay the same as your baby grew? Currently my baby is 3F. Thanks a lot.

Don't buy ahead, their size and width changes all the time,learnt that from experience!

Width changes as feet develop.

One of mine was in extra wide for a bit then went back to normal width, so yes it can change. I usually buy start rite via their outlet and have their measure at home so I know they’ll fit. DS’s new pair cost me £17, reduced from £45.

Ok that’s pretty clear! Thanks so much, I’ll stop looking at marketplace. Great too about the startrite outlet too, thank you.

They can also skip sizes and you won’t necessarily need all types of shoe for all sizes.

Clark's also have online outlet x

Definitely keep an eye on the outlets. Clarks outlet in street is good if you're down that end of the country. We pass en route to visit family and always stop off.

Echo pps in not buying ahead, as they grow so quickly. DD got through about a pair every other month between 1 and 2, but has now slowed right down and been in the same pair since about Jan/Feb time at least (he's 4).

Once you know what size they are, only then look at marketplace or vinted. I sell my kids old shoes on vinted if they're still good and they're generally snapped up.

Definitely keep an eye on the outlets. Clarks outlet in street is good if you're down that end of the country. We pass en route to visit family and always stop off.

Echo pps in not buying ahead, as they grow so quickly. DD got through about a pair every other month between 1 and 2, but has now slowed right down and been in the same pair since about Jan/Feb time at least (he's 4).

Once you know what size they are, only then look at marketplace or vinted. I sell my kids old shoes on vinted if they're still good and they're generally snapped up.

When ds was 1 all the kids wore sturdy moccasin type baby shoes, I can't remember any kids being in Clarks shoes until 18 months.

It’s not only the size, it’s the brand and style of shoe. I fit childrens shoes and the size they measure is really just a guide as to where to start.

Some styles won’t suit the child’s foot at all, or we might have to try different widths, going up half a size etc.

As an adult you know yourself not every shoe in your size will fit as you’d like it to and it’s the same with kids. Their feet are still changing and developing so it’s really important that they’re properly fitted in person.

learn to fit shoes yourself.
plenty youtube tutorials available.

other shoe places, even supermarkets, have decent shoes in various sizes.

Ime the only shoes you can buy in advance are:
Wellies
Crocs-style clogs
Walking sandals
Rockpool shoes
Pool sliders
As all of these tends to be one size without additional width fittings or half sizes.
Proper shoes need to be fitted.
Also highly recommend any Clark's outlets - Street is the main one, but you often find them in other outlet centres.

THIS, and please never buy any second hand shoes for them, even if they appear to be exactly the correct size in length and width, as once worn by the original child they will have moulded themselves to the previous child's foot shape.

Also, please don't buy even new children's shoes online, unless they are genuinely refundable, and you personally know how to check that they are not already growing out of them, and that you can tell by feeling them once they are on your child's feet whether the width is correct - too wide or too narrow are both serious problems - you also need to check that the back of the shoe is right, so that the support there is correct, and won't rub or cause blisters!

You have probably experienced yourself that we can try on new shoes in a shoe shop, and even though they are apparently the correct size, they don't feel at all comfortable, which could be for many different reasons.

I know that quality children's shoes are awfully expensive, so if your child has a doting (and reasonably financially comfortable) grandparent or similar, could you ask them to buy your child's shoes until your DC stops growing quite so quickly? We did that for our first Grandchild, but we were lucky enough to live close to a Clarks outlet shop, which helped a bit with the cost.

Apart from maybe their knickers/underpants (parental choice), it doesn't matter what other clothing they wear second or even third hand - as long as they are washed properly, and are still comfortable.
But shoes can, will, and do, misshape a child's tender young bones if not chosen, measured, and fitted, correctly. So I truly believe that in the case of shoes, they need to be bought new, and tried on at source.

They do change, mine started off very very wide at 1 (H?) and now he's 3 they're normal width. I don't find they grow that fast though, once they're proper toddlers and especially at nursery mine's shoes get wrecked quicker than he grows out of them!

Sorry, I started typing my comment above when your only reply was from @MrsPelligrinoPetrichor, so had not seen @CurlsandCurves answer. She really put all that needed to be said much more succinctly than I did - or even, can!

@TheLadyofShalott1 aw, thanks!

Clarks do keep ex sale stock in the back too so it's worth asking if they have any sale items in the size she measures when in store.

We once went on holiday and forgot ds only shoes (he was 1 so only had one pair at a time) - clarks sale stock in the back room came up trumps!

Bear in mind too, that Clark’s and StartRite sizes measure differently! A StartRite abs physically about half a size smaller than Clark’s of the same “label size”.

It can be helpful to ask for Clark’s/Clink’s/John Lewis etc vouchers for birthdays etc to contribute towards shoes.

I might start doing this again actually, as my teen DS has gone from a 9 to a 12 in a year and is still growing.

It’s the other way round, StartRite typically come up bigger than a Clarks, depending on fit. The difference is more noticeable in the cruisers and toddler sizes.

Good call re the gift vouchers, we are a small independent chain of shoe shops and our gift vouchers are really popular. In times like this I think parents appreciate something practical that their kids can also get the benefit of. Specially when they’re little and won’t remember or know any different.

Yep, and we weren't happy with Clark's fitters so went to an independent shoe shop in the end which was even more expensive! Basically, even a shoe that's ostensibly the same size as another will vary depending on the last it's made from - the indie shop will bring out four pairs in the same size and one will be a really bad fit eg heel slipping, two not too bad and one really good. But it's really important to get the best fitting ones you can - I'm an unusual shoe size and it really hurts your feet not having shoes that fit right!

We basically cope with it by getting all of her clothing secondhand to keep other costs down and she only had one pair of shoes at a time as well as things like wellies that don't come in different fittings.

You can also hold off for as long as possible by waiting until they can walk confidently. DD started walking at about 12 months but we didn't get her shoes until about 15 months as she just walked indoors until then.

You can also hold off for as long as possible by waiting until they can walk confidently. DD started walking at about 12 months but we didn't get her shoes until about 15 months as she just walked indoors until then.

This! Especially as foot shape abs size changes dramatically as soon as babies start walking and building up muscle. Mininhad wellies/crocs (from supermarkets) for outdoor pottering and something like Step Ons until they had been walking independently for 6 weeks (HV advice).

For every child that has far growing feet, you'll have another whose feet grow slowly.

My 4yo's feet haven't grown in a year, and my 3yo only grows 1 (full) size every 12m or so.

I made this mistake once. Bought a pair of Clark’s doodle shoes in the sale thinking she’d wear them when she’d grown a bit. They never fitted her. Waste of money.
My girls never grew out of shoes particularly fast.
We always get at least a season out of them. So maybe 5/6 months.

I had one of those - who then had massive growth spurts as teenagers.