What type of summer shoes for a toddler still learning to walk?

[wishIwasonholiday10]

What type of shoes or sandals would you recommend for a toddler just learning to walk over summer? She is a late walker and still not walking at almost 2.

We’re going on holiday in a few weeks time and it will be hotter than here and I’m not sure what to buy her and whether to pack socks and shoes or just sandals. Realistically she might not be spending much time actually walking as she is making quite slow progress at the moment.

Are sandals without socks OK when they are just learning to walk and which type? What footwear is best for the beach (there will be both stoney types and sandy)?

I'd buy :
a pair of canvas adjustable t-bar shoes with a flexible sole.
a pair of enclosed sandals ( can be worn with or without socks) https://www.startriteshoes.com/products/coastal-gold-pink-metallic-leather-t-bar-rip-tape-girls-sandals
and beach shoes (from the supermarket will be fine)

If she's just starting to walk, then you want the soles to be absolutely flat (no heel at all) and very flexible – you want to be able to basically fold the shoes in half.

If it's going to be hot, you probably don't need both sandals and canvas trainers/t-bars, but if you want both, some of the supermarkets do little canvas ones that are flat, flexible, and cheap. Beach shoes again will be fine cheap or secondhand – they don't usually get huge amounts of wear. Sandals are the one you might have to be a bit careful with – quite a lot of little girls' sandals have stiff, slippy soles, or the straps are a bit rubbish and they slide around on the foot.

For sandy beaches, I'd just go barefoot. For the stoney ones, I'd get some water shoes. They aren't great, but they are the only thing that will keep the stones out of her feet, which are painful.

Other than that, I'd get a pair of flexible first walker sort of shoes. The ones with quite bendy soles. These will protect her feet and make it so she still can feel the ground.

I was always told no shoes until walking so...

If she's not walking yet, then I would just use socks if the beach/ground is too hot, otherwise keep her barefoot. For the stone beaches, I would carry her (if she's not walking yet, she'll unlikely be able to walk on stones anyway, given the uneven surface)

Thanks all for the responses!

I have also read about no shoes until walking but the physio we are seeing wants her wearing shoes all the time and for us to use every opportunity to get to to stand up so it can be useful to have something on her feet.

I would stick to something like this:
https://www.clarks.com/en-gb/roamer-fly-t/26176463-p

And for the beach the water shoes, like this:
https://www.argos.co.uk/product/tuc143338025?istCompanyId=a74d8886-5df9-4baa-b776-166b3bf9111c&istFeedId=c290d9a9-b5d6-423c-841d-2a559621874c&istItemId=laraamwtr&istBid=t

I wouldn't buy sandals they are not great for learning to walk and can rub feet.

I second the recommendation of water shoes, they are very flexible and offer a bit of protection whilst still giving the benefits of being barefoot. Those leather slipper type shoes, like Inch Blue are great too. You want something very soft and flexible, flat and with a wide toe box so her toes can spread out like they would if she was walking barefoot.

@wishIwasonholiday10 closed toe sandals. Not open toe

The T-bar "First Walkers" or "Little Walkers" (can't remember the name of them) from Asda are always brilliant.

Clarks used to do these shoes called Doodles which were also really good but not sure if they do them any more?

I always thought there were no shoes until walking too.My toddler is 15 months old and not confident to walk outside.At physio we were told it would help.Following this thread for recommendations too,I am trying to build up her confidence to walk outside

Water shoes are the absolute best I think. I actually think they're just fantastic shoes for kids learning to walk in general. The thin cheap ones that slip on like socks and have a thin sole.

Honestly I get a bit confused also - I always thought online that barefoot type shoes are best. But then I was also told by a doctor that my youngest needed more supportive shoes which he classified as higher sides and a stiffer sole.

I'm inclined to go with a physio over an internet trend but it is a bit confusing.

Thanks all for the responses! I'll have a look at all the suggestions.

We currently have 2 pairs of shoes. One pair of high top trainers with a firm sole brought on the physio's recommendation as the physio thinks she needs more ankle support and all the shoes with ankle support have harder soles. I also brought a pair of lighter pre-walker T-bar shoes for nursery as DD is mostly sitting down there but did need something for going outdoors. We used moccasins at nursery over winter but they were getting too dirty once she started going out in the garden. I did try one pair of those leather slippers as well but DD didn't seem to like them and kept removing them.

I'm just not sure what to buy for summer holidays and hotter days here as the high-top shoes don't seem great for when it's hot. I could just take the pre-walker shoes and socks but it might be nice to have bare feet and snadals too and not need to be taking loads of socks for when she inevitably removes them. I'll definately look into some water shoes for the beach.

It definately is confusing when you get conflicting advice online and from the physio! I even went to John Lewis to buy the shoes with ankle support but they refused to sell them to us because she wasn't walking despite it being a request from the physio to buy them.