Are toddler crocs any good?

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Are toddler crocs comfortable for toddlers that are not super confident walkers or a bit clumsy still? Are they OK for kids with narrow feet or are they wide fitting?

I’m just looking for something for DD to wear in the garden now the weather is getting nicer. I gave been putting her in wellies (probably also not the easiest to walk in but she seems to do OK in the lightweight Crocs ones) as she loves watering things with her watering can and playing with her water table and always gets her shoes wet. I don’t mind changing clothes when she gets wet or dirty but shoes don’t always dry fast enough

What do everyone else’s toddlers wear in the garden or do you just have them barefoot once it’s a bit warmer?

We live in a hot country so DS1 was in crocs or baby flip flops (or barefoot) from the minute he could walk - he didn’t even go into a proper pair of shoes (or socks) until he was 2 and that was when we were visiting the UK.

Crocs are fine for toddlers in the garden (and super cute!), but so are wellies and bare feet so they're not an essential purchase.

No Crocs are good for anyone! Had.the same conversation with DM this afternoon - again!

I put my DD in swimming shoes when she was playing with water in the garden.

I would go for a more solid well fitted pair of shoes personally
Wellies offer no support at all

Both my dc lived in crocs until the age of 5 during the summer. They don’t rub and wash well. Brilliant summer shoes for kids.

She wears proper shoes most of the time and I always have one main pair that have been properly fitted. I have just been using the wellies when water is involved (most of the time in the garden as she loves water) as her shoes were getting soaked and not drying in time for nursery. Toddler shoes are expensive enough without needing loads to pairs if she is getting them wet multiple times a day.

I might also look at swimming type shoes for the summer as suggested above.

I work in early years and hate crocs, the amount of accident firms we have to fill in because children have trapped or fallen is ridiculous and I'd say a large percentage of these children are wearimg crocs.

They don't support feet correctly and moat children wear ones that are frlar too big for them meaning their feet fall out them.

Crocs changed the way my then-toddler DD walked. She walked beautifully before and then she got Crocs and started walking more Penguin-like! They went in the bin and I got Skechers beach sandals instead and they had better arch support anyway.

Oh and I not just broke my ankle wearing crocs sandals (slid off to the side) but broke it in two places and 9 years later it still hurts

Crocs don’t suit my ds feet as he has high arches and even though the shoes are the right size they flop around a lot!
I second the previous poster that suggested water/beach shoes for the garden, we got some from George at Asda that are brilliant and almost just like being barefoot.

George at Asda has great aqua shoes. I just checked if they have arrived after the winter, and they have. I will be getting a few pairs for my DD again for this summer.

Asda normally do good cheap canvas shoes that are super flexible with a wide toe box (says a random woman who bangs on about barefoot shoes on my Facebook) my older kids do wear (and love) crocs in the summer, but they are very chunky for a non confident walker

My DC has some crocs. He prefers them with socks (such an English bloke in the making) because otherwise they rub his feet and make them sore. I think it's because they're so loose.

Mine have cheap version of crocs for the garden in the warm weather. Easy to slip on and off. We’ve not had any injuries whilst wearing crocs but have bare foot in the garden. In colder weather they wear wellies.
Little jodphur boots are good as well. Leather and easy to slip on and off. Both mine wear them a lot. Between £20-30 so not expensive

When I was Chair of a preschool we had to ask parents NOT to send the Dc in Crocs because they were tripping over all over the place.
I think part of problem was that the smaller kids ones come in dual sizes and parents were buying big as there weren't all the dupes back them.

We have a 2 year old who is amazing on her feet, very agile and ahead of her age in terms of mobility. I picked up some crocs in the garden centre last weekend and they're awful! I can just see how differently she's walking because there's no support and they're clunky and almost dangerous!
Otherwise she only wears barefoot shoes. I'm going to get some jelly shoes for occasional garden wear if she's not in proper shoes

My boy has loved his crocs since he’s been little, they’re great. And I’ve recently caved and bought a pair for nipping out to the garden or putting the bins out etc - they’re surprisingly comfy and supportive! We both have wide feet though.

Fitflops might be a good alternative. They do kids strap sandals.

We live on the coast, right on the sea front, and my 3 year old loves his crocs for the beach. I love mine too. Most of the time he’s either in trainers, boots, or wellies. But for the beach or just playing in the garden, you can’t beat crocs. We prefer the croc band style as they don’t have holes in the bottom for sand, stones and shells to get inside.

They need proper sandals like keens that can get soaked. Crocs are awful for foot development

Thanks all for the information. I'll look into getting some beach type shoes and maybe some proper sandals as well. We don't have many good childrens shoe shops locally, just Clarks so its tricky to go and try things on and I'm never quite sure what to buy online. I guess closed toe sandals are bext if they are not super confident walkers? I've heard toddlers are also more likely to trip with open toed ones?

I don't let my DCs wear crocs, because they're not safe to run, jump and climb in, and you have to kind of grip with your toes to keep them on which is not great for developing feet. The main reason, though, is that DC1 is the sort of child who gets fixated on specific clothes and if I let him have crocs he would want to wear them ALL the time, which would exacerbate the problem - I might be more relaxed about it if I thought he would consent to only wearing them on the beach. It's been enough work making sure he wears shoes instead of wellies most of the time.

Anyway, this sort of thing is great for getting feet wet: https://www.northshoes.co.uk/sandals-c19/ricosta-gery-azur-neongreen-childrens-closed-toe-sandals-p29121/s267882?utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_term=ricosta-gery-3320100-151-azur-neongrun-col-azur-neongrun-width-medi-col-azur-neongrun-width-medium-size-eu-23-9283-20479640&utm_campaign=product%2Blisting%2Bads&cid=GBP&glCurrency=GBP&glCountry=GB&gad_source=1&gbraid=0AAAAAD3EQ3WbtJGA6xiq2SKKKhozcfkeJ&gclid=CjwKCAjwwqfABhBcEiwAZJjC3pwPphIZZydQ7JTp6UJa64mNVgiWL55_lZduAcyjdRG-VVIOZID0GxoCtxUQAvD_BwE
Though my DCs have quite wide feet so might not work so well for yours. We do normally get them professionally fitted but we have a measuring gauge at home too.

Ricosta shoes are flexible and hard-wearing, and seem to be very forgiving in how they fit. My DC have narrow feet, one very narrow, but Ricosta can generally be pulled tight enough to fit (occasionally the extra narrow one has needed an extra insole as well). On the other side, plenty of people say Ricosta works for their wide-footed children. If you're buying online, I'd say they're definitely worth a try. In small sizes, you can often pick them up cheaply on Vinted basically like new, especially for things like sandals.

We've also found Froddo good for narrow feet.

Crocs are the best summer option for kids, including toddlers. Go for it!
child will loving being able to take them off and put them on themselves

I love these for that stage of walking https://sockons.co.uk/collections/step-ons