Kids' shoe fitting – is it rocket science, actually?

[OrangeSpacedust]

I'm getting cheesed off paying £35 for Clark's shoes that last 8 weeks or thereabouts. They've got such a poor choice IMO ? I hate pink for DD and there's almost no other option.

I'm thinking of downloading those foot-measuring templates from the internet, measuring DC's feet myself and buying online ? some of the shoes I've seen from the US etc are mouthwatering! And when I get their shoes fitted in the shop, the fitter takes probably less than a minute feeling over the arch, trying to stick a finger down the heel, and pressing to find where the toe is. It doesn't seem that difficult to me. But my mother recoiled in horror when I suggested buying shoes online, as if I'd be subjecting the DCs to a lifetime of bad feet ... does anyone know, personally or anecdotally, of someone whose feet really have been "ruined" by bad shoes, and I don't mean parents who grew up in the 60s and started wearing pointy stilettoes aged 10??

Obviously I'm not going to do anything to put my kids' feet at risk, if shoe-fitting really is a specialised science, but somehow ... don't think it is ... any thoughts?! Kids are 4 and 2. TIA!

Why don't you get them measured in Clarks, then get them off the internet?

Hmm, well had similar converstaion with ILs in USA who were quite bemused that I was fretting baout Clarkes shoes not fitting dd2 at all.

Apparetnly fitted shoes are only, or mainly, just a British thing.

when we were living o'seas it was common to download the clarks footsizer and order kids shoes off tinternet lol. it's a bit of a gamble though. we ventured into clarks last week for the first time and dd1 tried 3 pairs of shoes in the same size. one was too small, the others were too big, and that was just length, not width. even the sales assistant was a tad embarassed.

lol littlerach - for exactly that reason - it was only the expat community that bothered, everyone else went to whatever mahoosive shoe warehouse and just tried a few pairs on their kids and took them to the till when they found some they liked that didn't flap when the kid walked lol.

As an ex-worker for Clarks, you had extra training for fitting childrens shoes. We did this alongside researching the best way to achieve world domination

I was one of the daft ones who'd only measure men and womens shoes.

I buy online (usually the same brand, Pom D'api) and after the first pair I knew that the width was okay, so I just buy the next size up now.

And I usually buy them second-hand ! They've rarely been worn enough times to show at all, and they're [gulp] £50 new.

So I usually pay between £10-£15..

It does make me laugh people paying £40 for a pair of proper shoes and then £40 for a pair of nike/adidas/whatever trainers which is what the child really wears 70% of the time and hasn't been fitted at all.
I like european shoes, from ebay at half the price

Dunno about children's shoes but I once met a real rocket scientist who told me it's not that hard, apparently.

No it's not rocket science. It can't be. It's common sense.

Clarks have everything to gain by planting the seed of nagging doubt in parent's minds that only they have the mystical powers required to fit magic shoes. All other methods will lead to ruination.

Er..not.

rocket surgery, otoh, is vair hard.

@ rocket surgery

Actually, my mother was always VERY careful about getting our shoes properly fitted - my granddad was a shoemaker so rammed home the importance of looking after growing feet to her and she handed it on to me.

Doesn't mean you have to go to Clarks, though, we have a local shop that fits for children (not cheap, though, they stock Startrite).

Would be interesting to see a comparison of foot health between the UK and countries where they don't worry so much about childrens' shoes fitting properly.

Only trust Russell & Bromley kids and Trotters to really take time over fitting - the rest are pants, particularly One Giant Leap.

Interesting.

Why are they pants, ZandMsmum? Do you know a child who's ended up with sore/misshapen feet because they've used them? Not being confrontational, just trying to find some evidence that NOT using "professional" fitters actually does lead to foot damage.

Think I'm going to start following the US model ...

We need a chiropodist or podiatrist to come on here and tell us about all the bunions she sees on people who didn't have their shoes properly fitted as children... or not.

Maybe MN could do a Q&A session with one?

the problem with buying online is you're much more likely to say "oh it'll do" with a shoe that doesn't quite fit than to buy another pair (if ebay etc.) or faff around returning (if bought new). if you can go into a shop and try various sizes/styles against each other and watch the child walk in them i'm sure it's just as good as having them fitted at most clarkes etc. though i've been to indie shoe shops that had much greater knowledge of their stock and took more care with fitting to get it spot on (though maybe that's a ruse to justify such high prices ).

i always had properly fitted shoes as a kid and my feet are gorgeous, not all lumpy and squished like a lot of women's (though maybe that's to do with wearing fashion shoes post-puberty, while i was a docs/army boots kinda girl, i dunno...)

i'm gonna start a related thread, hang on...

here

I always get ds's shoes from an independent shop who do very good measuring. Sizes differ between manufacturers so I think it is hard to buy off the internet unless you know the variences. I love Primigi, Ecco and Geox for boys.

We use an independent shoe shop, they have always been brilliant and very thorough, then I buy whatever they have on sale.

However I was a tad alarmed the other day when I took DS in for some summer sandals, and the assistant suggested I buy the next size up so he can grow into them. We tried them on and his toes didn't even reach the front strap yet she still tried to sell them to me. Then I discovered they didn't have his actual size in stock. Hmmm.

As far cheap shoes, if they are good quality leather then why not. But DD once spent a weekend with MIL and had horrendous blisters from a pair of sparkly next shoes she had bought for her and had her in the whole time. Grrrrrr.

Okay - I'm going to be serious this time.

A lot of bunion sufferers would wear pointed toe shoes but I reckon the damage could have been done after teh bones have fully formed in the foot.

I do, however, remember an old lady who was looking for shoes who'd been a ballerina in her former years and her toes were all squished and folded over eachother. I couldn't find a pair of shoes which were comfortable.

In Spain no-one measures your DCs feet, you just try on a few pairs in the DCs size till you find some that fit and then you buy them. There is no such thing as different widths either.

I think if this system was causing problems with childrens' feet we'd know about it by now...

yup. All those hobbling Europeans wandering around would give the game away..

Having once bought cheap shoes that blistered ds1's feet despite being in the so-called correct size, I think they're false economy.

You need to make sure that not only the size but also the style is right - if a shoe is too deep it can rub the ankle bone, or too shallow and your child can walk out of it. And, like clothes sizes, there is no real standard of shoe size, so what fits in one brand may well not fit in another. Although you can do this yourself it can take ages and personally I find it much easier to go to my local shoe shop and get them to do it DSes tend to go along with someone else mucking about with their feet - if I did it there would be a riot.

FWIW I have bunions and apparently they're often hereditary and very often not caused by ill-fitting shoes.

My dds have had sore feet, broken skin and blisters in the past as a result of 'properly fitted' Clarks shoes not actually fitting properly.

After swearing off Clarks for a long while, I decided to give them another go recently and got dd2 some shoes there about a month ago. She is now complaining that they hurt her feet...

I think you can do just as well fitting shoes yourself, especially if the child is old enough to articulate whether the shoes comfy (and you can trust them not to say they're comfy when they're not, just because they like the style!)

Orangespacedust -
I've had a few instances of fitter's ignoring gaps or tightness of shoes even when my child has complained - some of the staff are just too inexperienced and want to get through the process as quickly as possible. Equally the other way, both mine have been known to ignore discomfort because they've got hooked on a certain type of shoe - that's been picked up on at Russell and Bromley and Trotters but not One Giant Leap and Clarks (bloody Yotoys...)