How much do YOU spend on shoes for your child?

[TheSweetLittleBunny]

We have only ever bought his shoes from Clarks and spent between £20.00 and £30.00. He's now 4.6. We are having a debate in the house about a pair of Skechers which cost £35.00. I think that's too much for shoes that will only be worn for about six months - what do you think?

I just ordered crocs for ds1 4.5 and they were £19, I was feeling so guilty about it as I'll have to get some 'proper' shoes too but remembered that ds2 and the dt's after him can wear them too! He loved them last summer, wore them constantly and because he kept wetting himself they were a godsend! Now I'm wondering about how good they are for his feet. They're just so incredibly convenient and he loves them. He's barefoot mostly at home and nursery/grandma's. I do think the canvas shoes by Clarks are ridiculously overpriced when you can similar things for £5-6 which have no more support (e.g. JoJo do some cute ones).

I bought him Ecco boots start of last winter and they were £35 which I did flinch at but by god they looked nicer and have actually lasted until now compared to the crappy Clarks ones previous years. I won't buy Clarks again.

I try to buy the cheapest I can get but not crappy trainers, except once, never again.
Luckily I live in Spain so I can get away wit buying canvas shoes most of the year since the weather is dry and warm. Maybe one pair of leather boots and a pair of leather shoes in the winter.
Width fittings don't seem to exist here and 4.7 yo DD1 has never had her feet measured!
I paid 80 euros for her last pair of boots - blardy hell!

Aha! I have a tip! We go a great shoeshop in Norwich when we stay with my parents. Now my dc are old enough to stay on their own (a whole week at Easter!) I just ask Mum if she can get them new shoes! Each came back with a pair of schools shoes each and a pair of Lellis/Geox AS WELL! RESULT! 'Course, now she started a trend...

PS My M&D are retired but not badly off. Since they are SKI I'm happy for them to spend it on shoes

I have 3 DC and all with g/h fitting so have to buy clarks/start rite as find they cannot get their feet into cheaper shoes.

My elder DD would love ballet pumps and we have tried loads on but her feet are too wide.

DS has to wear crocs in the summer as the only other option was specially fitted shoes as he is now bigger than H and cannot fit into any doddles etc.

Wish they would slim down the feet and often joke that i will bind their feet to stop them growing.

I reckon at least part of the stuff about no 2nd hand shoes, width measurements, etc etc is guilt tripping by the shoe companies to get us to fork out for their stuff.
At home DD goes barefoot inside (even in the dead of winter, despite quarry tile floors & endless hassling from DH), outside she wears wellies in winter, sandals or barefoot in summer. Will she have dreadful feet as a result? I reckon not, not unless there's some dreadful plague of flat feet & bunions among farmers children that no-one ever told me about.
At school - usually the cheapest clarks - only because its that or shoezone in our nearest town, and shoezone shoes fall apart after a fortnight.
Having said all that, I did pay £35 for a pair of nice waterproof 'proper' boots and she has worn them all winter for school, had warm cosy feet, and they still look nice.

Sketchers are rubbish for kids (although I own several pairs myself )- I put my kids in Geox.

Shoes and winter coats are two things I refuse to scrimp on with my Dc's, and I will spend up to £50 on a pair of Ricosta school shoes.

A pair of Startrite would cost about £35, and I actually think a lot of Clarks shoes are just plain crap these days.

So, to answer your question, I don't think £35 is a lot if they are decent shoes.

Sketchers are rubbish for kids (although I own several pairs myself )- I put my kids in Geox.

Shoes and winter coats are two things I refuse to scrimp on with my Dc's, and I will spend up to £50 on a pair of Ricosta school shoes.

A pair of Startrite would cost about £35, and I actually think a lot of Clarks shoes are just plain crap these days.

So, to answer your question, I don't think £35 is a lot if they are decent shoes.

I usually get the kid's feet measured but I have found that, like clothes, a size 10 in Clarks is not the same as a size 10 in Startrite or Buckle my Shoe.

Can I also put in a good word for TK Maxx. They usually have some decent childrens shoes and some that are a bit different, from Spain perhaps? I got ds1 a pair of beige Nike not quite shoes but not quite trainers last week for £5!

i am another who will buy fitted shoes (Clarks or Startrite) for their main shoes and then for DD whos is 6 I will buy cheaper but good quality party shoes or summer sandal type shoes. DS is 14 months and is on his second pair of shoes, but he only wears them when out and about and at the childminders - I take them off when we get home, to let his feet breathe.

I always had Clarks shoes and had a row with he MIL about this - she thought they are an expensive waste of time, as her three all had cheap shoes and are ok (which is not true as all three will testify!!!). So I said that they are my kids and it is my money and I will do as I like!! She had bought summer shoes for them, and I refused to let DD wear them - they were the wrong size as Clarks are bigger than elsewhere!!! She is not here anymore, so that battle has gone!!

And anyway, Clarks measuring system is so hit and miss! DS got his feet measured by their machine thingy and came up at 10.5 E. When the (very unenthusiastic) assistant brought out shoes in that size none of them fit - they were still too big, plus even though DS measured as an E she said that a G was fine as his feet would grow into them erm... so why bother measure the feet in the first place then if I am not going to be given shoes that are his actual measurement?
That's when I started to wonder whether this whole Clarks thing is a rip off? You could just go somewhere else and try on and buy good quality shoes and use your parental discretion and/or feedback from your child in terms of fit.

I spend up to about £30 but thats because we use the startrite outlet shop, same shoes measured the same just a bit cheaper

I bought a pair of Supergas for my daughter on Friday for 48 euros. They will last the summer (with a few washes in the machine). Around 50 euros per pair is standard for proper shoes, a bit less for flip flops or sandals and much more for winter boots (over 120 euros if not in sale ).

School shoes for DD normally cost between £25 and £45 depending on which make of shoe fits her best.

She has Crocs - not sure how much they were.

She often has either Lelli kelly boots or pumps, depending on season - they are between £35 and £40.

She as sandals too - normally Startrite at £30 odd, although currently has some Birkinstocks that cost £18. We struggled with sandals this spring as few places had ones that fit her - she is F fitting, so not that narrow, but they were all so big and wide!

And party shoes - normally just £10 or so, from a High Street store.

However I only pay this amount as DD has really hot feet, and they get ever so sweaty. She really does benefit from leather inners as well as uppers. Luckily she doesn;t seem to grow out of her shoes that quickly - we just change with the seasons rather than because she has outgrown them.

School shoes - 2 dds, 2 pairs each per year - Startrite - around £38 a pair.

One pair of boots each a year - this year's were both from TK Maxx - £30 a pair.

One pair of sandals each per year - dd1 usually Topshop flatties plus a pir of flip flops - about £20 / dd 2 usually Clarks.

Converse-a-likes or "dolly shoes" (lie plimpsoll type things) - couple of pairs a year each - as cheap as possible!