Would you buy 2nd hand shoes/boots (from Clarks) for children?

[stressed2007]

I am miffed. My son has just totally scuffed the top/front of his new leather ankle boots from clarks (£32 and he has had them since the weekend). He has torn all the leather off the top probably by dragging his feet on floor when using tricycle at nursery. They look wrecked.

This has made me think I can get these second hand for about £5 on ebay - let him wreck these and I can keep new shoes for best (or at least more then a week!).

However if you buy 2nd hand (and they are not kicked to bits) will this damage my childs foot? My mum said that shoes mould to a childs feet and therefore I should n't buy second hand but when I look at my children's clarks shoes/boots (which are quite sturdy things) they don't look moulded to me at all (but I am not an expert).

I have seen threads on here about whether clarks is a con compared to other cheaper shoes so was just wondering what the concensus was on whether second hand (good condition) shoes will damage a child's foot. Any thoughts? Any podiatrists? Am also going to post this on AIBU to see what I get!

Your mother is right, tempting though it may be when the little brats darlings go through shoes as if it's a ruddy challenge to see how quickly they can fall apart!

(My mother is a shoemaker's daughter and was very strict about us having new leather shoes that were properly fitted.)

Btw, you don't have to go to Clarks. I get ds's shoes from a local independent shop which stocks Start-rite. No cheaper, but at least we don't have the endless waits and rubbish customer service.

Oh, and if you think it's expensive now, wait until he goes to school and you have to buy plimsolls and the school demands trainers that they expect you to leave in their PE bag...

If you already know exactly what size he is, then buying 2nd hand ones that size surely isn't going to hurt his feet? You often get ones that have been worn a couple of times before the child outgrows them. Agree that well worn shoes would be moulded but often clarks on ebay are nearly new. I have often bought 2nd pairs on there for nursery, scuffing about it in.

this was my thinking - some look v good so I could n't work out what damage there could be. They are real clodhoppery type ones not thin shells that mould to the childs feet

I bought second hand boots for my DD for £6 from ebay! She is small for 3 years old so I got some size 5e boots that had been worn by a child in a buggy and not for walking. FFS if someone is going to spend £35 on boots and don't walk in them I'm going to take advantage! I have a foot measuring guage and I can read so figure I am as qualified as staff in Clarks!

This site is quite good too here It was mentioned on here before and I think it is end of line stock.

Leather shoes DO mould to the child's feet. Doesn't matter what style they are.

I have in the past, bought a pair of clark's boots for 50p, they looked like new, hardly any wear on the soul and they lasted a whole winter.

Sometimes needs must.

I have also passed shoes on.

This is the one my son wrecked in 3 days

www.clarks.co.uk/find/Department-is-boys/ProductType-is-boots/EndUses-is-age22d4/prod uct-is-20332602

How would this clompy thing mould to his foot? Just want to understand how this works. Thanks

Hellbent where did you get your foot gauge from?

here I'm sure you can get it at other places online though

As long as you can see that a shoe fits properly I'm sure it's fine. That said, I buy new start-rite for my DC (clarks generally don't fit), because I've been brainwashed into thinking this is absolutely vital for the health of my children's feet. And I certainly haven't noticed that my children's feet are in better order than children who wear cheaper shoes.

I buy second hand shoes for dd. And cheap shoes from ebay too. What about wellies? Those don't come in 5Z fittings and no-one stresses. Buy a couple of pairs and rotate.

Mind you, I have just spent £36 on new shoes for ds as they are his first proper shoes and I felt guilty . He did jump in muddy puddles all afternoon and they look fine though, so obv decent quality.

I'd be tempted to take those back to Clarks - they sound shoddy to me...

I've bought second-hand Clarks (trainers and buckle-type shoes) from ebay for dd and she seems to be getting on fine with them. I have a foot gauge from Vertbaudet-- they probably come up on ebay too.

FWIW, when I was young and my parents not well off, my mum really scrimped to buy me and db new Start-Rites because of the received wisdom that we would grow deformed feet otherwise. 17 years later and much more well-to-do, she had my dsis and discovered that cheapo trainers did the job just as well--dsis now 20 and not noticeably crippled!

Start-rite sell foot guages (and shoes) on their website, they also have videos on how to fit your child's shoes.

www.startriteshoes.com

The problem with buying Clarks second hand online is that their sizing is inconsistent. My DD currently measures 8.5E, the shoes in that size that Clarks fetched out didn't fit and she's wearing a 9G

That said I do buy her second hand shoes on Ebay, but I stick to narrower European brands that I know will fit her (Petasil, Richter, Mod8). Just bought some gorgeous purple boots, that would have been £50 for £4 and they look new

If you are confident at checking the fit of shoes, try this site for new branded shoes here

DD only ever had second hand shoes.

I don't buy this about second hand shoes damaging feet. OK they may well mould to the shape of the child's foot a bit, thats because shoes are flexible and will remould to a new owner surely? New shoes aren't a perfect shape for their feet either you know.

At last i see some reasoning here! Congrats QueenOfFlamingEverything 'I don't buy this about second hand shoes damaging feet.'

No one in all of this actually has stopped to rationalise their thinking. save, QueenOfFlamingEverything - it seems the thinking is based on a old prejudice? I see this written above, and it nearly made sense, "2nd hand shoes mould into the shape of your foot and no child will have the same mould as another child so could potentially cause damage.'

Let us stop there...
Correct. With an old leather shoe, and the sort of thing we would wear as kids this makes complete sense, and 'seems' rational. Yet now look at a modern childs shoe? Few are made of leather, but are actually leather trim. Even top brands. They are plastic or fabric framed. Leatehr is only the trim. Thus most shoes are trimmed in leather. Plastic and fabric have no 'memory' in the way leather does. So with a modern shoe, the 'Upper' never changes. They mould to the foot, not once, but every time its worn. Like adult trainers do. And every answer above seems to work on a premise that largely does not exist. That you intend to buy your kiddy a 1960s shoe.

The exception; The only problem is with a very worn sole, the wear pattern could influence the gait of the next user, not good at all. This msut be avoided. But a hardly used shoe? Why not? If its a nearly-new fabric or plastic shoe, can you tell me 'wear' (pun intended) there is a problem? The problem is only with fully leather shoes. Now, try and buy too many of those these days! So before we knee-jerk any more, i think a new shoe has to be better, but for the Mum (or me a Dad) out there htat simply can't afford that, buying second hand is OK, provided:

1. Sole wear is minimal
2. It is not an all leather frame shoe.
3. You engage brain when you do it?

Of course if you have the money, don't buy second hand anything. But I don't. So my pride has to take a dent. I've been up, I've been down, but my boy has 2nd hand, good shoes. I hope?

But I may still be wrong, and very stupid, but I'd like to see actaul ratioanlised reasons, rahter tahn "Poor peasants... I buy new, because I can." responses. Someone is very dim here. Is it me? If so, tell me why?

Totally agree with dadlovesthatboy.

I've always thought it was ridiculous to say shoes mould to your foot so don't hand them down.It's not like after the shoe moulds to the foot someone comes along and pours superglue over it so it becomes solid and unmoving. If a different foot is put into it it will re-mould again.

When you get a new shoe it presumably takes time to mould to your foot but no-one says don't wear new shoes. So the same thing must occur when you start wearing a second hand shoe.

It's all a con from shoe companies who want you to buy new every time and so do emotional blackmail to convince you you're harming your child somehow by buying second hand.

Vicki