First Shoes - Help!

[Jojobells1986]

DS1 (14mo) has just started walking really confidently so the time has come to buy him some proper shoes. Having done a quick at-home measurement, his larger foot is 10.5cm long so, in theory, he'd need a size 2! Having looked at the Clarks website I have 2 observations: that's a lot of money for such tiny shoes & their only size 2s are 'pre-walkers'.

My questions are:
Is there any point in even looking for outside shoes for him, if his feet aren't big enough for the tiniest shoes or should we just avoid him walking outside & continue letting him romp around in socks inside until his feet grow?
If we do get him shoes soon, would getting him slightly larger than necessary do him any harm?
Is there any way to avoid shelling out £30 every few months or is this just one of those expenses we need to start budgeting for?

I'll probably take him to get his feet properly measured on the weekend, just incase I've got it completely wrong & they are big enough!

I had the same dilemma as you, DS has tiny feet! I got him measured about 2 months ago when he was 15 months as his walking was really coming on, he's a 2.5. He has the pre walker cruiser type shoes, I got them because he was keen to walk outside and nursery take him out a lot as well. I asked about sizing up at Clarks and they grimaced a bit and said it wasn't good for their feet. They recommend getting measured every 6-8 weeks as they grow so fast, not sure you can get round the expense unless you shop in the sales or at Brantano.

Get measured at Clarks then look on eBay....I bought my DS some lovely barely-worn shoes in the right size when he was about 3.5, for £5.

You have to be careful not to buy ones that are very worn, as the inner soles mould to their feet somewhat.

For nursery, we provide slippers for inside and wellies for outside, which is much cheaper, not least as you can buy slippers and wellies cheaper. What about doing that?

Also what about some Doodles or Converse or canvas shoes?

As you get into the swing of things, you can start planning ahead (once you know their width fitting, for example) and look in the sales, yes.

That's size 3.5 not age, BTW, he is only 16mo now but has huuuuge feet. My DC1's feet were tiny though, so I know the problem.

Are pre-walkers ok for outside use then? I assumed they wouldn't be suitable. He already has wellies so we do have the option of him walking outside, although they're not a great fit. He's very independent so I can see him discovering the concept of walking outside & refusing to be put in his buggy! I'm happy for him to walk a little in ill-fitting wellies but if he's going to be doing much walking I do want him wearing proper-fitting shoes.

I've already looked on eBay addict & discovered that most of the shoes in his size are converses. I mentioned this to DH & his response was 'what are they?'! I showed him a picture & tried to suggest that they're identical to a pair of soft boots I got him from Tesco. He can be really clueless sometimes!

We bought my dd first walkers from clarks and although they were quite pricey it made her walk so much more confidently. The shoes have lasted a few months and we haven't had to buy anymore just yet.

I can't believe how tiny your little ones feet are, my dd has taken a size 5 from 14months.... But then the first thing we noticed on our baby scan were her big feet

Our daughter is in Start Rite pre walkers and they are fine outdoors. They are very supportive and pretty robust.