When should I buy proper shoes for my LO?

jellyhead

well it's back to the shop for me, roo's had his shoes on in the park today, had them on for under 30 minutes but his feet are marked by them, they are too tight now. he's had them for 3 weeks :rotfl:

i trust the staff in clarkes to give me good advice about whether he's ready for hard shoes or not though.

jellyhead

Biddyrolo wrote:

Just out of interest, do people find that when their childs feet are measured to a certain size that when that size shoe is brought they don't actually fit, so you have to get a different size? I found this with my two and so did my mum, if I had to do it again I'm not sure I would pay the price for Clarks shoes. *runs from angry mothers*

sometimes different shoes come up bigger or smaller, don't know why. they say don't just buy a pair in the correct size, you have to let the staff have a squidge of the shoe with your child's foot in it. although size and width should be pretty stsandard the shoes seem to differ in how much room they have in them, if that makes sense? so some will be better for high instep, some better for chubby ankles, some tighter for skinny ankles etc. etc.

Quackers

jellyhead wrote:

sometimes different shoes come up bigger or smaller, don't know why. they say don't just buy a pair in the correct size, you have to let the staff have a squidge of the shoe with your child's foot in it. although size and width should be pretty stsandard the shoes seem to differ in how much room they have in them, if that makes sense? so some will be better for high instep, some better for chubby ankles, some tighter for skinny ankles etc. etc.

Send me a pm when you're ready for a p/t job. You're a fab advert for Clarks :j

Melissa22_Mum

The best advise I can think of is don't bother, babys don't particularly like wearing shoes anyway and I can't think of an occasion where a toddler between 11-23 months (about the time of walking) would need to walk about outside properly anyway, unless you had the patience of a saint!

If it's cold and your out and about with the pram etc just put two pairs of socks on them. I have read and been told that they are better off with nothing on there feet for wandering around the house or as much as possible as it helps balance and prevents them slipping.

Not saying this about you, but I can't understand people who buy brand named trainers for 3month old babies?!?
Yeah they look cute but really! They cost a bomb and only last about a month!

Melissa22_Mum

missk_ensington wrote:

? My laid back approach obviously did no harm he was out of nappies at 18 months, !

How, how? My baby knows what the bloody pottys for, apart from putting it on her head! She goes "ssssssssss" when shes on it so know it's for wee, but doesn't seem to want to stay on it for long, she has been caught reading a book on it a few times! Iv'e made a big fuss when she did it twice and took her with me to the toilet to say bye bye to the wee and flush then clap hands, but she cried when it went in the toilet:rolleyes:

Crispy_Ambulance

jellyhead wrote:

we had a startrite shop but it's moved. my eldest got his first shoes from there. price doesn't bother me, shoes are important. i'll live on toast or banana sandwiches if i'm skint after buying the shoes

This reminds me of when we first bought shoes for DD (now 6).

I cried because she was my first baby and they were her first shoes.

Mr Crispy nearly cried because they were £25 and they told us to come back in 8 weeks to see if she needed new ones!

missk_ensington

Melissa22_Mum wrote:

How, how? My baby knows what the bloody pottys for, apart from putting it on her head! She goes "ssssssssss" when shes on it so know it's for wee, but doesn't seem to want to stay on it for long, she has been caught reading a book on it a few times! Iv'e made a big fuss when she did it twice and took her with me to the toilet to say bye bye to the wee and flush then clap hands, but she cried when it went in the toilet:rolleyes:

In answer to your question, Chocolate buttons! First time I physically sat him on it and then clapped, praised him, and gave him a chocolate button. He got off, I did it again. After 3-4 times the penny started to drop that sitting on it rewarded him a chocolate button.

Next step, I personally sat on it and had a wee (not a pretty sight but needs must!) I gave myself a chocolate button. I did this a few times, and after a few weeks he caught on and did a wee. Made a huge huge fuss, chocolate button... and before I knew it he had got it off to a fine art!

It is in essence conditioning the child, which I personally believe we do with out children on a daily basis- rewarding good behaviour and it works for me in all aspects. If we go to Asda I say in the car before we get out 'If you're a good boy while Mummy goes shopping, we'll go home and bake a cake/do some painting/feed the ducks....' It always works and he says at the checkout 'Mummy I've been a good boy are we going to feed the duckies now?'.

It might not work for all children but it works great for me!

donna-j_2

I'm glad I read this. Jellyhead I know we've compared baby elephants in the past but I've got the same problem. T was 1 last week and started nursery today. He needs something for his feet for out in the nursery garden, but we took him to be measured on Wednesday and he is a 5.5 G already.

I will not put him in the Clarks walkers. He almost never has even socks on as I'd like him barefoot if possible.

So, not sure what to do really.

jellyhead

oooh, potty training deserves it's own thread lol! i have all that to come roo is fascinated by the toilet, but only for dropping my things into it :rolleyes:

as for walking outside, well roo isn't always in the pram, especially if we've travelled somewhere and he's sick of sitting in a car seat. it might not be a problem for later walkers but for early ones or even for crawlers i don't think you can really keep them in the pram the whole time when they know what they want to be doing and it's not sitting still :rotfl:he's so curious at the moment, really wants to be exploring everything and he wants to be active. he's not my only child so i can't always limit trips to places with safe floors for babies, especially not in the school holidays. he needs something on his feet if we're at a castle, in woods etc. and even at the park although soft padders if i could find any elephant sized ones would be fine for the park. i don't want to limit his need for movement and activity but i don't want cut feet as has happened at the town park to his knees when crawling.

i appreciate that a 12 month old doesn't need shoes every day, but sometimes he does. and donna-j's little man needs shoes for outside when he's at nursery. this is not a dig but i do think it's okay to use shoes sometimes (but i wouldn't buy nike trainers, and wouldn't use shoes on a prewalking baby). i also think 2 pairs of socks would be just as bad for a baby's developing feet as shoes.

donna does everyone else wear shoes for outside? this week we've been seeing how roo manages with just socks on and he's been fine although we have been checking the ground for stones etc. before he walks there. the socks are pretty much ruined though after a day at alton towers :rotfl: he's not ready for proper walking shoes i don't think, and i can't see any softer shoes in his size.

jellyhead

i was just looking for shoo shoos and found this site https://sslrelay.com/s97917119.oneandoneshop.co.uk/sess/utn;jsessionid=1544eae1da790b6/shopdata/?main_url=product_overview.shopscript

not used them before and there are probably other retailers. roo had some shoo shoos in large (12-18 months) and they were lovely, if i would find some in extra large i'd buy them, but when we bought the large ones (from a shop that's closed down now, and they only stocked up to large anyhow) there were lots of designs that didn't suit his foot shape, they cut into his ankle. only one design was okay, i bought them and they were great but they don't fit him now.

has anyone used shoo shoos, or daisy roots etc? i might start a thread.