Recommendations for School Shoes and Plimsoles

shy-but-need-help

building_with_lego wrote: »

Same here actually.
DD has very long, daintily narrow feet and daps (plimsolls/ pumps ) are a nightmare. I get her the Marks ones with a little flower on as they have a velcro strap- all the others flap around too much. They last a whole year as they only get worn once a week- they have one session per week inside in barefeet.
I tend to get proper school shoes from Clarke's or Russell and Bromley (Startright) and they get worn out rather than outgrown.

Not looking forward to September when we'll have to get two lots of everything :eek::eek: but I have been advised that it's a good idea to look for shoes where the sole comes up over the toes as much as possible, particularly when buying for a boy.

Our oldest son has dyspraxia (and a few other issues to boot) but in short he takes a nose dive at least once a day, usually alot more- teflon coated trousers are a must (as still die a death quite quickly :rotfl:) but I can't stress how much the shoes with soles than come up over and buffer around the toe of the shoe have saved me for him! They are the only shoes he does not kill within a matter of a fortnight!

I tend to go clarks/startrite for first pair of the year and then if/when they outgrow or wear them out (often wear out with DS1, usually outgrow with DD2) we judge how long there is left in the school year to decide on if we're going to limp by on a £7 pair of tesco ones or if we'll invest in expensive, better lasting ones again.

If you shop for a girl avoid patent shoes- once shuffed they look horrendous even if they do look nicer brand new.

Plimsolls (had to laugh at the daps thing- we're in the midlands and my sister is a teacher and moved down south and the first time she told her class to get ready to P.E they all looked at her clueless when she told them to put their pumps on, she then tried plimpsols- again confused class, it took one of her class raising her hand and saying "Miss do you mean daps?" :rotfl::rotfl::rotfl:) with those I would say get the velcro ones if you can (most supermarkets do them) as they're easier for the little ones to get on and off when they begin to get tighter where as the elastic ones can be a pain in the rear!

[Deleted User]

I was wondering what "DAPS" meant, you had me all confused at the other end of the scale. I've never heard that term before and until this post i was imagining an acronim (sp).

building_with_lego

Iam from the East and call them plimsolls- that is the correct term
I moved to the Midlands and studied Linguistics and learned that it is possible for them to be referred to as "pumps".
I now live in the South West and they are only ever called daps. (Except in my head of course, where they are plimsolls)

Off topic but what do you call a round individual piece of bread? Roll/ bap/ bun/ barmcake? :rotfl:

shy-but-need-help

It depends- if it's soft then it's a bap, if it's crunchy and oval then it's a roll, if it's crunchy and round then it's a cob... very tecnical here LOL (or that may be growing up in the midlands, home of the hot sandwich van with a dad who is/was very particular about what he wanted!)

vax2002

I have saved a small fortune buying the kids shoes at clarks, they last until they outgrow them which can be 6-9 months as opposed to forking out £10 every other week on those cheap compressed paper shoes that the likes of windsors sell.
So it £30 for 9 months or £10 every month which is £90
This is a money saving website and that's a damned good tip.
Plus, the measure feet and have different width fittings.

[Deleted User]

Only today my mum was referring to some shoes she bought as "pumps" and i remember this from my childhood, but to me they are trainers or if your sporty running shoes.

BWL - you really need to meet my son, he loves your user name!!! A round piece of individual bread in our house is called a Roll or Bap. A bun would be a cake or a fruity piece of something you have at snack time.

shy-but-need-help

I would add as to the "when to buy" part, we bite the bullet and go in the week before school starts back - we take all the kids up but take them in one at a time to get the shoes (one of us goes tracking around town with the other four, one of us gets the delights of shoe duty) as buying at the beginning of the holidays could take out 6 weeks growing time/space in them, which might be the difference between squeaking through a school year in one or two pairs or needing a second or third pair!

pigpen

Mine have always always had proper fitted shoes... they have to wak about on those feet for their entire lives I am not setting them up with a lifetime of issues by buying crappy shoes.

Plimsolls.. you will probably find they never wear them.. the only ones that ever fit my children are startrite ones.. but any cheap and nasty ones will do if they are just for PE twice a week.. though they usually do that in bare feet!

Shoes.. Clarks/Startrite/Hush Puppies depending on the child. .. NOT velcro fastening as it is rubbish.. buckles or laces or zips never ever slip on ones.. no heels or open sandals they are just dangerous in a school environment.

pigpen

shy-but-need-help wrote: »

Our oldest son has dyspraxia (and a few other issues to boot) but in short he takes a nose dive at least once a day, usually alot more- teflon coated trousers are a must (as still die a death quite quickly :rotfl:) but I can't stress how much the shoes with soles than come up over and buffer around the toe of the shoe have saved me for him! They are the only shoes he does not kill within a matter of a fortnight!

I have one very similar and he has only twice gone through trousers and never wrecked a pair of shoes!

He has severe dyspraxia, severe hypermobility and totally flat footed and 'heel heavy' (and other issues too.. why can they not just have 1??).. which work against each other to create the most accident prone child in the world!

jakes-mum

i have always bought Clarks or Startrite for my 2, bcause my mum always bought them for us, and as she said to my dad each time he moaned about 3 pairs of Startrite shoes 'those feet have to carry them their whole lives its not worth saving a few quid on cheap shoes' DS has never had to have plimsols and as I buy trainers for him to wear to school (still primary) he wears those for games anyway. He wrecks them in 6 months which falls in with a new shoe size anyway