School shoes!!!

njc12

Hi - My DS started school last September and is currently going through shoes at the rate of one pair per term!!! (which is better than trousers - he is currently on his 7th pair!). None of this is helping my DFW situation!!!
I have to buy him decent makes of shoes because his feet are so wide it takes a while to find some that fit him properly. I have been buying clarks and am finding they don't last two minutes (other friends have found the same). Please can anyone recommend other makes that will fit my darling's wide feet but alos last a little bit longer???

njc12 x

iceicebaby

Doc martens are wide and are very hardwearing and you can buy doc marten shoes.

M&S have wide fittings too

Savvy_Sue

When you say "not lasting two minutes" what exactly do you mean? Scuffing badly? Or falling apart after a month? How falling apart? And if it's playground abuse which is causing it, can your son take trainers to change into for lunchtime?

There is someone on the forums who works in a shoe shop: I'm sure if you say how long the shoes are lasting and what the problems are she will advise whether that seems 'reasonable' or not. She's very well informed about Clarks' policies too, which can help if your local shoe shop isn't helpful.

I personally haven't had problems with Clarks shoes, but then my boys aren't heavy on clothes generally ... Although both DS2 and DS3 have managed to wear right through their previous pairs of shoes and waited until there was a hole in the heel before telling me!

anonymousie

Depends how he is destroying them really....

My little nephew (6) goes through shoes fast- by wearing out the TOES kneeling on the floor playing. My sis has more money than sense, so buys him "what he wants" (though does have them fitted). If he was mine, I'd hunt highand low till I found some with rubber toe cap type things!!

My son is 11 now and recently has become a shoes destroyer by wearing them out! A Startrite pair developed a hole that let his little toe escape:rotfl: (I think It was the smell it was escaping from!!).

We haven't had clarks for years- combo of poor fit/fitters, bad response to problems and naff shoes:rotfl:

DS current shoes are Ricosta and I can't praise them highly enough- he has taken ALL the tread off the sole (read heavy tyre track tread too) and they are tatty rounf the edges BUT the soles haven't spilt, they haven't worn through to holes etc etc They are still weareable (and still fit) though tatty++ after 2 terms.

BUT Nephy had these same (think little and large- aww) shoes and has gone through the toe leather in a term-BUT if he Kneels at the sand table in the playground I'm not surprised...

Elephanten are great too for smaller kids. Hush puppies used to be great for wide feet, but aren't easy to fine (and cost as much as anyone else now)

Suggest (if school not too bossy re uniform) that you have doodles or sandals for the summer term. Both cheaper and still fitted....Doodles are clarks, but being canvas are cheaper to replace and washeable too. Startrite to a canvas shoes and sandals too, and are generally better/wider than clarks (though bit more £).

If you know how then Brantanto and places like that to self ft shoes are good- after 3 kids I can do it (better than the teens in clarks....) but withchild no 1 you are probably better with an independent shoes shop.

anonymousie

iceicebaby wrote: »

Doc martens are wide and are very hardwearing and you can buy doc marten shoes.

M&S have wide fittings too

Docs are also very hard for little feet I think, if you go for them def get them fitted.

M+S are OK.....But I wouldn't generally buy supermarket shoes for little kids all day wear (meay be I'm just sold into the "it has got to be proper" idea re kids feet..) THey are in school shoes for sucjh a lot of hours- trainers etc, we do buy cheaply.

Re Trousers- get shorts now and they'll be a bit better lasting, but adams had the Buy one get one half price offer on too!

Savvy_Sue

anonymousie wrote: »

If you know how then Brantanto and places like that to self ft shoes are good- after 3 kids I can do it (better than the teens in clarks....) but withchild no 1 you are probably better with an independent shoes shop.

Brantano do have assistants who will check and offer some advice. I find it a bit hit and miss now my boys are into adult shoes, they were telling me that DS2 is a size 7 and he was adamant that most 8s we tried were too small for him, and as he's 17 he should know!

We ended up with a pair of work shoes with steel toe-caps for him: hoping they'll last a while ...

njc12

Thank you to all who have replied. - He does seem to spend all day crawling on his knees at school!!! Godd ideas re sandal and shorts!!!!!

Anonymousie -will try ricosta - not heard of them before but will hunt them down!!!

njc12 x

bigpaws23

I'm from the 'kids must have 'proper shoes' brigade as well, so I take dd to clarks to get her feet measured properly and then look for a pair on ebay that has been worn half a dozen times put on there by some other poor mum who is tearing her hair out at the rate at which her child is growing out of their shoes .:rotfl:

Sometimes it feels as if they will never stop doesn't it? (and then last year, dd had a pair that lasted her an entire school year without her feet changing size LOL!)

He'll slow down soon!

Bigpaws x

prettypennies

I got a lovely pair of of BMS (buckle my shoe) shoes from TK Maxx for my DS for £12.99. They retail at about £45. They are well made and wide fitting. (He has inherited his mother's wide kippers)

Carmina_Piranha_3

i wear docs myself but the shoes i got for my son in a sale didn't feel comfortable, it was more to do with his high instep than the width though really, although he's a clarkes G fitting.

i buy him clarkes most of the time but he's had them from the stead and simpson shop across the hall from clarkes a few times. clarkes has really long queues full of cross little toddlers so a lot of people nip across to S&S to see what they have.

they do black leather shoes for £10 or £15 - wide enough for my son's feet. they don't always have his size in the style i want, and he can't tie laces which restricts our choice but he's always been happy with the shoes we buy from there. he plays rough games in the playground so he scuffs toes and wears out the knees in his trousers. i found the S&S shoes last until he outgrows them or they look so scruffy i replace them (or he actually goes through the toes, but that's just as likely to happen with any other shoe).

his first pair of shoes for this academic year were £14 from asda. they were comfortable but it's rare to find wider shoes in asda and the soles wore away after a term! :eek: mind you you could buy 2 pairs from asda for the price of the clarkes shoes.

njc12

bigpaws23 wrote: »

Sometimes it feels as if they will never stop doesn't it?
He'll slow down soon!

I hope he does soon - he'4 and is just over 4 foot tall!!! His shoes are size 13.5 and I'm expecting him to be in a size 1 when I take him to get him measured. Good idea re ebay though!!!

njc12 x