Hardwearing school shoes?

Hi

My almost 9 year old son seems to go through shoes like nobodys business, he is on his 3rd pair this school year already..

And it's not that the shoes are rubbish as such, it/'s the way he walks, like he deliberately scrapes the toes of them until they are ruined. The second pair, he had scraped them that bad they were right down to some sort of white plastic "filler" material within the shoe.

His first pair were £14 Asda Leather ones, his second pair were £24 from Next and the pair he has now are £10 plastic ones from ShoeZone (his dad bought those ones, he said he can't have decent ones til he can look after them, I am no longer with his dad, so am just pleased he actually bought him some :p )

He has had this pair 2 weeks and after 2 days he had scraped them and now there are loads of scrape marks and they look awful. He always says that "someone stood on me" or "someone pushed me" and todays excuse was " I HAVE to walk you know!" which made me see red as who walks dragging their toes?? He is on the autistic spectrum but I dont think it is related...

I am sick of buying shoes, his younger brother has had the same ones from Next since April and they still look great, yet he is the one who is more boisterous and plays football etc at playtime.

I think the shoezone ones are a false economy as look awful after the first scrape, whereas leather would polish up,but I am really wary of paying a lot for something that is going to wear out so easily, I need something virtually indestructable.

Any suggestions please?? He did wear Clarks when younger but I would be so :mad: if I got some now and he did that to them!
«13

Comments

  • Buy him black plimsolls!.....at 9yrs old he is old enough to understand that this behavior is unacceptable.

    PP
    xx
    To repeat what others have said, requires education, to challenge it,
    requires brains!
    FEB GC/DIESEL £200/4 WEEKS
  • Nat1977
    Nat1977 Posts: 222 Forumite
    Clarks are the hardest wearing I have found. My son who is of the ruff and tumble type has had his for around 6 months now, and I am only having to get him a new pair as he is out growing them. They are the ones with rubber toes, so in theory your son shouldnt be able to scrape them. HTH x
  • gingin_2
    gingin_2 Posts: 2,992 Forumite
    edited 2 December 2010 at 4:32PM
    I don't think buying him cheaper shoes are helping him. DS 10 year old has Ricosta shoes - a good German make that were fitted at Startrite. You've already spent on shoes what I did on his one pair and they are showing no sign of falling apart and he is a very boisterous, active boy. I don't expect to buy him a new pair until these get too small.

    If you really believe it's not the shoes, then make him contribute some of his pocket money towards a new pair. I'm not sure a pair of growing feet that need support should be wearing plimsolls.

    Edited to add :- sorry I misssed that he was on the autistic spectrum - are you sure the dragging of the feet is not a compulsion related to that?
  • This is probably completly wrong but came into my head while Reading your post so I thought I would reply - does he not like the shoes / the style / are they not cool? Or not what his friends wear? I just thought it sounds like he is doing it on purpose? Maybe to get a new pair? Maybe like his mates have?? I noticed on the school run last week a lot of boys seemed to be wearing black leather trainers?? Maybe trainers would last longer??
    SAHM Mummy to
    ds (born Oct 2007) and dd (born June 2010)
  • cherydee
    cherydee Posts: 752 Forumite
    My grandaughter is 13 and is on to her second pair of black lace up shoes since they went back to school in September. The first pair were dropping to bits after only 2 weeks and the pair she is wearing now are going the same way. She's at that age where she wants the cheap fashionable pair and will not let me buy her Clarks shoes.
  • Nicki
    Nicki Posts: 8,166 Forumite
    Toe walking is a very common trait on the autistic spectrum so I wouldn't jump to the conclusion that he is naughty or doing this deliberately. It was one of the things they looked for when my child was diagnosed and there are various theories as to why they do it, some psychological and some physical.

    To answer the question, dd who is autistic and also hard on her shoes wears trainers from Clarks and they look OKish for about 6 months. Even ds who isn't hard on shoes isn't able to keep cheap supermarket shoes looking good for more than a few weeks so IMO it's worth paying a bit more for a quality shoe if you want them to last longer. You might have to accept though due to his behavioural trait that shoes are never going to last as long as you'd like.
  • esmf73
    esmf73 Posts: 1,784 Forumite
    I got some from Brantano that had rubber tops on. I think they were Clarks and I remember them being a bit pricy, but the boys are still wearing them both. So I'm quite happy.
    2014 will be all about ME!
    ( well that hasn't happened!!!)
    Mortgage free. Will be debt free in Nov 2014. Credit card £250
  • shellsuit
    shellsuit Posts: 24,749
    First Post Photogenic First Anniversary Combo Breaker
    Forumite
    I only bought my son cheaper shoes once, and the same happened as what's happened to your sons, with the toe of the shoe.

    Never looked back from buying Clarkes then, no matter how much he scuffed them, they would still clean up as good as new.

    It's worth paying out more as they should do him till he needs the next size.
    Tank fly boss walk jam nitty gritty...
  • Fliparoo
    Fliparoo Posts: 108
    First Anniversary Combo Breaker
    Forumite
    A lot of people seem to be of the opinion that Clarks shoes are a tad pricy but last. For a few extra pounds, you can buy the 'shumagic' which is better applied before the child wears the shoes, rather than after the damage has been done. Some parents told me this summer that they swear by it to keep the shoes looking better for longer. Obviously there are some cheaper alternatives of shoe polish available too. :-)
  • Raksha
    Raksha Posts: 4,570
    Combo Breaker First Post First Anniversary
    Forumite
    What size is he? My boys have big feet, so at that age were comfortable in Dr Martins
    Please forgive me if my comments seem abrupt or my questions have obvious answers, I have a mental health condition which affects my ability to see things as others might.
This discussion has been closed.
Meet your Ambassadors

Categories

  • All Categories
  • 342.5K Banking & Borrowing
  • 249.9K Reduce Debt & Boost Income
  • 449.4K Spending & Discounts
  • 234.6K Work, Benefits & Business
  • 607.1K Mortgages, Homes & Bills
  • 172.8K Life & Family
  • 247.4K Travel & Transport
  • 1.5M Hobbies & Leisure
  • 15.8K Discuss & Feedback
  • 15.1K Coronavirus Support Boards