At 13 months, Dexter has owned just two pairs of shoes. He is ‘on his feet’ but isn’t able to walk unassisted yet so we usually leave him in socks or barefoot to keep him cool.
Previously, if we went out to the supermarket or to the park, we popped him in his F&F espadrilles (with socks on so he wouldn’t get blisters) and were really happy with them. They looked great, didn’t leave any marks on his feet, and were easy to get on.
Now he’s outgrown these, we’ve trialled him on some infant Converses handed down from a friend. Getting them on is a royal pain in the arse. You have to take the laces completely out, slip them on, then lace them. Despite us being incredibly careful not to pinch him or force them on, he screams the house down and gets really distressed. At first, when they were on, we thought they were fabulous as he couldn’t pluck them off and throw them at passersby in the high street (yes, he’s been known!).
So, we were fairly happy with these until today. Given it’s 24 degrees outside, we decided to forsake socks and strap him into his pumps barefoot. We were only going to Tescos so there wouldn’t be a oppotunity for him to walk and have the shoes rub his delicate skin.
Big mistake! I was positively angry when I saw the state they had left his poor feet in when we got home. They were so sore that he wouldn’t allow us to touch them. Just unlacing them made him scream!
I feel terrible. The lesson has definitely been learnt and we won’t put him in shoes without socks again, but I’m pretty loathe to put him in these shoes ever again now! Whilst he’s unable to tell us if they’re hurting, I don’t want to take the risk. So we’re now thinking we’ll just pop him in socks for short trips - but what do we do when we take him to the park, or he needs to stretch his legs? We’ll need to take precautions against broken glass or other nasties hidden in the grass. He’ll need some form of shoes.
Maybe it’s my fault. Dexter’s has his mummy’s feet. Here’s an old image of the two of us when he was newborn. We both have fairly square feet and they’re very wide. I call my own feet “E.T. feet” as they look like E.T’s hand with the prominent gap between my big toe and its neighbour. Although Dexie’s tend to curl at the moment, I suspect he’ll wind up with the same trademark gap when he’s older.
So we’re on an appeal!
If anyone can offer any advice on what might be right for him pre-walking, we’d love to hear what might be suitable. I’ve considered getting him some soft leather shoes like these from Dotty Fish, or these from Tippy Toes, but I don’t know if these are appropriate for him outside of the house. Even if they aren’t, I’d still consider them for the grip they can provide on our bare oak floors at home.
For outside the house, if anyone has any recommendations, we’d also love to hear them. One’s that fasten so we can ensure a snug fit are preferred, but will happily consider anything that is safe and comfortable for him whilst he learns to walk. I know Clarks have a fabulous reputation and I’ve found a few styles that I like, but is it too early to have him measured at 13 months? Thanks so much in advance for your advice!
Clarks all the way hun. They look like they have been way too tight on his little feet
liv has really wide feet like me and she can only wear Clarks. They have pre walkers or cruiser which are really soft soled but offer protection, can’t falt them xx
Thanks Andrea. What about for at home? He always slipping over in socks but I’m not happy leaving him barefoot with all the hazards around x
She has Clarks slippers too
Crocs are quite wide and comfy, maybe that’s an option? X
They do slippers!! That sounds great. I didn’t know that. Will shuffle off to the website again. I don’t like Crocs much to be honest.
I would go instore for the slippers hun, Liv had to have a size bigger in slippers because of the width of her feet. They are brill though! I had some Crocs for review for Liv, I wouldn’t have bought them! X
Slippers sound great. Even for outside whilst he’s still not walking. At least it’ll give us peace of mind when he’s in his pushchair. It feels unhygienic to have him out and about barefoot x
Poor wee thing, but don’t beat yourself up you weren’t to know. So hard when they cant yet talk and tell you when they hurt
I’d definitely recomment Clarks. Two of my wee ones have very wide feet and most shoes pinch unless I get properly measured ones.
They do little crawlers so measure from very small. Good luck finding something suitable.
Lesley x
I got Beth pre walkers ‘cruisers’ from clarks at 13 months. Her feet were measured and she had to get slightly wider shoes. In the house we just went barefoot, no socks.
I’ll get him to our local store. I do worry he’ll curl up his toes when he’s getting measured as he does this when he’s anxious x
Get on down to Clarks! (I work there, not going to be biased. I promise ha ha)
Not only are there going to be suitable styles for your little one but they also measure and fit the shoes in store. So you can be confident you are going to be getting the right shoe and fitting for your son.
Not to early to get him measured either as I’ve seen babies as young as 7 months coming getting their feet measured. Some parent’s like to buy soft cruisers for their tots as soon as they are standing and cruising especially if they have laminate floor.
If you still feel unsure pop in to your local branch cause as our shop we always offer advice if parents are unsure.
Good luck love.
PS: There is also a sale on at the minute!
I saw Jenna! One of the pairs I like is down to £10. I figure we’ll get him a few different pairs so we can alternate depending on weather / outfit / where we are going etc.
I was going to recommend Clarks as soon as I saw the pic of his little feet so I think you know whats best hun
Definitely. I feel so sorry for him. He was pretty quiet all afternoon - now we know why!
I’d say Clarks is the only place to go. You can get pre-walkers which are fab for crawling and cruising then you can get walking shoes. My oldest has a width fitting of H which you’d never get in ordinary shoes. Dexter may be the same. My friends boy is huge and he has to get Clarks shoes from 6months as nothing fits him. Don’t feel bad these things happen, we learn from them. Once you know his size there are always eBay for Clarks shoes as most kids shoes are hardly worn with how quickly they grow. Hugs x
The width measurement is definitely the most important one. Both of us have super wide feet. I’ve been told my parents struggled getting shoes for me when I was younger x
Same as everyone else has said - he needs to get his feet measured and have shoes that are fitted to him. He clearly has very wide feet and Clarks will take that measurement too. You may find that for a good few years yet you won’t be able to put him in vanity shoes without them pinching, and while he’s young the bones in his feet are very soft so you would cause them permanent damage by squishing them every day. Until he’s walking he doesn’t need shoes, and all of mine have done the same as you and gone barefoot until they walked
Clarks or Start-Rite etc might seem very expensive, but they last a long time and what you do now affects the adult feet, so he should have them checked for fit until he’s at least a large size 2.
Totally agree. I hate the thought of causing damage particularly when he can’t tell me they’re hurting! I’d never forgive myself x
13 months is definitely not too young to get his feet measured. Actually any age when they can begin to stand is not to early.
Those shoes just had no growing or heat expanding room for heat. I’d do without food to give my kids well fitted shoes, and I have learned how to measure them properly myself so that I can buy the sale shoes when they come on. I’d not leave more than 2 - 3 months between measures at that young age either.
There are pre-walkers that are suitable to wear indoor and out (just not in snow and rain). They are comfortable inside but with more support than slippers etc. Crocs would be good for sitting in a buggy when it’s hot, but as with sandals you have to watch for sunburn on precious tootsies so socks are a good idea then.
Yep. The Converses didn’t expand at all with heat. There’s no ‘give’ in them at all. I’ve definitely learnt my lesson. Had a cry this afternoon when he was so distressed. I felt terrible!
Shouldn’t put children in shoes until they’ve been walking 6-8 weeks, even Clarks told us that. Pram shoes are the best/barefoot shoes as they allow the feet to spread as they walk. First walker shoes are softer soles but suitable for outside, then once they’ve been walking a bit longer they move to firmer soles.
It was easier for our son as it was winter so we didn’t have the hot feet issue, but barefoot where possible is always going to be better.
Ill have to go against the grain and say Clatks have been a worst nightmare for me and other mums I know. I now measure my children’s feet myself thanks to a kit I bought from Startrite they are good. Converse shoes look fab but don’t offer any support to them really I wear them myself but can feel everything under foot and they are tight on my upper foot still I love them lol
x
Hope you find some good shoes for little one, and if Clarks measure him correctly and they have some good shoes in stock, go for it
I hadn’t heard of StartRite before now (I guess that shows just how clueless I am!). What was wrong with Clarks Hannah? Hope you don’t mind my asking x
I would avoid converse at all costs. I had a pair as a teenager and the lack of support they offered caused me all sorts of problems because I would roll me feet inwards, which ended up with strained ligaments and an awful lot of pain. Goodness knows what they would do to such young feet
They were a hand-me-down pair. I stupidly thought we didn’t need to worry too much about shoes until Dex was walking. Horrified at how they’ve marked his feet in just a few hours when he hadn’t so much as walked a step in them. I certainly wouldn’t recommend to anyone, ever! Terrible x
My eldest has a pair of clarks shoes, clarks sandals, doodle shoes and a pair of infant converse. He wears the proper shoes with socks, the converse with trainer socks + the doodle & sandals barefoot all with no issues. If you’re near meadow hall at all we have a shop called Clinkards which sell clarks, startrite + branded shoes and the staff help with fitting of all shoes.
Not near Meadow Hall no. My friend just mentioned Doodles. I’ve never heard of them before! Lol. Sandals would be fab for summer but I think he’s too tiny for them (13 months) x
We have he opposite problem, my son’s feet are way too thin so we struggle to find any shoes narrow enough. My son was walking at 8 months and we couldn’t find good shoes small enough. Brands I found useful at that age were Skeanie and Pediped which both have more flexible soles than other brands.
Oh yeah! Skeanie! Completely forgot about them!
Clarks all the way - these were fab for Toby when he was younger:
http://www.clarks.co.uk/p/20353663
or
http://www.clarks.co.uk/p/20353600 (Doodles) Lived in these all summer.
Oh I see! Was getting all these recommendations for Doodles and they are Clarks all along! Lol
I’ve got recommend Clarks or Startrite. Most importantly get him fitted for shoes. They are trained to make sure they fit and as you say he can’t tell you if they hurt him. Don’t want to cause problems for the future
We found these were amazing to wear around home. In fact I kept most of my girls in these long after they started walking. They were fine to wear outside in moderation (going shopping, or on dry grass, etc - obviously not through mud and puddles!!!) http://www.moccis.co.uk xx
Oohh these look fab for around the house. Did your girls pull them off though? Dex is still in sock-on’s or they end up down the side of the sofa!
Get his feet measured Hun, Clarks are really good or independent retailers who stock both Clarks and Startrite. My little one has just been measured we have got cruisers as he will stand but is not really taking steps independently, the are designed for support but also so for when they are crawling. There is a great range of sandals too. Gap do some socks that fit really well that have grips on the bottom too
I’ve only just discovered Baby Gap for socks. One of those essential need-to-know things when you have a baby
Oh poor mite, hope he’s feeling better today. We used soft leather shoes for Eddie when he was that age, let me find on my blog if I have a name for them
OK, we had a pair from Baba+Boo and then a soft pair from some other company, can’t find any clues as what the brand was.
Soft pairs seem to come recommended for around the house. I’ll have to get him some then. At least they offer a small amount of support for sofa cruising x
my daughter is about the same age and she was measured at Clarks. She has one pair of prewalkers which do her in the house and out and about.
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