Did I waste $20 on these shoes?

[DrSally]

DS just walked outside for the first time and loooved it (it was a nice day). He was in his Target, Robeez knock offs. So, I went to a nice shoe store and had him sized for some harder soled shoes (still flexible though). There are Sperry brand, nubuck with a rubber sole. Problem is, he will not walk in them. He stands there and then sits down and cries and tries to take them off. I thought the promise of going outside would get him walking toward the door, but he actually succeeded in taking them off somehow and came running toward the door in his socks. Is he just not ready for harder soled shoes? I noticed his feet turn in a bit in the robeez. I've tried to help him walk and he just hates it and falls down. Do they eventually get used to it or could it be too early?

[Radosti]

I feel like I just wasted $35 on Geox shoes for DS as well. He walks in them, but not nearly as well as the Robeez or the Pedipeds. We tried Jumping Jacks Basically Barefoot at Olly's, but he was RIGHT in the size 6, and I wanted to give him a bit of room to grow. Well, they only have whole sizes at Olly's and 7's were HUGE on him:
http://www.zappos.com/n/p/dp/18790233/c/74924/g/kids/s/I_1024.html

Anyway, I ended up getting the Geox Turtles and he's not thrilled with them. I'm thinking I need to go return them and buy the 6.5 Jumping Jacks from Zappos.com He LOVED the Jumping Jacks at Olly's. They are so soft and comfy, but at the same time, they can put up with outdoor abuse.

[wilelm]

That's exactly what Gabriel did. I just let him wear Robeez, and periodically tried harder-soled shoes until he would walk in them. It took about 3 months in his case, but I'm sure it's different for every child.

I went from Robeez to SKRs to regular, harder-soled shoes. I did buy him SKR sandals for summer, and I wish they went to bigger sizes, because I can tell by the way he walks in them that he likes the softness of the soles on the SKRs.


Sheila

[Radosti]

OK, I was looking at both at www.zappos.com and the deciding factor ended up being that SKR's came in 6 or 7 and the Jumping Jacks came in 6.5. So, I bit the bullet and just ordered the Jumping Jacks Jakes. I will return the Geox shoes to Olly's this coming weekend.

[hudsonam]

You might want to try Preschoolians. Those were my DS's first harder-soled shoes. They have a rubber bottom, but they are flexible everywhere else, and the bottoms aren't very thick. To me, they were the perfect in-between shoe.

[Maromy]

ITA with the Preschoolians recommendation. They are a great transition between Robeez and harder soled shoes. My DD wore them when she was around that age and did really well.

Amy

[DrSally]

Ok, so I guess I bought too soon. I just felt like I should buy something since they were so nice in sizing him and he played in their play area. Since they were on clearance, it was a "final sale", and he basically has no room to grow since one foot is 6 and the other is 5, so we couldn't go with the 6.5. I wonder if I should bring them in and see if I could at least exchange them??? It's so upsetting for him to wear them and not be able to walk that I don't want to force it.

I'm going to look into the Preschoolians or something like it. These shoes have an awfully thick sole. Either that or have a pair of robeez knock offs he just wears outside. Thanks for the advice.

ETA: how do the preschoolians run? DS is a 6W.

[shburks]

Just remember that Jumping Jacks and SKRs are *vastly* different in width. JJ absolutely would not fit on my ds's feet--we had to get SKRs. Just the size factor might not be enough to make them fit. Also, in my experience, the JJ soles were way stiffer than SKRs. Good luck.

Susan

[Radosti]

Oh, no, these aren't the regular jumping jacks. These are their Basically Barefoot line. Soooooo soft and fit his foot really well at Olly's. I just needed a half size up to let his feet grow. He loved walking in them at the store.

[wilelm]

I can't give any information about the Preschoolians, but the SKRs are good for wide feet. Gabriel wears an XW and the SKRs fit him great.

Sheila

[Melanie]

Same here, Dd is just wide but then has an wide to extra wide instep. The SKRs (and Pedipeds) are the only shoes that fit her in a MaryJane (plus regular styles)!

[luv_my_girl]

My kids started wearing hard sole shoes at size 4. they both hated them at first (older kid actually threw them in the trash and we had trouble finding them!), but got used to them really qucikly. I didn't know about SKR back then.

[C99]

It's normal for toddlers to cry or even revert to crawling once they start wearing regular outdoor shoes instead of Robeeze or bare feet. He just needs to get used to the heavier weight that regular shoes have.

[stefani]

I waited for a long time before moving away from Robeez & Preschoolians like shoes, so my guess is that your DS did not like the thicker /& stiffer soles.

Preschoolians was not as wide as SKR (See Kai Run), but the last time I bought from them, they had a good return policy, so check on that.

Good luck.

[pb&j]

DS started walking for real right around his first bday, he's now 14 mos. He hated his Pedoodles at first, but I didn't want him walking outdoors without a "real" sole. He really protested at first. He got used to them pretty quickly, and now even "helps" put them on.


-Ry,
mom to Max the one year old
and my girl in heaven

http://www.windsorpeak.com/dc/user_files/37124.gif