Pricey Shoes- How to avoid paying $50 for Stride Rites every few months?

[BayAreaMom]

Hi, my 11-month old daughter started walking about a month ago (and i mean, really walking- she's done with crawling/cruising). I bought a pair of Pedipeds that worked well, but my daycare asked me to get her some stride rite sneakers with more support and rubber soles. So, I went to the local kids shoe store that carried Stride Rite, and found a perfect pair of stage 3 baby shoes (hannah model) but I had major sticker shock at the $46 price tag (plus 8.25% tax). I was told these would fit her for 6-12 weeks so at that rate I could be spending at least $200/year on shoes.

So, what's a bargain-seeking mom to do? I saw some pp that recommended buying stride rites (which I think i'll stick with instead of preschoolians or another brand) at shoebuy.com or kidssurplus.com with coupon codes. But, how do I get her sizes right? I am really reluctant to order shoes online if i'm worried about them fitting. For example, if she's a 4.5W now, can I assume her next pair will be 5W? Am I better off just getting her fitted in a store and paying full price? Or buying a foot measuring tool and measuring her myself?

The other store option appears to be a SR outlet, but that's a few hours away.

Also, do people buy two pairs for the summer- sandals and sneakers? If she wears a 4.5W for her sneakers, can I assume she's the same size for her sandals?

Last, there are tons of models with velco, but I didn't think they would be a good idea because my daughter could take them off. What do people think of velcro vs. laces?

Thanks!

[o_mom]

At 11 months I would be very hesitant to put her in anything with a regular sole. At that age they need a very flexible sole and the idea that they need 'support' is somewhat outdated. Feet develop best when they are barefoot as much as possible and only need shoes for protection/warmth. Some of the SR baby shoes are OK for this, but they only go to size 5 or so. DS2 is almost 2 and wears mainly Robeez or Target knock-offs. He has a pair of Payless sneakers for outside when it is wet or muddy and had a pair of SR sandals from the outlet last summer.

I have had luck with places like Shoe Carnival and Payless finding off-brands that are wide and flexible. Also, Marshalls often has Stride Rite sneakers and I have the next two sizes up in those for DS1. The SR outlet can be hit or miss. We got sandals there last summer for both boys and sneakers for DS1. Then the next time they had nothing in his size. Target has some great flexible baby shoes in the shoe department if you look on the endcaps. The girls selection is great - very flexible rubber soles in cute designs. The boys selection sucks - clunky sneakers and hiking boots that I couldn't even bend.

[C99]

Simple solution: don't buy SRs. I do not buy shoes on Zappos or Shoebuy because I want my DD to get fitted for shoes, and I don't think it's fair for me to take her to the local mom & pop to have her foot measured and then go elsewhere to buy the shoes. If I am buying multiple pairs of shoes, I will sometimes buy the first pair at the store and the second pair elsewhere, but that is usually due to styling preferences over price. You can't always assume the growth curve for your child's feet.

Most recently, I bought my DD a pair of Merrells at a mom & pop store where they measured her feet and fitted the shoe - they were $30. This particular store does offer coupons on occasion, and has a deal where they give you $2 off a subsequent purchase for every $50 you spend - and it's cumulative, so you can save up your receipts and get $6 off one pair of shoes or something.

IME, a 1-year-old cannot take easily take off her shoes, even if they fasten with velcro. It's way easier to put velcro-closure shoes on a wriggly toddler than laced shoes.

[TracyBee]

Be very careful with the shoes at Payless, Wal-Mart,etc. Make sure whatever you put DD in is genuine leather. Many of the shoes at Payless, etc. are all man-made materials, which are terrible for little feet - no breathability at all.

Ebay is a great place to look for stride rites as well. I get most of my DD's there - or Marshall's.

[citymama]

I'm in the same boat - I have a 1 year old who's been walking for 3 months now. I just bought her her first pair of rubber-soled shoes. I decided against SR ($$ and too rigid for first "real" shoes) and got her a $30 pair of rubber-soled Pedoodles online with free shipping. Like you, I'm concerned about going broke with all this shoe-buying since she will surely outgrow these in a couple of months.

My attempt at economy is buying one or maybe 2 pair of shoes per walking stage and resisting the temptation to buy a whole slew. I'm also trying to buy unisex colors to hang on to for a possible second kid some day...

I'm also accepting hand-me-downs from friends and relatives - only some will work though, since my DD is a regular/narrow and we've received wides. I'm not, however, planning to economize by buying shoes that might pinch or chafe her feet, since I don't do that to myself either!

Good luck!

[lenad]

I agree that regular SRs are much too hard for a beginning walker. It's old school that they need support. They actually walk a lot better in soft-sole shoes. And there are lots of other shoes out there that are softer and certainly don't cost more. E.g., See Kai Runs are ~$30 and can be found in stores, so you can try them on. They run quite wide (too wide for my dd who wears a wide), but I have seen a post that said some new models are not as wide as they used to be.

When dd was in that stage we had Robeez, then got her knock-offs from eBay ($15 w/ shipping, compared to $30 for Robeez).

I personally prefer to go to a B&M store and have dd try the shoes on: I never know how the fit will be nor whether she will keep them on. And more than anything I hate spending money to ship and then return shoes that don't fit. That can add up pretty fast.

[BeachBum]

I too think that SR are too firm for a new walker. But, there are a whole host of options between there and Robeez.

At a year, we had 2 pairs of shoes in rotation. Now at 18 mo, we have several because his foot growth has slowed it seems.

We always use the shoe chart for the particular brand of shoe, or try them on ourselves in a store. I haven't felt I needed a "professional". I think it is unlikely that your child will move from one size right into the next, mine has so far though.

On occasion our secondary pair came from Target or payless. The rule of thumb is that should should be able to fold the shoe in half with one hand easily. I've found a few pair that I felt ok about.

[juliasmom05]

We live in a small town, so really have no other option other than buying online. At least with Shoebuy you get free returns. Really just wanted to let you know that you may not be buying shoes every 6-12 weeks. DD wore size 6-12 Robeezs until she was 15 months and then she was in a size 4/19 from 15 months until 23 months.

We haven't been able to use shoes with velcro because the first one is off even before I can get the second one on. And if I manage to get both of them on, she won't keep them on her feet. So we've put the SKR in the closet and have just been able to wear shoes with laces (SR and Ecco). For sandals it's tough. I'm hoping she'll leave those on during the summer.

I guess I'm surprised that your daycare asked for different shoes. IMO, she's really too young for SR.

Marci

[brittone2]

Another vote that your DC likely does NOT need thick rubber soles. I worked as a pediatric physical therapist in early intervention before becoming a SAHM. For any child, sole flexibility is an absolute must. Soft soled shoes are great for foot development (robeez and similar). If she absolutely needs something thicker for walking outside over uneven surfaces, you still can find great flexibility with a little thicker sole. My favorites are softstar shoes, but they are pricey.

I'm actually not a huge fan of Stride Rite. In many cases, it seems like they tend to push kids into more sole than they need IMO, and that's going to do more harm than good for most kids. THey truly need a flexible sole so those little toes can spread out, dig in, etc. which is how balance develops. Kids don't need "support" in shoes at all unless we're talking about some sort of serious orthopedic issue, at which time an orthotic, not the shoe, is going to be what is needed. (and most kids are very "flat footed" or roll inward slightly, which is perfectly normal in a young child).

If your daycare wants more information, they can look on the web. Pretty much any physical therapist, orthopedist, podiatrist, etc. will vote for the soft soled shoes. If she needs something a wee bit firmer for outside, have them just use those shoes when she's going outside, and not all day long at daycare.

IMO velcro vs. laces depends on your child's personality and your preferences. Many kids can undo the velcro as you said, which may or may not be an issue for you.

[iujen94]

I was in the same boat you are . . . my 9 1/2 mo old DS2 is transitioning to the "Older Infant" room at his daycare and they require hard sole shoes. YUCK. I know that soft soled shoes are best, but if daycare has a rule, it's not like you can just ignore it (and our daycare, at least, requires hard-soled shoes inside and outside, plus it's a little impractical to expect them to wrestle with 8 pairs of shoes every time they go inside and outside). But I digress - just wanted you to know that I feel your pain on looking for hard-soled shoes earlier than you might really wanted to. FYI, I do continue to put Robeez/Target knockoffs (or just socks) on DS as soon as we get home and on the weekends.

As for your questions, I've had good luck with SR shoes for DS1 over the years and in buying shoes ahead. I do assume that he'll go to the next 1/2 size and he's done that pretty reliably. I think that strategy works especially well if you are buying the exact same shoe, just bigger. Easy to do with boys' shoes since there are so few cute choices (and not really "seasonal" shoes), but it might be harder to resist buying a selection in girls' shoes! I just have to make sure that I check the sizing every so often so that I don't miss it when it's time to move up. If you have a SR nearby, I'm sure they wouldn't mind if you popped in whenever you were at the mall just to have her size checked, especially if you explained that you'd bought SR shoes ahead.

As far as saving $$$, unfortunately you just missed the twice-yearly SR sale. It's in the spring and fall, and all shoes are buy one get one half off. Sign up on their website and they'll email you when the next one comes around. They also mail out some decent coupons every now and then (and, I discovered at this sale, they'll even let you use coupons AND the buy one get one half off!) The big sale is when I stock up - I usually buy DS's current size and the next 1/2 size up in sneakers and dress shoes. As your DD gets older, this may last you til the next sale.

As for different sizes in different shoes, I don't know for sure about girls' shoes, but with boys' shoes at SR, the "dress" shoes run a lot different (bigger) than sneakers. The sales people will usually help you in determining which size to get in which type of shoe. For this reason, I really like buying at a store vs. online because you don't know how shoes might run. Now, if you are just buying a bigger size of a shoe you've already bought before, that would be a different story though.

Finally, SR outlets . . . my personal experience has not been good at the SR outlets. It was a huge store and they had 2 people working there - both at the cash register. They were surly when I asked for DS's feet to be measured, and I had zero confidence that they actually knew what they were doing. I ended up not buying there and just going to a regular SR store. That said, I'm sure that all outlets are different, and maybe I even hit mine on a bad day - who knows.

Hope all that helps!

[niecie]

I love my DD's SR. She is 15 mths and has 1 pair of SR(and many various other brands), all pink and girly with velcro. She sometimes plays with the straps but has never been able to completely undo the velcro. I have stage 2 and they are plenty flexible. I am going to buy another pair for this summer with the shoebuy $10 off deal. I grit my teeth when I think about paying $$$ for shoes, but her SR are the most versatile shoe she has. Whenever she plays outside she wears the SR because the leather seems to scrape off of the other brands(squeaky shoes, l'amour, etc.)
Why are you thinking about stage 3 anyway? Why not stick to the softer sole of the stage 2. And I had my DD try them on at SR and bought them online. I would only feel bad if it was a mom and pop shop somewhere, not a large chain store. Good luck and there is a $10 off right now at shoebuy.

[table4three]

I get DS sized at Nordstrom's or SR and buy on-line at Zappos or even Amazon - last year there was a SR pair I really liked that was 30% off retail on Amazon, plus free shipping. This year when I bought DS's spring/summer shoes, I got him fit at SR, bought 1 pair (guppy sandals) there, then went home and bought the other 2 pairs (new balance sneakers and keen sandals) at zappos.com. I love zappos. no tax, no shipping!


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[BayAreaMom]

Hi
Thanks for all your advice. It was a bit overwhelming! I saw my pediatrician this week who said the Stride Rite's looked fine (they can fold in half one handed- so even though they're stage 3, they are a very flexible/roomy model- but I know that isn't the case with all of them). She recommended the See Kai Run's (as have others on this board). So, I will definately buy the SKRs when my daughter outgrows her Pedipeds, and for the time being I will keep her in the Pedipeds as much as possible. The SKRs seem like they will be much better that the SRs because they have the rubber sole, but are much softer/flexible material elsewhere. I have to admit I do not care for the Robeez- even for inside use, the soles are too floppy, and since my daugher has wide feet, the elastic digs into her skin. The pedipeds are great, but the sole is still a bit soft for playing outside on asphault.

Also, I'm sure if I told my daycare, SR's are not appropriate, they would understand that's my preference. If I had done some more research here first instead of rushing out to the store, I would have bought the See Kai Run's, and been happy with them as a step up from the Pedipeds.

Thanks for all your help!

[stefani]

Try Pedoodles. They are similar to SKR.

Recently I found a couple pairs of Osh Kosh sandals at Kohl's and Ross that have flexible soles. I have stayed with SKR (from size 5 to size 8 now), but DS seems to ruin them more quickly now. I still have a couple pairs of SKR that are size 9, and that will be it (size wise as well as durability wise).

Good luck!