First real shoes - questions about when...

[Marriedladytara]

My son is 17.5 months old. He still isn't walking on his own.

He's been fine in Robeez or Pedipeds until now, but lately, he wants to walk on the sidewalk - OUTSIDE! We live in a major city - the sidewalks are filled with all kinds of stuff that probably isn't safe for little feet.

I don't want to hurt his development, but he needs something more substantial if he's going to walk outside.

He also tends to pull off his shoes and throw them out of his stroller.

And...he's about to start an evaluation to try to find out why, at 17.5 months he doesn't walk or talk...should I wait and ask a physical therapist?

I was going to buy See Kai Run as his first shoes, but are they not right for him yet? What about the middle type of Preschoolians? Would they work for outside?

Thanks!

[SnuggleBuggles]

If your appt is soon I would wait to see what they suggest. He's still in the normal range for those 2 things so hopefully all is well. :)

Beth

[brittone2]

I used to work in early intervention as a pediatric PT.

I would stick with barefoot inside your own home. Robeez or similar for inside at places he can't be barefoot. If he wants to walk outside and you don't feel the sidewalks can be trusted, I'd go with a super flexible rubber sole. I love softstar shoes, and they have a really flexible rubber sole model available. Great company. There are all less expensive brands. Just make sure it is really flexible. I doubt he spends that much time walking around outside, so it shouldn't impact him all that much to wear a thicker but very flexible sole at that time.
I don't have personal experience with SKR or Preschoolians, but I would think either would work pretty well. You can still give him lots of barefoot time indoors, and Robeez if he's not walking outside on rough surfaces.

You can definitely talk with the PT about it, but that's pretty much the universal PT take on shoes.

I hope the eval goes well. Often kids just need a little boost to get going with walking, and hopefully that will be the case for your DS :)

[shburks]

If it's any consolation, my ds didn't walk until he was 17 months either. We began working with a PT at 12 months and added a ST at about 20 months, and now, at 33 months, you'd never know he was a late starter!

That said ds wore his Pedipeds for months even after he started walking. I was absolutely amazed at how well the Pedipeds held up on grass, sidewalks, etc.

I would definitely wait and see what a PT says before you buy anything if you can. Ds's first "real" shoes after Pedipeds were See Kai Run and that's mostly what he still wears. I think they are fabulous.

Good luck.

Susan

ETA: Wearing "real" shoes doesn't mean he won't still pull them off and throw them out of the stroller. They just figure out different shoes and pull them off! :)