Stride Rite shoes--when to buy first pair?

[liamsmama]

Liam is 12.5 months and has been walking since he turned 11 months, and walking really well for about a month. I am wondering when we should get him his first pair of Stride Rites. Is now a good time? Or should we wait until he's been walking even longer?

Thanks in advance. :)

[pamela mom of 3]

Well ds got his first pair at about 11mths because he started at 10mo and was walking well & wanting to walk while we were out. If your finding he is wanting to explore the world now while out you could certainly look into a starter walker. We still used robeez for home and the yard as well :)



~Pamela Mom Of 3

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[JElaineB]

DS was walking for about a month when I got him his first pair of Stride Rites. I would say now would be a good time especially if he is wanting to go outside a lot. I really like the Natural Motion System shoes for the first few pairs. For this summer we have some Natural Motion system closed toed sandals (which he hasn't actually worn yet), some Stride Rite water shoes (which he is wearing all the time outside because he is loving his sand and water table) and some Stride Rite sneakers which he wears outside quite a bit. He is about to outgrow those so I'll get another pair when he does. When he is inside he goes barefoot or is in socks.

Jennifer
mom to Jacob 9/27/02

[deborah_r]

Regrarding this same issue, the salesperson at Nordstrom discouraged us from getting DS (12 mos old) Stride-Rite sandals, and instead pushed us toward a shoe that we really aren't sure about now. I think it will be too hot for summer use. But his reasons for not getting the sandals didn't make much sense to me, something about not having enough support. I thought it was more important to have flexible shoes than ones with support at this early stage (he is just beginning walking - he did encourage us to buy a half size larger than he measured, since he is just barely walking)

The more I research about this, the more confused I get!

[vikivoly]

DD got her first pair of Stride Rites around her first birthday. She was still just cruising at that point. I think he is ready now.

[khakismom]

Kathleen got her first pair of SRs after she had been cruising a while and had taken 1-2 steps here and there. Actually getting the shoes gave her the confidence to truly walk rather than take occasional steps. I think you DS is ready for a pair of walkers, esp. for outside.

[C99]

B/c they are fairly expensive (considering how fast they outgrow them), we waited until the last moment to get Nate his first pair of soled shoes. He had been walking for about a month and wanted to walk outside, roam around the park, etc., so we decided to invest in a pair of SRs. We got him sandals about 2 months later.

[smkinc]

Just wanted to add that I think it depends on where you live. Our town is fairly safe/clean, and while I got J. his first SR shoes about a month after he started walking, he's only worn them about 3 times. He wears his soft soled shoes almost everywhere we go (unless it's really rainy/muddy). I think we could've gotten buy with a less expensive pair of shoes than the Stride Rites, considering I'm pretty comfortable having him out and about in his soft soled shoes.

HTH,
Mary
Mom to Jeremiah 2/4/03

[liamsmama]

Thank you all so much for your input!

I think that we will get him his first pair shortly--maybe when Grandma comes to visit. ;) For now, he's OK in Robeez since we don't go outside much (we live in the desert, so he can't do much exploring outside!).

Again, thanks! :)