New shoes

[essnce629]

Maybe you should try getting him a pair of soft-soled shoes instead (Robeez, Jack & Lily, etc). They are just like walking barefoot and are good for new walkers. My son is 15 months old and has been walking for 3 months now and all he's ever worn are Robeez shoes. We just ordered him 2 pairs from Preschoolians though. I've been to Stride Rite and found all of their shoes to be way too stiff and thick soled for early walkers. I've always heard that babies shouldn't wear thick soled shoes until they are running. Preschoolians are supposed to be extremely flexible.

***Latia
Conner 8/19/03
http://www.babiesonline.com/babies/a/aug2003angel
http://www.gynosaur.com/assets/ribbons/ribbon_gold_12m.gif One year and counting!
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[Niki_n_Abby]

If he's having trouble walking in them, I'd return them. Have you considered Robeez or another soft soled shoe? My dd wore Robeez until she was 2(started walking at 10 months), inside and out, all weather. They were wonderful and she could walk naturally in them(not like a little Frankenstein LOL). My dd refuses to wear Stride Rite and I really don't blame her. The are VERY stiff and heavy conpared to a lot of other shoes.

I'd go get your money back and get a pair or two of Robeez.

Niki

[amp]

My son also fell a bit when we first put shoes on him, and again when we switched shoes. It didn't take more than a few days to get used to them though. We never used them in the house, but we tried to spend some time in them out in the grassy areas so that if he fell, which he always did, then he wouldn't really hurt himself. Of course we also ended up in stores and stuff, but at least he had some practice first. I'd just give him a chance like that for a half hour or whatever. If you can't do that due to weather, just let him run around for 15 min at a time, or until he gets frustrated at home. He'll get the hang of it in a few days time. And know that he will continue to fall, but will get better at catching himself as time goes on, with shoes or without.

[lablover]

Thanks for the replies. We do have a pair of Robeez (fake ones) that he has been wearing up until now. I just figured that he was proficient enough with walking now that he could wear a regular shoe and I also want him to have something more than the soft sole when we are outside a lot during xmas. The SR I got him are from the first walker series - he had no problems with the shoe in the store, it was only after I put them on him again later that afternoon that he was unhappy. I thought maybe I had them laced too tight at first, but I don't think so. I think I'll go to Nordstrom tomorrow and see what they have and also get him remeasured, just to double check. Maybe a different type of shoe will be better for him. And then I'll also keep in mind that he will have to learn to walk in shoes and will be expected to take some tumbles at first. I plan on keeping him in the Robeez when we are inside.

[AdoptChina]

Sounds like a good plan. Connor stumbled a bit the first few days he transitioned from Robeez to Stride Rite shoes....but he's a pro in them now :) I would still use the Robeez when you can, but if you want more protection for walking outside etc, the Stride Rite should work fine after he gets used to them. You could try the Preschoolians....they sort of bridge the gap between Robeez and Stride Rite. They didnt work for us, but lots of moms here like them.

[stefani]

Hi,

I am curious why Preschoolians did not work for you. DS is 14 months old now, and he has worn Pitter Patter, Robeez, and Bobux. I just ordered a pair of Preschoolians (zip on off navy car). I hope that works for him.

For the original posting:
My son is lent a couple of shoes that are stiffer and heavier than those soft soled shoes, and I do notice that he stumbled more in them. I guess it does take some time to get used to them. I put on the heavier shoes only for short periods. For daycare (2 days a week) he wears Robeez or Bobux, and they take the toddlers outside when the weather is nice.

Stefani.

[JFC]

Our first shoes where also stride rites and Sam tripped up on them the first few times he wore them, but he quickly got used to them. In fact, he LOVES them now. I think it just takes time to get used to having something on their feet - we laughed that it was like he had cement boots on for the first day or two!

To answer your other question - we go barefoot inside and just put our shoes on when we are out.

Good luck!

[JElaineB]

DS does not wear shoes inside at all, unless we are out shopping or something. But inside our house, the daycare provider's house and his grandparents' house he wears just socks. Playing outside, in the car or out shopping he has shoes on. Your DS will get used to them quickly enough even if he doesn't wear them a lot. It is just different for them at first. I wouldn't have him wear them more than necessary, he'll get used to them soon enough and it is better for him to go barefoot (or in socks or similar) as much as possible.

Jennifer
mom to Jacob 9/27/02

[iluvmy2boys]

MY son started walking at 8.5months (yes, that's true!! LOL) and I didn't even attempt first walker shoes til he was a year old, so he'd been walking for QUITE some time by that point. (he wore Robeez up til that point or had a pair of nikes he'd wear when outside but he never walked in them) Well, he *HATED* them. the shoe is so stiff and bulky, that he cried when I would put them on his foot (and it was the right size!!). So I ended up going with a light-weight keds shoe (much lighter than the first walker shoes) and he walked BEAUTIFULLY in those. Also, had a pair of nike sandals that he walked in perfectly. He never could wear the first walker type shoe til he was closer to 18-20months old and by then, he was such a proficient walker that we didn't see the need for him to have them! He's never worn a first walker, except MAYBE once when there was a style I HAD to have, but he outgrew that shoe too fast and I never bought anymore of them.

Personally, I'd look into preschoolians IWB line. (I think the biggest problem with the first walkers is the bootie style trips up a lot of kids)

Good luck!

[lablover]

I have a question about shoes. We just got DS his first pair of shoes yesterday (Stride Rites). He’s been walking for over 1 ½ months, and dropped all crawling a couple of weeks ago. I’m wondering how long he should wear these on a daily basis. I’ve know it's best to be barefoot, he should go shoeless at home, etc. but I want him to get comfortable with having shoes on. He wasn’t too happy with them as he fell down several times yesterday – hard falls to his face on our ceramic tile too, I guess because he was so confident before. So does anyone have any suggestions? Should we wear them more in the beginning to get used to them? I really want him to be comfortable with the shoes by Christmas, when we will be at Disneyworld – I don’t want to worry about him falling down a lot then. TIA!

[lablover]

Well I went to Nordstrom and ended up leaving because it was taking forever to get waited on...so I went to another Stride Rite that was in the mall. I put the shoes on and the 2 salespeople felt his foot and said that he really should go up to an extra wide (these were wide). They said his foot wasn't able to really get all the way down in the shoe correctly. They told me that the shoe I had didn't come in XW (not sure why they said that because I just looked on shoebuy.com and it does) so they brought me another shoe that looked more sporty(Baccio). They said he had to go up to a 5 1/2 for this style (the other ones were 5). Let me tell you, it's like night and day! We came home and he was walking all around the house for about 30 minutes (pretty fast too) and he didn't fall once. So I'm not sure if it is because these are wider or because they aren't as tall as the others, or a combination of the two, but they work. He'll still be in socks/robeez at home so I'm not worried about his foot development.

I got the whole song and dance about how every shoe fits different and that I need to rely on them to get the right size....but I don't want to spend $40+ on every shoe! Can't I somehow get around this and order future shoes on shoebuy.com? These shoes aren't going to go with all of his outfits.