Preschoolian Shoes

[jendavid]

Has anyone used these? They look really cute and I like the idea of the rubber soles. My 9 mo old wears out a pair of Robeez really quickly. Also, are Stride Rite shoes worth the price?

[blueeyedb]

DS wears Preschoolians and I really like them. They have very flexible soles and I think that if they wear out before they are outgrown, Preschoolians will replace them (DS outgrows shoes really quickly, so we haven't worn out a pair yet). Check out Ebay for some good prices, I believe that they sell their overstock there.
DS also has Strid Rites, but they've all been gifts, so I don't know what the pricing is like. They do have more solid soles than the Preschoolians (ie they don't feel as flexible). We've enjoyed ours so far, but I think I like the Preschoolians better.

[MommyAllison]

Ditto all of this :) We did notice that the elastic was starting to look like it might break on the shoe straps, but it didn't (DD has outgrown them). They were perfect shoes for my DD after she was walking well - she loves to tramp around outside and walk at stores/the mall, and these were easy to walk in and protected her feet well.

Stride Rites can often be found at my Nordstrom Rack for around $10-15, and if you have a SR outlet near you they are supposed to have great deals. I like Preschoolians better, though the SR have held up better for us.

HTH

Allison
Mama to DD 11/05

[supercalifragilous]

There has been many past posts here about Preschoolians - I urge you do a search. Their customer service has been unsatisfactory (to say the least) to MANY here, present company included. They botch up orders, send the wrong size, don't send the item at all, are slow on exchanges/returns, etc. - the list goes on. For what you pay for Preschoolians, it is a BIG DEAL to lack customer service. I've personally spoken to Jeffrey, the owner, who pledged to personally oversee my order, and he screwed it up.

That said, their soles are unique. You should really try them out IRL if you can. IME, the Preschoolians footbed makes for a stiffer sole than they let on. The pictures of their "flexible" shoe crumpled up in someone's hand are without the footbed. When you have the footbed in there, it makes it more rigid, and you can't wear it without the footbed.

Preschoolians are still more flexible than a conventional sneaker, but I think See Kai Run (SKRs) and Stride Rite Toddler Tech shoes are just as flexible. For us, we switched over to Nike - they copied SR Toddler Tech and "scored" the soles so it's more flexible AND much much cheaper than Preschoolians.

I also didn't care for the fact that Preschoolians scuffed SUPER easily and their soles are smooth (not texturized, for grip). Plus their European sizing is difficult, even though they send you a plastic shoe sizer.

We got DD Preschoolians when she began walking (it was Robeez until then). We thought the Preschoolians ran a little long (but "accurate" according to their shoe sizer & consultants on the phone "to allow for growth") and she tripped in them and fell, hitting her forehead on the pavement and having a seizure.

Needless to say I don't believe in "growing room/toe room" for new walkers anymore. They just aren't used to adjusting their gait to allow for that after being used to Robeez.

[hudsonam]

I loved DS's Preschoolians, but for the reasons mentioned here, I have bittersweet feelings about them. What a nightmare this company is. I think Zappos sells them now though. I didn't love all the styles though, so you may want to try a couple and see what you like. We did the sport stretch in the I'm Walking Barefoot.

[mommyoftwo]

I would disagree with you on a few points. I've not ordered directly from their site but ordered from them off of ebay. The first pair I got was defective and the elastic on the strap broke almost immediately. I emailed them to let them know and they refunded my money immediately. We have since had several pairs and love them. I think they are every bit as flexible as they show in the pictures. I just picked up one of Linnea's shoes with the foot bed in it and was easily able to bend it in half like they show. We've never had a problem with growing room or Linnea tripping in them even when she was new walker but I think maybe that depends on the child. I will agree there isn't a ton of texture for gripping on the bottom but again we've never had a problem with it. We had Linnea try on several different pairs of stride rites the last time we were in the store to get Amelia shoes and they weren't nearly as flexible causing her to walk funny. I didn't have any problems with scuffing with my brown and black pairs but our most recent pair is pink and is showing the dirt a lot more easily. However they are washable so I think I need to try that. They get tons of use though and are her main shoes so I'm sure that any shoe would be showing wear with that type of use. I can't comment on their customer service if you order from their website instead of their ebay overstock but my experience has been very good with them. I've heard they've really been working to improve their customer service so maybe it's not so much of an issue now.

[tny915]

DD lived in the Preschoolians sport mary janes for probably well over a year. They were very flexible and comfortable, and she always got a lot of comments about her shoes. I never experienced the poor customer service that others experienced, and I'd placed my orders around the same time. I loved that the shoes were machine washable, so I could pop them into the washer once they started looking grungy. DD wore the I'm Walking Barefoot and Running Jumping Barefoot lines.

[maurenemm]

I got a barely used pair on ebay and was pretty happy with them. The only problem I had is that one shoe was really hard to get one. I think there may have been a small problem with the elastic in that shoe. But, once on, DS walked in them very well - better than in his Stride Rites which were heavier and stiffer. (Unfortunately we lost one of the shoes, so he didn't get to wear them much.)

I just bought DS a new pair of Stride Rites since he outgrew is old ones. I really thought I'd order a pair of Preschoolians. But these Stride Rites seems more flexible and lightweight than his last pair from Stide Rite(maybe because they are bigger?) and DS needed new shoes now.

The Stride Rites were more expensive than Preschoolians. But when babies/toddlers are still working on mastering walking, I think the expense is justified. (But its sad to think that his shoes are more expensive than most of mine.)

[supercalifragilous]

>I think they are every bit as
>flexible as they show in the pictures. I just picked up one of
>Linnea's shoes with the foot bed in it and was easily able to
>bend it in half like they show.

Maybe you're just stronger than me! LOL! I definitely can't crumple it like this with the footbed inside:

http://preschoolians.com/images/baby-shoes-barefoot.jpg

This was their main picture when I last ordered. I just noticed on their main page that they now show the pic with it folded in half that you mentioned. Yes, that can definitely be done with the footbed in place. Basically, they ARE highly flexible shoes.

>I didn't have any
>problems with scuffing with my brown and black pairs but our
>most recent pair is pink and is showing the dirt a lot more
>easily. However they are washable so I think I need to try that.

Scuffing isn't the same as "showing dirt." I would expect them to get dirty. What I meant by scuffing is where the leather is easily worn/rubbed off, more than what I think is usual (compared to her other leather shoes). I probably should've said "easily scraped." Plus these were not even DD's main shoes! Machine washing will not repair it. Maybe it was just a leather defect, who knows? What I DO know is the promised replacements "must've been held up at the post office" (according to their rep) and never did arrive...

That said, last time I ordered from them was about a year ago. Maybe they HAVE improved their c/s, especially in light of the past dissatisfaction voiced on the BBB; I hope that is the case. I'm glad you've had a great experience with them.

ETA: I also wanted to clarify that DD never had chubby baby feet - her feet are wide across the toes but very slim (top to sole). That probably attributed to the shoe being more loose on her foot than the suggested size, even with the thickest footbed in place.

[s7714]

I used them with my first DD and once my second DD was walking fairly well. I haven't had any quality or CS issues since I started ordering from them again about 8 months ago. I think they have been making a strong effort to correct the CS problems they were having for a while.

ETF spelling

Jennifer
Mommy to
Miss Pure Energy 3/03
Miss Limit Tester 6/05

Our bones may be brittle, but our spirit is unbreakable.
Osteogenesis Imperfecta www.oif.org