how much did you pay for kids first pair of shoes?

fiddle

Mon, Oct 04 2010, 2:02 am

just bought a pair, elefanten, they were 229 shekel. my kids been walking for a year. his first size was 19 so I bought him sandals but he never wore them and I waited till his size got bigger so they would have shoes.....

HopeMother

Mon, Oct 04 2010, 7:25 am

What about back when we used to bronze the shoes. those hard shoes that were the childs first pair. Is supermommy07 saying that all those adults now have problems walking? Unless your child is special needs foot wise, why would you spend a fortune on shoes? Payless, footlocker, sears... all have people trained to measure feet and will give your child a great pair of shoes. My son has ONLY payless shoes (on his third pair) and has no problem walking. And guess what, horror of horrors, in the summer he only wore SANDALS... and he can STILL WALK! Of course children wont complain about the wrong sizes, but then again I am not complaining that there are some holes in my sneakers and they are getting worn out. Spending an obscene amount on BABY shoes, more then my ADULT sneakers, is just ridiculous!

greeneyes

Mon, Oct 04 2010, 9:22 am

watergirl wrote:

wow, I did not see this fight coming (sarcastic voice intended). I was simply asking for others experinces... I do think its interesting to note here that lately Ive been reading about china and foot binding... if you all want to loose a nights sleep, go do a google search on that!

It's interesting because I've also just been reading about that subject. I read Snow Flower & the Secret Fan by Lisa See over yom tov & was horrified to read about what the women in China went through. It's a really great book if you're interested in this issue.

greeneyes

Mon, Oct 04 2010, 9:24 am

jaysmom wrote:

supermommy07 wrote:

u are ruining ur kids feet, and future! id say expect to spend btw 50-80 on a good pair of shoes.

This is a bit extreme. Many people don't have that kind of money to spend on thier kids shoes and the vast majority of the time they end up with feet that are perfectly fine. Parents should be able to tell if kids are uncomfortable in thier shoes or are walking funny. What happened to everyone's feet in the days before these expensive shoes?

In the kitchen

Mon, Oct 04 2010, 11:25 am

$25 for last year's shoes in a retail store...original price was $90...
bought them 4 months after he started walking since he began at the start of winter and didn't need any shoes for walking outside in the snow where we lived.

I got a sandal that was flexible but study with good support for the ankle (back was not open).

watergirl

Mon, Oct 04 2010, 11:25 am

greeneyes wrote:

watergirl wrote:

thats funny, because the reason Ive been reading about China IS Lisa See! I read Shanghai Girls and right now Im in the middle of Peony In Love. Scary stuff, esp. with their feet!

greeneyes

Mon, Oct 04 2010, 11:50 am

watergirl wrote:

greeneyes wrote:

watergirl wrote:

thats funny, because the reason Ive been reading about China IS Lisa See! I read Shanghai Girls and right now Im in the middle of Peony In Love. Scary stuff, esp. with their feet!

That is funny! I also read Shanghai Girls over yom tov & I ordered Peony in Love from the library so I'll be reading it soon.

Simple1

Mon, Oct 04 2010, 4:04 pm

I got my kids shoes (including one first pair of shoes) in a Stride Rite outlet. I think they ranged from $25 -$30. They seem to be better quality than what I would have gotten in Payless or Target, but not as expensive as a "real" shoestore.

gold21

Mon, Oct 04 2010, 7:57 pm

Are payless/ target/ childrens place shoes leather? I think leather is very important. it is breathable and healthy for the foot. Listen, if you cant afford 70 dollar shoes, then you cant afford it. such is life. thats the way the boat floats. so buy cheaper ones. im sure your kid will be just fine. But dont fool yourself into thinking that Payless shoes are just as healthy and supportive as the expensive brands. that is silly. if a doctor told me that Payless is the best brand for kids, I would nod and smile agreeably, and then walk right past Payless and go purchase Primigi or a similar brand, despite his advice. doctors dont know everything, and some doctors are more knowledgeable than others. Payless is a fine brand, I highly doubt it would ruin a child's feet, and we all must spend within out means. Nothing wrong with balancing your budget with cheaper shoes. However, I assure you that Payless is not top of the line.

the world's best mom

Mon, Oct 04 2010, 8:18 pm

My experience has taught me that:

-You can't trust just any shoe store owner/ worker. Mr. Tescher is known to be excellent. A different shoe store owner tried convincing me to buy dd a pair of mary jane shoes because she needed support and those came up high on her ankles. She was walking terrribly in them, so I showed him which soft soled shoes I wanted. It took a lot of convincing to get him to let me even try my choice, and when I finallt did, they were much better than his mary janes.

-crocs can be very bad for feet.

-Payless sometimes has leather shoes. I still wouldn't want to buy them for my kids, though I do buy cheap sneakers for the summer.

RedRuby

Mon, Oct 04 2010, 8:18 pm

I recently discovered Clark's shoes for kids. My kids usually got their shoes from Stride Rite ($30-$40) but a friend recommended them and I love them. They have a huge range of widths = while Stride Rite has mostly medium, a couple of wide, and a couple of narrow choices. In general, I find Stride Rite to run wider. All my kids have narrow feet, so I wish I'd known about Clark's when they were younger.

I usually get coupons in the mail (I signed up in the store) and I get either $10 off or 15% off shoe purchase.

They definitely have higher end prices, but I always choose the sale selections, or the stuff from last year's stock. So you can get a beautiful, European, leather shoe without spending $45 or more. (I am dumbfounded by the $75 -$80 price range!!)

Here are the store locations, if you're interested:

http://www.clarkskidsusa.com/r.....or.do

5S5Sr7z3

Mon, Oct 04 2010, 10:00 pm

gold21 wrote:

My last experience with a 'real, and reputable' shoe store, was after spending $70 on shoes for my son (he absolutely must wear leather shoes), I realized they were actually not leather and had a wooden sole after he wore them for a few weeks. Come summer, I went to Payless and spent $12 on a pair of 'GENUINE LEATHER' sandals.