Good shoes for little feet?

[akc74]

My son (nearly 3) is running around in his Converse (given as a gift) and the nice lady at the ED Warehouse very convincingly pointed out to me today how unsupportive they are - his arches appear to be pretty flat and he's getting very little support.

I know she has a good range, and of course I'm aware of Clarks and Start-Rite, but anyone got any other shoe brands to recommend? I am a total sucker for Camper, but obviously these are pricey and a bit of a dangerous habit - so interested in other suggestions to look at?

Hopefully Converse or Vans every now and then are OK?!

Thanks.

[sanity girl]

I like Petasil and Ricosta - they are not cheap though. Biff stock them and you can find some styles in their sale when it's on. I find converse uncomfortable and unsupportive as an adult, so can imagine they wouldn't be great for kids. I made the mistake of letting my daughter wear crocs all summer last year, which apparently wasn't great for her feet - whoops

[Saffron]

Check out the shoe shop on Brockley Road near Brockley Station. It's called Gently Elephant, and it also stocks toys and books, games, etc. http://www.gentlyelephant.co.uk/

I generally alternate between there and ED Warehouse. They tend to sell different brands, but both sell shoes you won't nec find at chain shops, which can be good if you're looking for unusual styles or fits. xx

[cmacnew]

I bought my son some very cool/cute trainers online from John Lewis by Pediped. I think they are an American company but they do specialise in kids and have very supportive heel cushions, arches etc. little one loves them.

[crystal7]

I got my 18 month old some gorgeous Pediped trainer type shoes from Biff. They've got some lovely stuff including a range of Camper (I resisted this time!). I find it difficult to get nice boys shoes, they seem to be mostly brown and clumpy. Shoe shopping for a girl is much easier, although having so much choice brings its own problems...

[Tmarr]

Hi, clarks have amazing supportive shoes for young feet! Their shoes retail between 20-30. What I did was measured my one year olds feet there and brought the shoes off ebay. Saved about 20?!

[snowboarder]

I'm a bit of a sucker for camper too...there's also garvalin - another spanish brand - the shoe shop in crystal palace stock them, as do a shop in blackheath. Also I quite like the vivo barefoot kids shoes. I do have to say though now I'm buying for a 4 and 2 year old who seem to time their foot growth spurts to about 3 weeks after I've bought new, I do go for clarks more often than not as they are better value. They also do 'doodles' - their own version of converse, and you do have the benefit of width fittings, which I don't think any of the european brands do.

We often seem to have a couple of pairs on the go - crocs/converse/trainers/'proper' shoes. And I do pass the trainers and crocs etc down to the little one - just get him his own properly fitted pair. Wellies still seem to be the footwear of choice atm!!

[mrs f]

just to say, shoes for little people need to fit properly (this isn't the same as offering arch support) and have very flexible soles.

The bones in children's feet are not fully developed until they are around 16 years old, this means they are easily damaged, which is why we all go on about having good fitting shoes for our little ones. Children do not need 'support' especially arch support, (I'm sure the lady in ED warehouse was just getting her words mixed up) as essentially having this type of support makes feet lazy as they then do not use the correct muscles to support their own arches... your little one probably has very normal feet, as children have a much higher percentage of fat in their feet than adults they do tend to look a little 'flat'

converse are ok, I wouldn't put mine in them all the time but as long as they aren't their main shoes they should be fine.

[Dulwich Born And Bred]

Ditto what Mrs F said . We are a shoes off household , lots of padding around in bare feet and my family wear bare foot vivo shoes . It stimulated the correct way of walking , it's not heel to toes as most shoes stimulates, it's toes to heels. You wouldn't get my child in Clarks, no flexibility and very rigid .

[EGL]

I like Bobux and (if I'm feeling flush) Camper. Bobux's full range is available online but quite hard to find in shops, though I have seen a couple of Bobux styles in Biff. Well worth a look. Lovely flexible soles, nice soft uppers.

[Saffron]

I've bought Bobux at Gently Elephant in Brockley, (Brockley Rise near Brockley Station, just east of Nunhead). They are very soft, fleible, and well-made.

[akc74]

Thanks for all the suggestions - have really enjoyed looking at all the options.

I have just ordered some Vivo Barefoot shoes online - they sound great.

[Lochie]

Just wanted to add as well that I get my son's shoes from Camper but never pay full price. They do a great sale about twice a year (new year and summer, not sure when in summer though). The Regents Street store does a full range of kids shoes, they've always had the really nice styles in stock. Typically a good leather pair of boys shoes in the sale is ?30-?35, so similar to Clarks shoes...

[cazbee]

Another good brand I would recommend is Geox, especially for the winter. They do a waterproof range which have goretex lining and breathable soles which were fantastic for the wet long winter we just had. It was great being able to send my son off to nursery and know he wouldn't get have wet, freezing feet all day if he stepped in a puddle (and he steps in all puddles). I was lucky enough to get the winter boots in their half price sale so paid ?25. I was so impressed with them that I shelled out full price for a pair of their summer shoes as soon as the sun came out!

[Shinykatie]

I love bobux (they have some really good offers on their website) and Merlin Shoes in Crystal Palace do some lovely brands and often have them on sale (otherwise they can be around ?50 a pair).