At what age did you start putting real shoes on your baby? My son is 10 months old, and he does have one little pair that fit, but they are just for looks (no support or sole). My SIL says they need actual shoes when they are close to starting to walk, my mom says they should learn to walk barefoot (while inside, of course). My son has really fat little feet, I can't find shoes that fit very well in the regular stores and am not looking forward to starting to buy expensive shoes that he'll outgrow in a couple months!
Thanks, everyone! The older I get the more I find out my mom is still right most of the time :) I'll keep my little one in his socks for now (we got some great ones with grippers on the bottoms from Baby Gap) and ignore those that keep telling me he needs shoes.
Barefoot and then "First Walkers" from Stride Rite. I believe in having a
child fit by a professional and having shoes that fit correctly.
They should learn to walk barefoot or as close to barefoot as possible. If you put shoes on them, they need a FLEXIBLE sole (not a "sturdy" one). Those little leather sock type shoes are ideal for new walkers because the keep feet clean and protected from rough pavement (not rocks and glass obviously) but baby gets to learn with good movement.
The real problem with putting real shoes on young walkers is that their feet are GROWING so fast, but buying shoes too big will interfere with their balance and learning as much as uncomfortable too small shoes.
Mom's right on this one :)
Your mom is right--no shoes needed until they are already walking. Barefooted walking is the best way for them to learn. Every ped I've ever been to says the same thing.
This might be a little late, but here is my 2 cents worth. I used to manage a local, family owned, 3rd generation family shoe store that was the only Stride Rite dealer in 3 counties 20 years ago. When my daughter was a baby 7 years ago, I traveled 3 hours back to my former employer to buy her shoes!
1st......good baby shoes come in widths. Baby shoes open up really well on the top making it easy to get baby feet in.
2nd......baby shoes are very square in the front, much like baby feet. They have very high toe boxes too. Look at sneakers, they not only taper in on the sides toward the toe, they taper down towards the sole too....making the toe box area small. Professionally fit baby shoes should fit for 4-6 months, sneakers will most likely last about 3 before they are outgrown.
3rd.....leather is a skin, it has pores and breathes and is absorbent. Rubber and man made materials are hot and sweaty and are not absorbent.
4th........leather "breaks in" and gets softer and more flexible...rubber and man made materials do not.
5th.....baby shoes are made with a "welt construction"... That is the sole being stitched on with that little extra 1/8 - 1/4 " of extra flatness outside of the stitching line....giving the child just a little extra stability.
6th....leather soles get more flexible as worn, and glide on flooring, rubber soles are not more flexible and encourage the "Frankenstein stomp" style gait...and grab the flooring encouraging child to stumble and possibly fall forward ..to possibly hit face on objects, knocking out teeth, blackening eyes, scraping noses etc...when in leather soled shoes if they lose their balance, more than likely they fall on well padded tushy rather than pitching forward.
It is time to buy shoes when child is pulling themselves up on furniture and starting to walk around. Barefoot encourages them to "grip" with their toes, and some times turn into "toe walkers", (on tippy toes) which will create problems keeping shoes on their heels when they do start wearing shoes.
I hope this helps.....the whole baby shoe thing is really getting lost these days. When I was selling them in the 80's there was 1 pediatrician in town who believed in them, and the other would say "just get extra support keds". The one that believed in shoes actually confirmed that they really disn't know much about the whole shoe thing as they weren't taught that in medical school. Don't EVEN get me started on the "extra support keds" thing.....she was an idjit.....they are the worst sneakers....rounded soles encourage pronating and suppinating, weakest counters in the industry...cute to look at, useless for support! When I travelled to get my daughter's shoes from my old employer, I bought 2 pair, the size she was fit in that day, and the next whole size up.....they lasted her over a year. Our pediatrician was totally intrigued and asked alot of questions about them and was really impressed. He said that nobody had EVER talked to him about baby feet and shoes, but that he could clearly see that everything I told him and showed him made perfect sense and that he would be trying to get similar for his own children! If you have to go the sneaker route, get the squarest ones that you can find with the most flexible sole...try this, hold it in one hand between your thumb and middle finger and see if when you squeeze them if you can flex the sole! Good luck!
Barefoot is best, but soft-soled shoes are the next thing to it, they are especially great for protecting little feet from the outside elements, or to just keep the socks on when its cold! AND they are cute! Most places carry them now, even Target and Babies-R-Us have them for 1/2 the price that you would pay at Stride-Rite. Here's an Amazon link so you can see what they are; the ones pictured are priced high, they are 1/2 that at Target. Oh and they are perfect for chubby little feet!! They are usually sized by 6 month increments up to 24 months; 0-6mos, 6-12mos etc... I loved, loved the soft-sole stage :-)
http://www.amazon.com/Momo-Baby-Soft-Sole-Shoe/dp/B003VDWM8G
My son wore socks until he was about a year (ok, we put socks on in the morning and he kicked them off and went barefoot). He wore Robeez soft soled shoes until he was about 2 at daycare and went barefoot at home in the summer, socks in the winter indoors. After that we wore See Kai Run which still have a soft flexible sole. My son is 6 and still spends a lot of time barefoot, including outdoors. So do I.
It's more of a milestone thing then an age thing. My oldest didn't wear hard soled shoes until she started walking along furniture but this was kept for when we were at other places then home. At home I kept her barefoot all the time because I read barefoot is important for the development of they're arches. You can always get those rubber soled slippers that have the grip on them so they can have the benefit of being barefoot with some protection. They outgrow shoes faster then they can even get them dirty, so sad cause they are so cute. Hope this helps, good luck :0)
My guys didn't wear shoes until about a year, when they could actually walk. It messes up their feet if they're not allowed to grow properly.
My kids wore Robeez for about 18 months. Love them!
I don't put shoes on my kids till they master their walk. Around a year. I can't stand infant shoes, probably because I think shoes are uncomfortable and rarely wear them myself. Why put something uncomfortable on a baby?
my daughter has always wore shoes since she was home. i agree that they need to be bare foot or in thin shoes to start walking in. i always bought payless shoes or walmart shoes for my baby till she hit 3.
Barefoot or thin-soled shoes that allow the feet to move naturally are best when a baby is learning to walk. I began putting real shoes on my kids when they began standing regularly. Robeez are very nice, but really expensive. I prefer to find fabric shoes, or also Meijer sells some nice soft-soled shoes.
Shoes are overrated. Socks are great. If you must just use the soft leather soled 'shoes' until they are in need of a more sturdy sole bc they are actively walking while playing outside and really need the protection. That's what I did. They make socks that look like your kid is wearing shoes--you know the little mary jane and chuck taylor looking socks. No shoes required! :-)
