Need Help W/ Boys Shoes!!

I have the same problem with my 8 year old. For the longest time we were able to wear Stride Rite because they come in extra-wide widths. We have now graduating to New Balance because they seem to run wide and also have extra-wide widths.

I am a SAHM of two boys 8 & 4. Married almost 12 years to the love of my life.

Both of my boys had thick feet when they were younger. The best fitting shoe I found was a white leather Nike shoe with laces, with a navy blue accent. In fact, he wore the same style for two years or more, we'd just buy the next size. Hope this helps.

Try stride rite. They carry extra wide shoes.
Also New Balance carries wide children's tennis shoes.

I simply couldnt NOT respond to you. You see, I HAVE FRED FLINTSTONE feet. I have been told that for 15 some-odd years now. I am 37 years old and usually need to buy my sneakers in the boys dept. The on-going joke in my family is that my feet are wide as they are long.
The best thing to do is...have a PRO do the measuring. Any Kids Foot Locker or Stride Rite have trained people there. Also, they can give you choices of sneakers and such, that you may have to order, but dont cost any additional money. You may have to simply pay for them in advance. I have ordered extra wide shoes, even if they dont fit, am not forced to keep them. They just order them until they do.

To my Fellow Fred Flintstone Peeps, I solute you!!!!

Margaret ;)

Oh do I know exactly what you're talking about!!! We call them Fred Flintstone feet at our house too! My little guy is much younger, but same issue. We have found that StrideRite and New Balance both carry Extra Wides in almost all styles & colors. They cost more, but worth it. The quality is great. I shop StrideRite during sales, and New Balance on-line. Good luck!

I had the same issue with my son. He has had to get shoes that are 2x in width. The only place I found those is at Stride Rite. They are expensive but they have a buy one pair get the second half off two times a year. So, I make sure and stock up those two times a year! They are totally worth the cost for a kid whose feet are so wide. My son is now 2 1/2 and his width is starting to go down. He is now only a 1x! So, we are getting there!

I've always found that skecher shoes are wide... my little girl use to wear leg braces and skechers were usually the best to get her because they made them wide. Or also Converse "chuck taylors" All Star shoes... they look really narrow but usually adjust to the foot. I hope this helps some.

Hi N.,

I have the same problem with my 4 year old son. He loves summer because he can wear flip flops or crocs. But, for tennis shoes, we have to go for the "skater" type shoes. I usually find them at Academy sports or something like that. The skater style shoes are flatter and wider but also allow for the thick instep. I really like it when I find the ones with velcro. Good luck! and God Bless!

my feet were a difficult fit when I was a baby. The only shoes my mother could by for me with any consistency was by Buster Brown and Stride Rite. They are a little more expensive, but the shoes are for harder to fit feet and quality made.

http://www.shoes.com/Shopping/Results.aspx?N=4294965889+6...

http://www.shoes.com/Shopping/Results.aspx?N=4294965457+6...

http://www.brownshoe.com/busterbrown/busbrwn_footwear.asp

Hi N., My son has extra wide feet and we love Keen's. They are much less constricting than a traditional tennis shoe. You can buy them at Sandy's Shoes off of Anderson Ln. ...in the same shopping center as Houston's and Terra Toys. They are about $45 but have been wonderful!!!!! He can get them on and off himself (same age as your son). They are water proof, closed toe but can wear them with socks or w/o. They are open on the sides. They are basically a water-proof tennis shoe and sandle in one. They have been well worth the $ and wash great!

try stride rite. You can get XW shoes there.

Carol

I have the same problem and have wasted so much money over the last three years. My son's feet are very thick but just average too on the short side. I haven't found any brand that works except his crocks. Also at least with lace up I can "spread" the top and tie loosely. Unfortuately most of the shoes (tennis shoes as well as nice ones) are becoming slip on or velcro. He basically lives in GI Joe crocks even for church which is embarassing. Good luck : )

Have you tried Stride Rite?

Not sure my son's feet are AS thick and wide as yours but we have the same issue. I gave up on sneakers (although Striderite is supposed to carry extra wide). Keens and Crocs are the best fit for us. The are very wide, easy to put on and, he never complains about the fit.

My son has the same problem. I have found at Academy (usually a little better deal than the mall stores) New Balance that are extra wide width. A lot of places had wide width but those weren't quite right. We have found the extra wide are a perfect fit for us. Good Luck!

Stride Right has a double extra wide shoe that might work. There's a Stride Rite outlet at Katy Mills Mall. There's a regular store in Sugarland off Hwy 6, not sure about where you are.

Have you tried Ross and Marshalls and Burlington? They have really great shoes and sometimes carry the wider styles.

My oldest has hobbit feet, so I know how hard it is to find shoes! My Dad's feet are a quadruple E width- he can't ever find shoes that fit.

my boys feet are as long as they are wide! He can only wear the New Balance WW shoes - I find them at Academy.
Summertime, thank goodness, we can do crocks!
Good luck!
T. S.

The only shoes that would fit my son were Stride Rite XW. Those shoes last forever!! I was told my son would grow into his feet. But still to this day he has extra wide feet. Its very difficult to find shoes. Stride Rite always carries extra wide and the shoes are cute too. I also know that Sketchers run a little wide also. Hope this helps you!

God Bless you and your family.

My son also we go to stride rite. They have wide width and extra wide width. which are for those chubby feet. And they have the cutest shoes, granted they are a little bit on the more expensive end His comfort is definately worth it though. Take him with you and get his feet measured. There is one in lakeline mall one in barton creek mall and one in the round rock outlets. There may be more locations but i dont know. Hope this helps.

New Balance sells wide sizes for kids. The Academy always has a few choices, but also Zappos.com is a great website. I love them because you can shop by size. You just plug in his size & then pick from what they offer in his size. Zappos has a great return policy, too.

Stride rite would be for shoes other than sneakers. They are great, but much more pricey.

Hi,

When my son was younger, he had very wide feet, I use to get his shoes from Stride Rite. I know they carry all kinds of shoes from dress, to play. The quality of the shoes are very good. Hope that helps, and good luck.

P.

I know several people have already said stride rite, but I didn't know if anyone said that they even carry XXW. I am not sure what size that goes up to, but my middle son had huge feet and he needed XXW in baby sizes.

My son had the same problem. I had to buy all of his shoes at Stride Rite. They are more expensive but last a long time. I only had to buy two pair a year since they have the built in size. Stride Rite usally has great sales, ask the sales person.

When 2 of my kids were little the shoes we found that fit best were from Sride Rite. They even had dress shoes that fit and sandals that the velcro would actually overlap enough to stay closed. New Balance brand at Academy has also worked as they have gotten older. All of my kids still have wide feet but as they grew shoes became much easier to find and we have lots more choices than when they were little. We do stiill call the youngest Fred Flintstone when we shope shop,though :o)
Hope this helps.
~~D.

My son is 2 and has the same problem. I have found that New Balance works well. They sell extra wide. Sometimes you can get lucky and fiind them at Marshalls, but I have also seen them at Academy.

Hope that this helps,
Tammy

My sister's boys had the same feet. She found that DC brand from Journey's fit them well. It is a very wide shoe built for skateboarding and it seemed the most roomy of all the shoes she tried. Good luck! Also, their feet do slim down!

Maleah

Hey N., Nike has a wide tennis shoe. I got them at Shoe Carnival. I have an 8 year old who wears a size 4 with very wide feet. This Nike shoe is his most comfortable shoe he says he has ever wore. It comes in blue and silver and a few other colors. Hope this helps you. B. K.

You can also try Sandee's on Anderson Lane. I know a friend of mine had the same problem with her son. Of course she paid $50 for a pair of shoes for her 2 year old. If you want to try it you might be able to find something that fits your son. GL!

Althought they are not technically tennis shoes, look at the sports shoes called Keens. My children love them for Summer..sort of a cross between a tennis shoe/sandal. They can even hike in them...great for Summer. They are highly adjustable.

Hi there! My sons also have wide feet and I found that New Balance shoes are wide enough. New Balance carries regular to triple wide tennis shoes. They can be pricey, but I have found them pretty cheap at joesnewbalanceoutlet.com. I have also seen them at discount stores like TJ Maxx or Ross for less than $20.
Hope this helps. Good luck!

Hi

Stride Rite carries shoes in regular, wide, and extra wide. See Kai Run and pediped shoes run wide and have flexible soles; they both recently started a line of shoes for bigger kids. They started with just babies and toddlers. I don't know how wide the bigger sizes run, though.

Stride Rite. They have great choices and the people there can tell you what to buy. Used to be Buster Brown shoes fit the Fred Flinstone feet the best. Good luck!

My nephew had a hard time with shoes lso. Stride Rite has childrens shoes in extra wide and up. There is a Stride Rite store in the Lakeline mall or i'm sure you can go online.
ood Luck

N.,
yes there are a brand of shoes actually 2 VANS and Converse,and for just around flip flops i have 22 yr old son the same way still to this day
good luck
L.

have you tried something like Stride rite? if you go to a more expensive shoe store they should be able to measure your son's foot, and tell you what would be best for his feet. Sometimes boys grow out of that (fat foot) stage too. Is he a heavy child? Sometimes it is due to "baby fat", sometimes they are going to be a very big man when they grow up, and certain parts of their body's are ahead of other parts in the growing stages. Just for the record, I have small, wide feet with high arches, and Payless shoes fit me better than a lot of other brands. Their shoes do tend to run wider, and in the adult sizes they generally offer wide widths as well. Don't knock Payless, some of us love that store! (just teasing you).(smile). good luck!

N.,

My son has had that problem since he was born and he will be 4 in Sept. The only place that we have been able to buy shoes for him is at Stride Rite. www.StrideRite.com. They do have an outlet store in san marcos and I think there are stores in austin and san antonio. The quality is great! The sizes vary but they haveshoe lines the have extra wide sizes. My son was one and in an 6ww. They can be alittle pricey but worth every penny. At the outlet the tennis shoes cost about $22. I hope this helps you and I know how you feel.

I have to agree with the other moms Stride Rite shoes are the way to go. Both of my girls have this issue as well and we only buy stride rite because thats all they can wear.

I was just at the New Balance store at the outlet mall off of 290 and I noticed that they offered wide and extra-wide width in boy’s shoes. Good luck.

I've had several family members with the same problem - my sister (now 13) had the fattest feet, and the only shoes she could wear were Stride Rite brand. Just FYI - she has an extremely narrow foot now!

When my son was younger he had thick feet. I found Stride Rite (various locations and have outlet stores) and Buster Brown (Sears) have wide widths in kids shoes. They worked for him. Good luck.

HI. my son has thick and wide feet also and unfortunately he can only wear Stride Rite shoes. they are atleast $50 a pair, but atleast they don't hurt his feet. He is 7 and has only been wearing stride rite his whole life. Hope this helps. Make sure they measure his feet and I still go up a size from what they say. C.

You may want to try Stride Rite shoes. This store is a little on the pricey side, but I have found theat they make great quality shoes for the little ones. Stride Rite only sells childrens shoes of all kinds.

I have a friend with similar problems with her sons shoes. She always buys their shoes from Stride Rite - which is very expensive, so she buys a little big to get more wear for the money. They are stores, outlets, or online stores.

Good luck!

Striderite shoes!!! They fit my sone when he was little with wide feet! My son has wide and high feet also and Striderite shoes can help with that. They are alittle pricy but worth it if they fit. I also got a size bigger so that he had a little growing room to.

My son has wide feet too and I found that Stride Rite is the best for him. They come in "Wide" and seem to last a long time. I feel we get lots of use/wear on them for the price. It is worth it for me. They sometimes have sales...I would check it out and ask to be put on a mailing list to see when the sales are. I think there is one now.

I don't have this problem but my cousin did, her son was very large for his age, heck he was 11 pounds at birth. We almost thought he be walking in a week. LOL
Anywya, they were more expensve but but she swore by the "Stride Rite" brand. Good Luck

My daughter has very wide and thick feet - thanks to Dad! The only shoes that fit her are Stride Right. Go into a store and get fitted to know his exact size and then you can either buy in the store or online (online has a better selection). One hint - my daughter has always measured at least extra wide, but now they say she is only a wide. We still buy the extra wide though because it fits her feet better since they are thicker. Good luck!

Have you tried Stride Rite? They come in varying widths, such as E and maybe even EE. I know when my son was little that was the only brand of tennis shoes I could get that would fit. They are a tad pricey, but perhaps they will fit him.

You have gotten so many great responses already but I just wanted to reiterate some of the wonderful advise. Wide shoes (usually show up with a W after the size) have been what we have had to go with but we did get a pair of Croc's for our son as well. At just under a year and a half, he's wearing 8 1/2 wide and is finally comfortable. The extra width helps those round and square feet with which some of us have been blessed! Until this summer we stuck with velcro sandals as they could accommodate my son's little dinner rolls but you can find some great running shoes, too. We picked up his first pair at Pay Less and then tried online. They have not arrived yet but I'm crossing my fingers! Best of luck!

My son has the same problem. He is know 7 and when he was smaller he could only wear the stride rite shoes a little expensive but worth it!!! As of know he can not wear hightops because of the thickness and i buy im nikes they seem to work best
J.

We have the same problem. We tried New Balance and Vans. They work pretty well for our little guy.

I ran into a mommy at BabyGap who suggested See Kae Run and Pedipeds for my sons bubble feet. : )
I haven't tried them yet, but she loved them. (& her little guy had pretty big bubble feet, as well!)

She suggested the website www.endless.com to purchase them.

Good luck!

There is a shoe store in Houston, Texas that sells shoes that would fit him. If you need the name of that store I will look it up for you. We purchased shoes for our son there.

Try Stride Right. They have locations at the Round Rock Outlet mall, San Marcos Outlet and Lakeline. There May be other locations south-you can check. They have a good choice of wide shoes. You will have more selection in the outlet stores.

Have you tried stride rite. They have XX wide shoes. You could go to San MArcos to there outlet mall and buy a pair half the price.

I had the same problem with my son who is now 6. His feet were like cubes. I had the best luck with Stride Rite. They were the only kids shoes I could find in double wide. Their selection is actually pretty good and the shoes really hold up. They are a bit pricey, but in my opinion well worth it. The staff has always been very helpful with sizing his foot. Good Luck!

My son has a wide and tall foot so it is hard to find him shoes. Payless and walmart shoes just dont work for him. I actually purchase his shoes from Stride Rite, they are more expensive (his usually cost around $40.00) but it is worth him having one good pair that will last then him being uncomfortable in several shoes. They will actually measure his foot and check it all out. All i had to do was pick out the one's that i liked. Thwy also come with a guarentee. I am not sure where you are located but the one close to me is in Baybrook Mall, check online. Since it is summer we bought him a pair of crocs (the actual croc brand, original shoe) he loves them. His foot has room to move around and breathe. Also, his first pair of shoes were Buster Brown's they are supposed to be for kids with wide feet but they dont have a store around here. I dont like to shop so i dont want to hunt in the stores trying to find them.

Good Luck!!

I am a fan of pediped shoes. The have two lines, the original and now the flex for older children. You can check their website to see if there are any boutiques in your area that carry them.

I have trouble with this myself. I have always worn NewBalance as they specialize in wide sizes. But, not all stores carry the extra wide sizes. You have to ask. I also don't know if they carry them for kids or not. You might try their website. Just For Feet usually carried the wider sizes. (D is normal, so you want E or wider).

My son also has wide hard to fit feet. When he was a toddler we went to the Stride Rite outlet store in the Katy Mills mall. It was worth the trip because we were able to find shoes that fit and saved us money. There may be a Stride Rite outlet closer to you, but I would definitely reccomend Stride Rite!!!

http://www.striderite.com/jump.jsp?itemID=0&itemType=...

New Balance produces shoes in all widths - everything from super narrow to super wide. I know in toddler shoes they carry wides and extra wides. My daughter has really wide feet, as well, and I haven't been able to really find anything that works well for her other than the NB shoes. Zappos is a great web site and they usually have free shipping. I have also ordered from a website called New Balance Web Express and have had great experiences with them, as well. Hope this helps.

My daughter was the same way. We always had good luck with "New Balance" wide widths. Sometimes they are easier to find at online shoe sites. Some sites carry wide and even extra wide widths.

Academy has some tennis shoes for little boys that come in wide sizes. My son has wide feet and we have to buy shoes that are wide.

Have you tried Stride Rite? They usually carry wider shoes for children.

Hi there. My kid had the same problem. Only Stride Rite shoes would fit. They are a bit spendy but they make extra-wide widths.

Hope this helps.

Good luck.

Both of my babies have the feet of Hobbits! Square and stubby!

Stride Rite - go to an actual Stride Rite store and have their foot measured by the salesperson. They have the width we need and they offer a lot more variety now than they did when I was a kid (apparantly ours is a DNA issue as I also have wide feet).

My son is almost 18 now and STILL has the same problem. I can't give you a particular brand of shoes, because they all differ, but I can tell you that you need to buy a wide shoe. Look at the size and if a W follows the size, then that is what he needs. I hoped my son would outgrow it, but he never did. I hope that helps.

You should really think about purchasing a brand of shoe that offers a variety of widths. Cheaper brand shoes are ok for some, but they are a one size/shape of foot fits all and that's just not practical. :o) I would look into Stride Rite, they offer tons of different sizes and widths. They will size your child, so you find the proper fit for him. You can also go to a department store that has a shoe section (Macy's, JC Penney's, etc) and they should be able to help size and find a shoe as well. They may not have as wide of a variety in wide sized shoes, but it wouldn't hurt to check. Good luck!

My friend has the same problem with both of her children. Initially she drove to Karavel Shoes (5525 Burnet Rd # 1) in Austin. These people are great at helping to measure children's feet properly. Another great local store is Sandy's Shoes (2438 W Anderson Ln). Now that she knows what to look for in a shoe, she often finds great shoes at the Stride Rite store. Although the shoes usually fit, the service here is not necessarily as good. Be prepared to pay a little more. These shops sell quality shoes at special sizes. It does come with a price, but it's worth it!

Our six month old has huge bubble feet also and were having that same problem. I find that velcro shoes are working to adjust to his bulk on the top of his foot. I know its kinda tacky velcro and all but the boy has got to wear shoes.

I had the same problem with my youngest boy, we tried stride right and new balance and they worked for a while, but we finally found a brand that fits better, especially on the top of his foot which is very thick, it is a japanese brand shoe from Sandy's on Andersan Lane called Tsukihoshi casual shoe, they look like tennis shoes. Hope this helps

Stride Rite shoes are awesome and they make all kinds of wide widths. A little pricey, but totally worth it to have shoes that fit your kids. Plus, if you go to one of their stores, the sales people will measure and find the right fit- they really know their stuff. My experiences in their store have been superb. They gave us the attention we deserved and found shoes that fit my kids in a very effiecient manner. I was out of there with great fitting shoes in about 15-20 minutes.

Hi N., my boy has wide and thick feet as well and I go through the same problem each time we buy shoes. It's not really the brand, but the "XW" or "XXW" (extra wide or extra extra wide) options that the brands carry. Unfortunately, not all styles of shoes carry those but I find that you'll have to search or ask the staff. I wish that they had more XW shoes though. Sandals are a little easier since they have a little more room for the toes to move around. Try finding something that'll stretch better, like a softer type leather or a softer material not made so hard and rigid. After a couple wears or so, it'll stretch out a bit more. I always find that when I try on a new pair of shoes, it's also more rigid in the beginning. I like the kinds for my son that are more flexible around the toe area. I try to bend them around the toe bend section of the shoe to see if they're pretty flexible at first to even consider the shoe for him. It's always a challenge to get the toe part (widest part) of the foot into the shoe. Hope I've helped. Good luck in your shoe shopping.