shoes for 5 year old - Page 2

[flitters]

Cool. Easy to put on is key.

As for the Stride Rites, I kind of screwed that one up on two counts:

1) I gave them to ds as a gift, rather than just a pair of shoes. He loves the shoes conceptually, and because they weren't given to him conditionally as "shoes to wear" (ie. returnable if not worn) I feel like it would be wrong to take them away from him when he likes them so much (for things other than wearing). Besides, there's always the possibility he'll wear them a few months from now, and extra shoes come in handy... More likely, I'll give them to someone who will use them once they are outgrown (or no longer in use).

2) By now, I've lost the packing slip. Oops.

Lesson learned = no novelty shoe purchases. I could have spent $3 on a blinky ball instead. (Ds has a thing for lights). At least I got the Stride Rites on sale.

Oh, one more question for Merrells if possible, but shoes in general, if anyone is still reading this thread:

Do you upgrade shoes every half size increment, or every full size? Right now ds is outgrowing his size 10's of the shoes mentioned in the original post. I was thinking about buying size 11 Merrells even though 10.5 is an available size and would probably fit him better right now. Thoughts? Actually, now that I'm thinking about it, I'll probably buy 10.5's to ease the similarity of feel, and if he wears them, I'll get some 11's right away and periodically try to use them (like if I can get socks on him, which is another long story in itself).

But generally, I'm still wondering, do you get new shoes at half sizes or whole or???

Thanks again for all the input!

[alexsam]

Personally, I do whole sizes because they seem to stay on fine and fit OK even when they are on the "big side" after a size jump. But mostly I do that because 1.) I don't have a ton of money to spend on lots of shoes and 2.) Its not that easy to tell *exactly* where his foot is in it, so knowing the precise moment when a 10 is too small and an 11 is too big is impossible.

Now, having said that, I just got him a half size Merrell for a summer shoe .

[flitters]

I just wanted to give an update on our shoe situation since I appreciate all the suggestions so much and it is (if looked at in the right light) rather amusing.

We had some snow a couple weeks ago (and I couldn't find his rubber boots, which have been worn previously without objection after a year of trying). His regular shoes are "too tight" with socks, even very thin ones. It gave us the opportunity to have a motivated reason to use the lighty ones, which are bigger. Alas, they are definitely a no-go. It's not just that he doesn't like them. He kind of freaks out about how they feel on his feet. MUST. GET. THEM. OFF! He finally explained that they feel too heavy. Eventually he went out in shoes with no socks (but he consented to leg-warmers), and he stayed where the snow was compressed so it mostly stayed off his ankles.

Sigh.

Anyway, on to last night which was the first time he tried on the Merrells (again, it was a socks occassion, though not snow related). Their similar appearance definitely helped, but he still objected. However, he did consent to trying one on (without socks) and although he wanted it off right away, it wasn't the same kind of intense NEED for it to be off his foot. It just was more in line with how he responds to newness, rather than a major discomfort. I think they have good potential so I'll work on them a bit more. I'm guessing in Spring, when his regular shoes get wet, he might be motivated enough to give them a real try. He likes the concept of slip-ons, but they don't go on as easily as velcro because they don't open as wide, so that's a bit of a hiccup. So, while not an instant success (mind you, we've never had an instant success), I think these have the most potential to be his regular shoe for a very long time, once we get him into the first pair.

Thanks for all the advice!

[flitters]

Well, more than half a year and several pairs of unworn shoes later, today was the first day ds wore new shoes:

Crocs.

And it went well.