Confused about shoes! - Page 2

[Chamomile Girl]

My kid has huge feet too.  He couldn't wear regular Robeez after about 15 months because the elastic left big red welts on top of his fat little feet.  So we moved on to structured Robeez and then Stride Rite.  Most shoes don't even fit him because his feet are so wide, but we've had good luck in Stride Rite wides, See Kai Run and Keens.  And since I tend to have great luck finding second hand shoes we've not gone broke.

Honestly though he walks a ton with me when we are out and about.  I don't think that Robeez are really made to go miles a day on pavement.  When we are at home he wears Hanna Andersson leather soled slippers (and now that it is getting warmer he can go barefoot more).

[lalemma]

Well, our little guy finally wore a hole in his Robeez, so based on the recommendations of many here on MDC, we ordered him a pair of Soft Star shoes. They came today, and I'm a bit startled by their stiffness. I know we're used to floppy Robeez, but these shoes are so much stiffer than I thought they would be!

Those who own and like these shoes - can you tell me if you find them flexible? We got him a pair of Ramblers, with a "soft, thin rubber sole", but I find them SUPER stiff! My son is walking around the house in them right now, and he's doing a kind of funny flat-footed duck walk.

Do these things loosen up? I think the soles are Vibram. I was, I guess, expecting something I could scrunch in my hand. Which is definitely not the case with these.

Any experiences with Soft Star shoes you can share?

[MJB]

We used soft soles until my boys were 4. My third child is a new walker and is almost always barefoot right now, but we have a few pairs of soft soles and will keep her in soft soles for a couple years. Pedipeds last longer than Robeez, IME, but only go up to 24 months. My favorite soft sole brand for big kids went out of business so we'll have to find something else after she outgrows the 18-24s. 

[SeattleRain]

My favorite shoes are the Smaller line by See Kai Run. They're AMAZING. They have a heavier weight suede sole than Robeez, don't leave red marks, aren't as easy to pull off (because Robeez were pretty much always in his mouth!) and they have small rubber disks that reinforce the shoe in teh areas that get most wear (the heel and the ball o the foot). If you go on the See Kai Run website, they run a "daily deal" that has one girls pair and one boys pair at 50% off every day. The selection changes. It's awesome. I just got Daniel shoes for the next 2 sizes for $17 a pair, which I know is not SUPER cheap, but it's also not full price.

The package the Smaller shoes came with said that the soles are water and weather resistant. I took that to mean that they're probably fine for a Seattle baby who typically rides in a stroller most of the day, is worn in a carrier, or hangs out in the car and only walks around outside a little bit and mostly walks inside (i.e. walks through the wet parking lot but then mostly walks at the mall). For anything more than that, they seem to not be enough. I know that I'd be really bummed out if my feet were getting wet! Since it seems like most babies start walking more full time between 18-24 months, it seems like that's the time to transition. There is definitely a difference, though, between really thick sneaker soles, and a thin and flexible Keen shoe, or converse, or Vans, or See Kai Run.

[MsVyky]

my 20 month old won't wear anything BUT Robeez. I dread the day we can't get them big enough anymore because she out right pitches a fit if we try to put on anything with any sort of structure to it. 

[jenrett]

Barefoot as long as possible is best.  Seriously, until age 8 at the youngest they should be barefoot as much as society (school) will allow to ensure proper development of their feet!  Our feet aren't fully formed until into our twenties, even. 

[lalemma]

Originally Posted by jenrett 

Barefoot as long as possible is best.  Seriously, until age 8 at the youngest they should be barefoot as much as society (school) will allow to ensure proper development of their feet!  Our feet aren't fully formed until into our twenties, even. 

Right, but I live in a big city. My kid can't be barefoot on the street.

It's frustrating that all the shoe manufacturers seem to stop making the Robeez-style really soft soles after the 18 month size. If anyone's still making shoes with Robeez-style soles in the 24+ sizes, I haven't been able to find them.

My son seems to be getting used to the Soft Star shoes and is walking fine in them now, but I still find the soles kind of stiff. Sigh!

[Tattooed Hand]

I don't know about Soft Star, but DD's See Kai Run shoes were stiff at first and are now pretty flexible. They aren't as pliable as Robeez, but she seems pretty comfy in them. I would give it a few days.

[leftcoast_trillium]

We have had our little guy in Soft Stars since he outgrew the biggest pair of Robeez.  Just FYI, they really love to help you out over the phone with fit and style recommendations.

I'm pretty sure they would have suggested that you purchase one of the moccasin styles (the Roos), not the Rambler, which is what they did for me when we were buying our first few pairs. The soles on the moccasins are either leather (thicker then Robeez and then with fleece inside for more foot protection) or fleece/leather and then a grippy T-Rex fabric that gives more grip and more moisture barrier. They are much more flexible then the Rambler while still offering significan foot protection and my little guy adjusted almost instantly. That being said, he got so active and so rough on his shoes that as he approached two years and 30 lbs we switched to the Rambler (and the Vibram soles) and his big feet have to go in their preschool Vibram sole, not the thinner Vibram sole on the smaller versions. I'll admit I was cheap and just bought the premade ones instead of the customs where I could have had them put the thinner Vibram sole on. I did it mostly because he was wearing holes in the leather and grippy bottoms before he outgrew the shoes and I thought that he could probably handle the thicker Vibram sole at that point.

So to sum it up, you can choose from a bunch of different soles depending on the size and style: thick leather with a sheepskin lining, thick leather with a sheepskin lining plus the grippy fabric, thick vibram with plain leather lining, thin vibram with plain leather lining, thick vibram with sheepskin lining and thin vibram with sheepskin lining.So you have a lot of options but you happened to have choosen one of the less flexible styles since it is on a vibram sole (don't know if it's thick or thin, depends on the size you bought). If you just really don't like the vibram sole you can stick to the Roo styles for a while. Our little guy wore his grippy soled ones through a very rainy cold pnw winter and did just fine (well, we wore the stonz boots when we went puddle jumping).

Hope that helps.

[lactatinggirl]

We kept DD in soft soled shoes until she was a very good walker, then started moving to progressively harder shoes. She started walking at 9 months and is now 26 months and wears any type of shoe. I was very careful to keep it flexible soled for a long time though and honestly she still spends a lot of time barefoot because we just aren't shoe people. :-P

[Sharlla]

we do soft soles until around age 3 then i do a flexible sole. 

[superlove]

Our DS has a physical therapist that recommends Stride Rites.  She said it is good if the shoe is a little higher up on the ankle and has a flexible sole, and that if they are always walking barefoot it may not be great for their arches.