Comfortable, affordable shoes for a 3.5 year old?

[Pookietooth]

DS hates shoes. He is currently wearing a pair of sandals, and lucky we have had a warm autumn so far, but soon the rains will really come down and the weather will be cool. All the shoes we've tried on in the regular stores have not worked for him -- too restrictive, sweaty, etc. Can anyone recommend easy fitting shoes for a 3.5 year old that are not too expensive? The shoes should be fairly waterproof, both for puddle jumping and mud stomping. He hates rainboots, by the way. He is super sensitive, and very picky about his shoes.

[**guest**]

Old Navy. I got two of ds's shoes there. One pair were about $14 and the other ones were $16.

[Flor]

We like Converse (about 20 bucks) and Lands End, also about 20-25 bucks. They have some lands end at Sears, but not all the colors available on website.

http://www.landsend.com/cd/index/fp/...27880677139170

[Yooper]

I second Old Navy. Dd is a barefoot girl but since it snows 6 months out of the year here, she needs to wear shoes occasionally. The plain canvas, velcro shoes are inexpensive, washable, classic, easy for kids to get on and off, and comfy. There are the only shoes besides sandals that dd likes to wear.

[**guest**]

Here are the ones I got ds... He doesn't like many shoes but these are his favorite to wear. He says they are his cozy shoes.
http://www.oldnavy.com/browse/produc...scid=399618002

[Eman'smom]

http://www.llbean.com/webapp/wcs/sto...p&feat=9988-tn


These might not count as affordable but for me 30 bucks to have ds wearing shoes that fit, that he loves and doesn't complain about it worth it to me. After Teva season ds has been in these everyday

[rubelin]

CROCS! They are not pretty, but they feel so good. I got some knock-offs from Target and Payless for my kids, because I wasn't sure if they'd like them but they love them and want to wear them all the time. The knock-offs are cheaper but the material is not the same, so I recommend getting the real ones if they are going to be worn a lot. They are open in the back and some have ventilation holes so they aren't the best in the rain or snow, but you can wear socks with them for warmth. They also make a boot style.

[hottmama]

www.joshoes.com
These are soft-soled shoes for big kids. They're like Robeez only made of MUCH thicker, sturdier leather, and come in less babyish styles. My 3 3/4 yr. old wears these shoes every day, they start at $14 and are so easy for him to slip on himself. We got ours fully lined in fleece, which cost $6 and will be a huge help in the cold winter weather, and also makes them very comfy to wear without socks in warmer weather. Oh, and you can have her add a waterproof layer to them, too!
I can't say enough good things about these shoes. My sons will be in them until they outgrow the biggest size (7 years!)
Soft soled is best even for our big kids!

[Pookietooth]

Mandy, wouldn't the suede get totally soggy in rain? It rains here most of the year, so it's pretty muddy and wet out. I would think suede would just fall apart running around in mud and rocks and puddles as ds does a lot.

[messy mama]

Originally Posted by hottmama

Soft soled is best even for our big kids!

Maybe in the house. But I could see my 3 y/o injuring his feet w/ soft soled shoes on a regular basis. While riding his bike, or his scooter or even chasing his brother around the yard.

OP, do you have a Nordstrom Rack near you? I was just in ours the other day and they had all kinds of kid's shoes in. I picked up a few pair for my boys. All of them were super nice, Italian even. They were all leather lined and sooo smooth on the bottom that my DS said it felt like he was standing on the floor, bare foot. Best of all, they were all between $10 - $20.

It was a happy day for me. :

[Eman'smom]

hottmamma those shoes look so nice, I can't see my 5 year old wearing them, but I can totally see dd (3) wearing the mary janes everywear.

[hottmama]

Julian wears his joshoes in the rain, but it doesn't rain all that often here. They do get wet, but you can have them lined in PUL to waterproof the soles. Dirt and mud hasn't seemed to hurt them at all. Best of all, they're washable!
Another idea is to buy some galoshes and wear them with or without Joshoes underneath when it's really wet outside. Most rainboots have pretty flexible soles and they're certainly easy on and off, not restrictive or sweaty.
But the worst thing I can see happening is your son's feet getting wet. There is no way these shoes would fall apart.

Also, these are made of thick, sturdy leather, about as thick as say, a men's motorcycle jacket-- not the flimsy stuff Robeez are made of. I can't see foot injuries happening in these shoes. They are definitely more protective than canvas (we've bought Keds and Chucks before). My son loves to ride his bike all over the city (he can ride up to 20 blocks!), on concrete and blacktop, and he's pretty rough and tumble in general. Also, we live in the middle of a city where there is often glass and such on the ground, we walk through an alley to get to the street where we park, etc...

[TiredX2]

Originally Posted by Pookietooth

Mandy, wouldn't the suede get totally soggy in rain? It rains here most of the year, so it's pretty muddy and wet out. I would think suede would just fall apart running around in mud and rocks and puddles as ds does a lot.

We're in the Seattle area and the winter DS was 3 he was virtually only soft shoed. We did a pair of Robeez and then two pairs of mocassins from Hanna Anderson (like $3/pair at the outlet on clearance). I'd just take them off and put on new ones when they were wet.

How about rain boots. DS wouldn't go for regular shoes, but he would wear rain boots on the really rainy days.

[OnTheFence]

Originally Posted by Pookietooth

DS hates shoes. He is currently wearing a pair of sandals, and lucky we have had a warm autumn so far, but soon the rains will really come down and the weather will be cool. All the shoes we've tried on in the regular stores have not worked for him -- too restrictive, sweaty, etc. Can anyone recommend easy fitting shoes for a 3.5 year old that are not too expensive?

sketchers, fit him at a store then go on ebay and buy them for a fraction of the cost. often what I do is buy the size they currently wear, then by the half size. if the shoes fit my child well, I just keep buying a size up when needed. Sometimes you can get new shoes for .99c on eBay if you watch for them. The shipping is normally $6-8 dollars, so I have a rule about not spending more than $10-12 on shoes on eBay.

[boongirl]

I watch the sale racks at the local department type stores. I don't like target or Payless as their shoes stink and I wonder if they aren't toxic in some way. I've found Converse Chuck Taylor lowtops at half price ($10) and I've bought them a size ahead several times in dd's 3.5 years. I look for good buys on rubber boots, a size ahead. I buy snow boots at resale stores since she wears them so rarely. We've found Crocs and Tevas on sale at REI and we are watching the REI sales and outlets for winter boots. We also take Grandma's shopping at nice children's shoes stores as often as we can in hopes that they will spring for nice shoes. That gets her at least two pairs a year of Eccos or some other higher end nice shoe.

[Pookietooth]

Do they make Robeez in size 10 or 11? It's been a long time since I've looked at those.

[TiredX2]

Originally Posted by Pookietooth

Do they make Robeez in size 10 or 11? It's been a long time since I've looked at those.

DS wears an 11 and he can still fit in his size 3-4 years. I'm not sure how that would work, though, if they were new instead of worn in.

[Pookietooth]

Hmm, maybe I can find some used ones on the TP? DS is like a 10 1/2 now, so I wouldn't want to buy some fancy shoes that would be too small. I already have too many pairs of shoes he won't wear!

Originally Posted by TiredX2

DS wears an 11 and he can still fit in his size 3-4 years. I'm not sure how that would work, though, if they were new instead of worn in.