shoes for preschool age

[RunawayBunny]

DS is almost 3 years old. I have always put him in striderite shoes (according to their stages), but we dont live near one now. So I started googling for a new brand and found a few sites that say 3 year olds should still wear flexible soles? Stride rites are definitely not flexible... Anyone know what kind of shoes they need? I would love to put him in cheap, cute converse shoes if thats the case!

[mibarra]

Stride rites are very flexible compared to other athletic shoes. The soles bend easily compared to lots of cheapies we've tried I also like New Balance and Nike!

[MamaWillow]

See kai run are very very flexible. I love them!

[lizgrace07]

I keep them in flexible shoes until at least 5 years old. I like Livie & Luca and Soft Star the best. L&L go on sale for 50% off several times a year. I think both of those were the most durable ones we have tried. See Kai Run were good, but not very durable in our experience.

ETA: If the cheap cute converse fit well, I say go for it. My kids have wide feet which narrows our choices a lot.

[tjs77tsa]

Originally Posted by lizgrace07 ETA: If the cheap cute converse fit well, I say go for it. My kids have wide feet which narrows our choices a lot.

This ^

[mrosehughes]

DS has livie and luca and they are pretty awesome. See Kai Run are flexible, too, but they didn't hold up as well as the livie and luca have.

[Erinne]

Merrell makes barefoot shoes in kids sizes, and they seem very high quality. My dd's have held up much better than her SKR's ever do.

[iris0110]

My kids wore soft soled shoes until they hit 3. After that the soft soles get hard to find and they have to move to "big kid shoes" though there are a couple of brands that still make them (bambino and shoes zoo make affordable leather sole shoes up to 7-8 year sizes). Kearnan wears converse just like I do. They are comfortable, reasonably priced and hold up well. They also come in a nice variety of colors and styles. We love converse. Tharen however cannot wear converse because he has very wide feet. He wears DC or Osiris sneakers as they are the only brands that fit.

[Layney82]

We loved the See Kai Run shoes, though DS sized up every 2-3 months, so I can't speak to their durability. Unfortunately, they only go up to size 9, which he outgrew shortly after 2, and the Kai shoes for older kids are way too stiff. We've been happy with New Balance runners since he outgrew the SKRs.

[Junipervt]

Originally Posted by Layney82 We loved the See Kai Run shoes, though DS sized up every 2-3 months, so I can't speak to their durability. Unfortunately, they only go up to size 9, which he outgrew shortly after 2, and the Kai shoes for older kids are way too stiff..

we have a pair of 8.5 Kais & they don't feel stiff to me. I bought a pair of super cute RocAbouts & those were super stiff (DS cried when I put them on).

I say go for converse if they fit your kids