How long to wear soft soled shoes?

[Alikhlas]

How long after lo starts walking are you supposed to use soft soled shoes?

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[KB'sMama1031]

till they start running?

[EmilytheStrange]

My DD has been walking for 8 months or so now and she still has a pair. So, as long as they fit

but when I started buying her new shoes, I got flexible shoes, but not really soft soled ones.

[Janine]

I'm going to be the odd one out I'm sure, but I'm a big advocate for barefoot running, so I say keep kids in soft soled shoes forever. Kids have proper foot strike, and wearing hard-soled shoes changes that. I wear soft-soled shoes even as an adult and I'm slowly learning proper foot strike again. Studies show that people have fewer foot/ankle/leg injuries with soft-soled shoes.

[iris0110]

Originally Posted by Janine I'm going to be the odd one out I'm sure, but I'm a big advocate for barefoot running, so I say keep kids in soft soled shoes forever. Kids have proper foot strike, and wearing hard-soled shoes changes that. I wear soft-soled shoes even as an adult and I'm slowly learning proper foot strike again. Studies show that people have fewer foot/ankle/leg injuries with soft-soled shoes.

ITA! My boys both wore soft soled shoes until they were 3 and it became very difficult to get them because moss feet went out of business. I'm thinking I may buy Soft Star for Tharen at least because his feet are so wide it is almost impossible to buy him other shoes.

[Junipervt]

my kids 4yrs old & 17.5m old both wear this kind of shoe (I also wear them). they are SUPER flexable, but offer a bit more protection than a leather sole shoe does. we live in an urban area so that extra protection is important......

http://www.softstarshoes.com/

[Janine]

Originally Posted by iris0110 ITA! My boys both wore soft soled shoes until they were 3 and it became very difficult to get them because moss feet went out of business. I'm thinking I may buy Soft Star for Tharen at least because his feet are so wide it is almost impossible to buy him other shoes.

A lot of the barefoot running companies, like Vibram and Vivobarefoot, make kids shoes for older kids (maybe 6 or 7 and up). But they aren't cheap.

[MrsStripe]

My 18 month old doesn't like hard soled shoes. He'll walk around like a cat with scotch tape on it's feet (not saying I've seen/done that before, but for those that have it is funny). I've become brave and decided he can wear them outside and everything so we'll see how long it lasts I guess.

[PerfectFifth]

We stopped having DS wear soft-soled shoes when the weather got really cold. We were taking him outdoors to the playground every day, even in the middle of January, and he needed something with thicker soles and more insulation. He started walking in July, so he was in soft-soled shoes for 4-5 months. I am totally for letting kids wear soft soles as long as possible, but for us, "as long as possible" wasn't really as long as I would have liked.

[iris0110]

Originally Posted by Janine A lot of the barefoot running companies, like Vibram and Vivobarefoot, make kids shoes for older kids (maybe 6 or 7 and up). But they aren't cheap.

How are they in the width department? Tharen has the widest feet and ankles which makes it practically impossible to buy him shoes.