What shoes do you buy for your toddler/preschooler

[Pixi6s]

We have always bought Stride Rite because they are available and known to be good shoes. My parents drilled into me that its important to have good shoes and not to use someone elses shoes.

The last 2 SR shoes I bought have not been holding up well. they are about 4 months old and they are in TOUGH shape. For shoes that cost this much they should not be falling about like this.

I'm not sure I want to spend more money there now... but I don't know other shoes to get. I wouldn't want to spend more than SR are either.

Thoughts?

[mibarra]

I sometimes get the Target Champion shoes on sale. My criteria is that they must bend easily when I grab the toe and heel and flex, and they must have good padding inside. New Balance and Sketchers on sale have been good too.

[cdeweese]

We've never had a problem with SR. Have you taken the shoes in? I only buy shoes twice a year and they almost look new after a good cleaning. We've also had luck with Target tennis shoes (Champion), but they don't bend as easily. Nor do they have the same amount of support or last as long.

[cobbermama]

Pediped are great shoes and are comparable in price to Stride Rite (you can also often find them on Amazon for a bit less than retail).

I agree with PP, I would take them in to SR and see if they'll do anything about it.

[addicteddad]

1st pair of SRs are in pretty decent shape, and they're probably 4 months old or so, and much to our dismay we found out we should have sized up a little sooner.
Because they've always slid on so easily, I assumed they fit, but his feet measure 8W now, and his current shoes are 7.5XW. Not a big deal, but the lady was explaining how kids may crunch up their toes to accommodate shoes that are getting too small.
He just turned 2, and I think we'll start having his feet checked every 3 months or so since I failed the eyeball test/thumb check.
The funniest part is DS "explained" how he curls up his toes inside his shoes to DF the other day, which is what prompted us to go shoe shopping today. We tend to check SR because of their selection of wide shoes. I agree they're not very economical compared to some shoes, but I've seen considerably more expensive shoes in stores like Foot Locker.
I've never had good luck with shoes from Walmart/Target etc for myself so I haven't tried them for DS.

[Nora+6]

When my older boys were little, we bought Converse. My 7 year old's current every-day shoes are Sketchers.

I also want to suggest Keen and Merrell. I've had my eye on these specifically: http://www.zappos.com/merrell-kids-b...dler-youth-ash

[chickabiddy]

Apparently SR was recently bought out (can't remember who bought them) and quality has been going down hill ever since. Our local SR has been really great about taking shoes back. One sales person encouraged a friend to bring her's back so that SR would know there were issues.

I sometimes go to REI for shoes. They tend to have a decent selection of wide and rugged shoes.

[HugeBabyBoy]

I just buy them at Nordstrom, and if they wear too quickly I just take them back. DD had a pair of glittery Tom's that in 3 weeks the glitter was flaking off.; she'd only wore them about 10 times. They credited the money and we got something else.

[Pixi6s]

We've been buying SR shoes for 2 years and these are the first 2 I've had an issue with. It is about time for us to go back anyway to check size. We've been guilty to waiting too long as well.

I could also look into pediped again, we used them during the soft sole stage. I do like that to be able to get sized and what not, just in case.

[swrlgrl105]

i always buy DS New Balance and he is tough on his shoes and they still are in perfect shape! They can really take a beating and hold up nicely.