Now that spring is here it’s time to put away the winter boots and break out the sneakers. Springtime is a great time to check and see if your kids are due for new footwear. If you’re like most parents your kids probably went off to school in September with shiny new sneakers and indoor shoes. Now it’s six months later, and their feet may have grown, or their shoes may be getting worn out.
Keep An Eye On Their School Shoes
Little feet can grow quick and sometimes it’s easy to forget about the shoes that stay at school. One year my daughter brought her “indoor sneakers” home at the end of the year worn down to bits, with sizeable holes. I was mortified, How long had she been walking around the school with her toes sticking out? Why hadn’t anyone told me she needed new shoes?
I now make a point of asking my girls how their shoes are holding up, and of sneaking a peek at their runners whenever I have cause to stop in at school. Another idea is to have your kids bring their shoes home in their backpacks once a month or so, so you can check for sizing, see if they need new shoelaces and make sure their shoes aren’t getting too worn out.
The other thing I’m doing differently is I am no longer skimping out and buying cheaper shoes for the kids “indoor shoes”. When my eldest daughter first started going to school I had it in my mind that her “school shoes” were sort of like glorified slippers. Something she would be wearing while sitting quietly, doing learning activities. I misjudged just how active her school day can be, and also forgot about the fact that her indoor shoes would also be used as her gym-time runners.
Since making the switch to buying decent shoes for both indoors and out I no longer have to worry about my daughter wearing holes through her shoes, but I do still have to check sizing every few months to make sure they’re still a comfy fit.
Check Their Shoe Size
If like most parents you bought your children new shoes at the end of last summer those shoes are now half a year old. In those six months your kids may have undergone a growth spurt or two. As you’re putting away the winter boots don’t be too quick to swap back to their old sneakers. Check for fit. Are their toes cramped? It may be time for new shoes.
If the shoes are Pediped brand it may just be time to remove the extra insole to give growing toes a little more space. (Pediped Flex shoes have something brilliant called “the Flex Fit System”. They come packed with a pair of inserts which you slip under the shoes insole, making loose shoes fit just right. The extra insoles can reduce the shoe size by almost half a size, thus extending how long your kids can wear them).
Get Their Feet Properly Measured
This is something I feel strongly about. I think there really is no substitute for bringing your kids into a shoe store and getting their feet properly measured. (And standing in your socks on the foot prints painted on the floor at Marshall’s doesn’t count, ok?) I mean a real shoe store, where an actual salesperson measures your kids foot and checks for things like foot width, and toe wiggle room.
While I feel getting their feet measured properly is super duper important, I still like to shop for deals online. So sometimes I cheat a bit. I head into our local Kid’s Shoe Store (Karen’s 4or Kids, which carries quality kids footwear from brands you can trust, like Pediped), I get the girls feet properly measured and buy them new shoes if needed. However, I only pick out one pair of shoes per kid, and then armed with the knowledge of their current shoe size I head online and look for deals for dress shoes, rainboots, or whatever other additional shoes they might need (I like to check the sales section of the Pediped website, as well as Amazon.ca and a few outlet stores). Or in the case of my younger daughter, I can check through her older sister’s cast offs and see if any of them are the right size.
Do you swap up sneakers in the springtime or try and stretch it until the end of the school year? What are your best shoe tips for kids?
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