Best school shoes for a wide-footed boy?
I'm in denial that my five-year-old is starting kindergarten in three weeks -- eeek! Yesterday I was thinking about how wonderful it is that Everett can walk to school and suddenly thought: uh-oh. Shoes. In April, we bought him two pairs of lovely shoes at Clogs-N-More Kids on Hawthorne (following the uMamas shoe buy guide of course) and his sandals are perfect -- he can put them on himself, they're sporty and cute, he can run fast in them. But the other pair we purchased, I've realized, aren't.
I let him pick them out, and they're certainly cute. But they're extremely hard for him to get on his feet, and I'd like to encourage the do-it-yourself-ing as much as possible. Can anyone recommend a good looking, all-purpose shoe for wide feet that a child can get on all by himself?
I just went through this with my boys who will be starting preschool this Fall. We tried some with the bungee laces but they were SO HARD to put on! The Keens in your picture were another choice that we liked, but again the laces ruled them out. I really want them to be able to put them on by themselves.
So, we finally went with the Merrell Jungle Mocs. http://www.rei.com/product/659732?vcat=REI_SEARCH They are slip on, which means they can put on their own shoes! yay!
Merrell tends to run a bit big, so I think they would be more than ample for a wider foot.
Posted by: kathy | August 17, 2007 at 01:02 PM
those keens might slide on easily with a shoehorn, and he could probably do that himself after a few tries.
Posted by: rachel | August 17, 2007 at 10:13 PM
We have bought a lot of kid's shoes at Stride Rite. My oldest has the opposite problem - her feet are very narrow. Stride Rite carries a lot of shoes in narrow, medium and wide. They are in the malls and we have found the staff in Clackamas to be wonderful. I wish I could remember the woman's name but there is one employee that has gone above and beyond for us.
We also wanted to find her shoes she could get on and off easily. They had some with velco that worked in a dress shoe. For tennis shoes they were all to wide for her. We ended up buying shoes with laces and buy these special laces. I forget what they are called but they are really curly. You loosen the laces so the child can get their foot in and then pull them tight. After they are on the laces do not move because of the curl. It made any pair of shoe one that she could get on and off by herself.
She had a pair of Nike's with the bungee laces that were really cute shoes - she loved them to the point of wearing them out. The laces were impossible for her and often difficult for me.
Posted by: Sarah C | August 18, 2007 at 07:11 AM
Teva Kids K Dozer are terrific; our 4 year old wears them daily and needs no help with the on/off, and they do run wide. Definitely all-purpose: rain, fountains, rivers to the streets, scooters, running.
We had a Naturino pair before, they lasted forever til he burned a hole in the sole with his scooter stopping. I would buy another pair in second. Had laces, but otherwise easy on/off, leather (= no stink and long wear). After 8 months of nearly daily wear, they looked new. I'm more impressed by those Naturino's than any shoe he had before or after.
When we were in a rural area, I had to buy shoes online, so I learned about Zappos, which is amazing - you can go to their site, click on "kids", then "youth/european", and when you click on a certain shoe, you'll see reviews by parents - I still use this resource. You'll see Naturino shoes there, and Primigi + Geox also look good. Sure some local shops carry them.
If the shoes aren't in stock locally (I will be sad), then Zappos is a terrific place to buy them from - they have free return shipping, they're quick with excellent customer service, and they pricematch. So you can try out 5 pairs for the kiddo, get them shipped free within 3 days, return free what you don't want, get your $ back as soon as they get the shoes. I turned into a shoe-freak with zappos.
Posted by: L | August 19, 2007 at 12:37 AM
On the more inexpensive side, Vans are cool and easy to get on. They have a ton of options at Zappos.com.
Posted by: lilah | August 19, 2007 at 08:58 AM
New Balance has wide widths for kids and grownups. I believe quite a few styles have velcro as well.
Posted by: lauralye | August 21, 2007 at 09:36 AM
Unfortunately, Vans, while definitely cool and easy to get on and off, don't have the best support for kiddos' growing feet--just something to keep in mind as you look around for shoes. We've had great luck with Keens, Eccos, and Hi-tecs. Rather than multiple pairs of shoes, we usually just choose one good-quality pair(sometimes 2--i.e. sandals in late spring/summer)and they wear 'em all the time. Keeps the clutter and "shoe decisions" to a minimum and helps to reinforce the idea of not having too much stuff--well, at least we're hoping it does! Oh, and both kids have a pair of rain boots, of course--to splash and jump in puddles, play in the mud, and "be kids" all year round! Best of luck!
Posted by: a | August 21, 2007 at 03:38 PM