After eight years of having kids, I feel like I’m pretty knowledgeable when it comes to shoes for both boys and girls. I love fashion, so the overall look of the shoes I purchase for my kids always plays a factor, but support and comfort are obviously always the most important factors.
We have tried many brands
throughout the years, and now that the kids are 7 (almost 8) and 5, I feel like
we have a good handle on the shoe situation.
One thing I have learned about shoes for kids is that you pay for what
you get, and it is totally worth the extra money to buy quality shoes instead
of the trendy (but oh so adorable) ones from Old Navy or Target or wherever. We have settled on our favorites and today I’m
going to share my favorite five brands with you.
O N E – Natives
Native Shoes are number one on this
list because they are number one in my heart.
These. are. the. best. shoes. I
cannot rave about them enough. For
starters, they are the MOST comfortable shoes of all time (I know firsthand because
I own a pair myself)… you literally feel like you’re walking on a cloud and
your feet never tire even after hours of walking or running around. Second of all, they are easy to slide on, so
any child can put them on unassisted. Third,
they go on quickly, so they’re awesome for times when you need to get out the
door in a hurry. Nobody wants to fool
with shoe laces when they’re in a hurry.
Fourth, you can wear them anywhere – in the rain and in the mud – and they
hose right off if they get dirty. Finally,
they hold up SO well.
These shoes are for boys and
girls of all ages, adults included. They
won’t rub blisters on your feet, they don’t make your feet stink, and you can
even size up slightly to get a few extra months out of them for your growing
children. Jacob has had his first pair
for a year now, and he’s going to be able to continue wearing them this year. And they still look almost brand new. I’m thinking he will get about two years out
of them total. Olivia’s feet grew a ton this
past year, so she outgrew her first pair in about a year, so we just purchased
her second pair.
These shoes come in every color of the rainbow, they come in glitter versions, and they come in print versions as well. They go with any kind
of outfit – casual, beachy, pants, shorts, dresses, and our kids even wear
theirs to church. They are worth every
single penny. Mark my words and buy a
pair!
T W O – Saltwater Sandals
We bought Olivia her first
pair of Saltwater Sandals last year after one of my friends raved about them. Olivia has been wearing hers for a whole year
now, and she’ll be able to wear the same pair this summer as well. Saltwater sandals are super comfortable, they
don’t rub on your heels, and you can wear them everywhere. Olivia has worn hers a ton and they still
look brand new. One of my friends told
me they hold up so well, that she can save her older daughter’s to pass down to
her younger daughter. Again, you can
size up a bit to get extra wear out of them for your growing kids. They make these for adults as well, and I’m
told they’re awesome, so they’re on my wish list, too!
T H R E E – Nikes
Our kids wear uniforms to
school so they have to wear tennis shoes to school. When it comes to tennis shoes, Nike has been
my favorite brand since I was young.
Everyone in our family wears Nikes.
They always have the best color combinations for the kids, and they also
have the versions that you don’t have to lace up and tie. Again, it’s amazing to have a shoe that your
kids can just slip on in a hurry!
Both of our kids love theirs
and wear them every single day to school. And they hold up so well that both of our kids’
Nikes last the entire school year. I
always hear about people having to buy new tennis shoes for their kids halfway
through the school year because their first pairs are so banged up, but we just
don’t ever have that problem with Nikes!
They are just so darn reliable. Pink ones here and grey ones here.
F O U R – Stride Rites
When Jacob was a baby I can
remember wondering what in the world you’re supposed to put on a baby’s feet
when they first start walking. I was
completely clueless. Thank goodness for
Jacob’s daycare teacher for giving us the best advice on that subject! Without her we would have been lost.
For the teeny tiny kids who
are just learning to walk, I cannot stress enough just how perfect the
Stride Rite Shoes are!!!! Jacob was a
very late walker and at fourteen months he was still just crawling and not even
attempting to walk. His teacher at
daycare told us that she thought the reason he wasn’t walking was because his
ankles didn’t have enough support (because he was soooo fat and couldn’t hold
himself up – LOL) and she suggested buying the Stride Rite Shoes, specifically the Elliot Bootie. I kid you not, within a couple of weeks of
putting those on his feet, he finally started standing unassisted, and he took
his first steps just shy of fifteen months.
We kept those on his feet
for a good year before finally making the switch to something with less
support. And we loved them so much that
we took Olivia to get fitted for her first pair at just eleven months. She took her first steps just a couple of
weeks later just shy of her first birthday.
:o)
I saved both of their first
pairs of these as keepsakes since they took their first steps in them. I can’t wait to give them their keepsake capsules and let them see them one day.
:o)
And Stride Rite has tons of other styles of shoes that also offer lots of support for young walkers.
You can find the Elliot Bootie in white here and the Elliot Bootie in brown here. They also come in black.
And Stride Rite has tons of other styles of shoes that also offer lots of support for young walkers.
You can find the Elliot Bootie in white here and the Elliot Bootie in brown here. They also come in black.
F I V E – Old Navy Flip Flops
And finally, every kid needs
a good pair of flip flops to wear to the beach or pool. Our favorite place for those? Old Navy!
They’ve always been known for their flip flops because they come in lots
of cute colors and designs and they’re dirt cheap. Like, $1-$4 per pair. Our kids get a new pair of these at the start
of every summer and they use them on our beach trips, for swimming lessons, and
playing in the splash pad, etc.
You can find the the floral flip flops here and the American flag flip flops here. :o)
You can find the the floral flip flops here and the American flag flip flops here. :o)
And those are our fave
five! What are your favorites? Do you like any other brands that I didn’t
list here?
*Linking up with A Liz Adventures and Carolina Charm for Five on Friday, A Little Bit of Everything for Friday Favorites, Meet @ the Barre for Friday Favorites, and By BMG for High Five for Friday.
