Young children grow fast. They outgrow their shoe size quickly and recognizing that their shoes tend to be more expensive go relation to their size, it is a wise thing for parents to purchase shoes which are a bit bigger. Another alternative would be to buy secondhand shoes especially from online stores. Are there other alternatives?
Whenever I get shoes for my nephews I tend to go a size up. They do grow up quickly, and before you know it they don't fit anymore. I also don't think it's worth to spend a lot on them. At least not for smaller children, since they will outgrow them fast. We find a lot of shoes in discount stores like Marshalls or even 6pm online. There are many places where you can find good shoes for kids at much less.
I always buy one size bigger for my daughter or my little sister passes them down to her as well. My little sister uses them up for like about 4 months and then my daughter fits them and finishes them up for like 6 more months. Recently they have been using the same size so now I buy my daughter her own shoes.
I always like to buy everything new, but in return I do not think it's necessary to spend as much money on such simple items (even more for children... after all, they'll lose everything very fast, right? ).
I don't see it as a wise idea to buy an abundance of shoes at one go for small children. The proper thing to do is to be prepared to replace whatever they may have on a regular basis.They may be provided with shoes for the various occasions but not in great numbers because many children quickly outgrow their footwear in most instances.
I buy my son's shoes a size or two bigger than his current size depending on the type of style of shoes. I can get away with a bigger rubber shoes that his actual size because he'll look fine with it and the extra size is easily concealed by having him wear thicker sports socks and tightening the shoestrings a bit more than usual. He's got a pair of rubber shoes, leather shoes, and sandals and that's it. These pairs last for a year because he's not a sporty and active type of kid.
You know what I got my very good sandals for just $3 at Walmart! I love them and it's just what I like in a sandal too. 2 stores that is good to window shop for children's things are Ross Dept. Store and Walmart. I always find in store specials in every dept. and I found my $3 sandals too, so I bet you'll find something nice and inexpensive for your children or grandchildren too. One good place to find very economical new things is ebay.com. Good luck!
It is true that the children grow fast, and some shoes remain almost new when they outgrow the pair. But, there're some type of shoes which you cannot buy bigger. Children will feel pretty uncomfortable, and eventually they will limp to adjust. It might even cause sore and swelling of feet. This is especially true for the smaller children where they are sometimes not even able to convey their inconvenience. However, for the older kids we can buy little bigger shoes, especially those which come with laces.
When buying children shoes I like to shop moderately as in not going for the very expensive and that doesn't mean going for the very cheap, I try to arrive at a balance. The reason, children have a high growth rate and very soon will outgrow the shoe size. I make sure to get the accurate sizes and won't consider going for fairly used shoes.
You also can save the shoes of your first born so that they can be used by your second born. Even if they are of different genders, rubber shoes are usually unisex, so anyone can use it. You can also try asking your friends and relatives for outgrown shoes, if you're not very shy in doing that.
I would never buy any second hand shoes for my son. When I buy shoes for him, I always make sure that the fit is not too snug but it is comfortable and there is ample toe room. That way, even if he does outgrow it quickly he can still wear the shoes for a bit longer until I can buy new ones for him. I don't them too expensive but a good quality brand such as Bata or Paragon etc. whose prices are also quite reasonable.
I have 3 children, they are all boys, they are 7, 3 and 2 years old, but I do not really often buy shoes for them. Each of them, only have 2 pairs of good shoes. I have realized kids grow up so quickly. But when I buy shoes for them I`d always go for good quality and extra size up.
I could remember while I was growing, mum will get us, my brother and I, shoes a bit longer in size claiming it is for us to enjoy wearing it for a longer period of time. Some funny actions we took to ensure the shoes fit us is placing little tissue papers inside the shoe before putting our legs and off we went showing our new shoes around. To save money, considering how fast some kids grow, it is okay to get shoes longer in size than the normal length. As for secondhand shoes, mum got us some then and surprisingly, it last longer than expected.
I have bought second hand shoes for my kids since they were in really good condition and they don't wear them for that long. I would also buy shoes that were on clearance and I would stock up on their current size and the next size if they had them. I could get shoes really cheap this way. I don't buy them too many shoes. My son has a pair of shoes that he can wear with dressier clothing and a pair of sneakers. My daughter has a pair of sneakers and a nice dress shoe. Of course, in the summer they have a pair of sandals. Now that they are getting older, they aren't growing out of the sizes too quickly so they can actually wear the shoe out before I need to buy a new size.
If you can find good second hand shoes, why not? As long as the shoes are still in great condition. Children wear out shoes very fast and they often need to replaced frequently, especially comfortable play shoes like sandals and sneakers. You can also ask close friends or family members for shoes that their kids no longer wear.
Toddlers and children really grow real fast one doesn't even notice that it's really in just a short span of time. They can out grew their clothes and shoes in just a matter of months and then you'll have to buy them new pairs again. When in comes to shoes, I have seen a documentary that tackles about a certain organization that seeks to resolve this issue and they have come up with a shoe that practically grow or is adjustable. You may want to search the web for this really amazing invention and the organization itself.
