]* * Knock Knock, Can i come in? * *

think its prob time i officially move over from baby! (although i dont post all that often)

hi there

curoius of my options, Is clarks the only decent shop i can go to, to get my 16 month old son his second pair of outside shoes?

i want a nice sturdy pair for outside & he's a very confident walker.

went there at christmas and got him his first pair of shoes (a wee little 31/2g!) but i think its possibly time he needs a new pair soon. (his size 3 wellies dont fit anymore which gave me the idea he's grown!)

kim

Hi near where I live we have a few small independant shoe shops that sell clarkes & other makes of baby shoes and they're so much nicer to go to. The prices are the same but they tend to offer incentive schemes like 10th pair free and I tend to find the service is much friendlier than clarkes.
Not that i've had to buy any for my lo. He's 14 months and far too lazy to walk but taken my little sister a number of times to get them.
Welcome to toddler by the way x

I would only recommend Clarkes as they are the only safe option for the arch of the foot to form properly. Now saying that many people dont mind what shoes they put on their lo so you do what you think is best. I got my lo her first pair of Clarkes on Thursday, she is also 16 months and a 3 1/2g but she also has a pair of nike trainers but they are soft on the inside with arched insides to help the foot grow properly.
You do what you think is best for you lo and get whatever shoes you need. xxxx

personally I wouldnt recommend clarks, they are meant to be fitting specaillists but they cannot cope with my eldest child as he has a h fitting foot and they do only 1 or 2 styles, they try to get round that by giving him shoes that are half a size too big to accomodate his width, my 2nd child has hypermobility as does Isaac (my 4th and youngest) and there boots are not supportive enough for their ankles and they dont support the ach enough to prevent them being flat footed. My 3rd child has "average" size and width but the one time I bought her shoes from clarks she ended up with a blister. We use an independat retailer who stock alot of the brands and styles from the continent, this particular shop is also a speciallist fitter who works very closely with the orthotics department at the hospital, there is also a lot more choice, not just one or two styles that most of the other children the same age seem to have. They do cost slightly more but I think its worth it.

Happy shoe shopping and welcome to toddler :\)

I found start rite to be very good, they can usually be found in branches of Russell and Bromley and are priced the same as Clarks.

http://www.startriteshoes.com/