What are the best kind of shoes for new walkers?

Question

Not necessarily brands, but I've heard soft soled shoes are better than hard soled ones. Any advice?

Answer 1

Yes, the soft soled are much better. They won't walk correctly in hard shoes. The foot won't "roll" and they will plod along kind of flat footed.

Answer 2

Weeboks are really good, especially if on hard or outdoor surfaces since they have harder soles. When my daughter was just learning and only indoors, I loved the shoes that are all leather with soft leather soles. We were overseas at the time but I have seen these at Payless recently in the States. Soft soles are better because it allows the foot to move, hard soles can twist the ankles.

Answer 3

We started both our girls with StrideRite brand shoes. They are a little more expensive than most, but they give great support for new walkers. If you dont really know what kind to get, talk with the sales people they can help you figure out which ones are best for your toddler.
Also, soft soled shoes are more for crawlers not beginner walkers I believe.

Answer 4

My kid's had a way easier time walking in soft soled shoes like Robeez. Target now makes a knock off brand that's affordable but doesn't come in real shoe sizes. I was lucky that my mom bought all kinds off soft shoes for my sons. In the 70's, she rebelled against the idea that a one year old's feet needed to be entombed with support. All kids had was those white leather high tops that looked like 'special' shoes. Mom bought leather and made us moccasins.
My son's Dr agrees that kids need to be able to flex their toes and wiggle and work their little foot muscles as much as possible when learning to walk and run. Here is a good site for selection of soft soled shoes: http://www.cutebabyshoes.com/index.php/action/category/id/13/

If you want regular shoes, especially for practicality in winter, get your child fitted at Stride Rite or some other specialty kid's shoe store and then save the $40.00 and buy them here:

http://kidsurplus.com/shoes.html

Answer 5

i personally think that the hard soles are better because of stability, if the child is just starting to walk. soft soles may come later, when the child if more stabile. one thing to keep in mind is to make sure that the shoes are high tops for ankle support. try the stride rite or even a good quality high top tennis shoe.

Answer 6

Not to sure about the soft of hard sole. What I do know is you want high tops to help support his/her ankles

Answer 7

Our podiatrist friend said that it's best for new walkers to practice barefoot. So, I guess that very soft soled shoes are best. Try Robeez. My daughter loves them! Target sells cheaper knockoffs.

Answer 8

Yes; in the house, barefoot is best; after that my kids wear Robeez soft-leather-soled booties. I wouldn't recommend them for situations where you need greatef protection like playing at the park, but around your yard, stores, etc, they are great, and even though the are the SOFTEST leather, you can machine wash them when they get soiled. Then after they dry (I air dry them, though I think you can put them in the dryer), I squish them up in my hand for a minute to soften them up again.

Answer 9

my 17 month find it easier to walk in soft sole than hard sole

Answer 10

Some kids dont like to walk in shoes at all so it might be easier by not letting hm/her walk in them all the time.. But the ones from Stride Right are really good (Hard)