Did your parents put bells on your toddler shoes? Did you as a parent?

[Anonymous]

My mom recently unearthed little bells on a plastic case meant to secure laces from my toddlerhood. I went from white lace up shoes to brown buckle maryjanes years old. (42). It occurred to me that while aware of my own history of bells on my shoes, it never really came up to do it for my own kids. Was this ever widespread? Do people still do it? I can’t recall seeing them out in the world on young kids.

[Anonymous]

No, but in my culture we give our baby's little gold bracelets or anklets that can have a small ball bell on it.

[Anonymous]

I have my bells! My mom gave them to me a couple years ago along with my bronzed first pair of hard leather shoes. I lost the shoes, but I have the bells.

My dad bought my eldest hard shoes and bells. She wore them once when he visited to humor him.

I was born in the 1970s for context.

[Anonymous]

I was born in 1975 and did not have bells. My two younger siblings were born in 1977 and 1979 and also did not have bells.
I do not recall ever seeing (or hearing) a child with bells on their shoes.

[Anonymous]

What is the point of the bells? Luck? Function? Just general cuteness? I did not have bells and neither do my kids and I don’t think I’ve ever seen them.

[Anonymous]

No bells for me, but my kid had squeaker shoes.

[Anonymous]

Depends on the kid. If they are hard to keep track of and they get into things a lot or escape out the door, sounds like a good idea. I def put a bell on my dog's collar for the same reason.

[Anonymous]

Nope. I'm 46. Maybe this is a regional or cultural thing.

[Anonymous]

I never heard of this. What country did you see this in?

[Anonymous]

Good idea for runaway todlers, unless they eat the bells. My parents hung a mini alpine cowbell (the kind that tourists buy) around my neck on their vacation to the Alps, because I kept running away from them. 80s.

[Anonymous]

Is this a Southern thing? Sounds like some weird thing they do down there.

[Anonymous]

Grew up in an east coast big city and everyone did this when I was little. The little plastic case held the shoelaces so a toddler's shoes would not come untied.

My mom gave me a set and I used them with my first child for a while, but they were more trouble than they were worth and very few people were using them by then. Oh, and they only really worked on the white toddler shoes with the thin laces. They didn’t work with any thicker laces like on sneakers.

I was little in the 60s and my kids were born in the early 90s.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Is this a Southern thing? Sounds like some weird thing they do down there.

Oh, honey...

[Anonymous]

Parents didn’t feel as compelled to watch their kids quite as closely as they do now. It let you know where they were.

[Anonymous]

I've also never heard of this. I did not wear bells and nor does my toddler.