How Fast Does Your Toddler's Shoe Size Go Up?

[Anonymous]

Is it 1/2 size up in 2-3 months? Or more? I'm finding that we could spend $60 on a new pair of shoes every 2 months. I don't want our child to wear too big a shoe and of course, not too tight so any ideas on how to best manage this?

[Anonymous]

Start by not spending $60 on a pair of shoes every two months if the child's feet are growing that fast. That will manage the saving money aspect. We went through that as well for a few shoes until I had enough of spending more on my child's shoes than on mine.

Go to Stride Rite outlet or Nordstrom Rack after obtaining a correct shoe measurement. Both stores have shoes for as little as $9 and come in wide sizes.

[Anonymous]

Sounds about normal--I know shoe stores sometimes send mailings every three months to remind parents to come in.

Remember that your child WILL go through every shoe size from what they are now until they reach their adult size. I agree that when they're having growth spurts, it can make sense to pick a less expensive shoe if they fit the same.

[Anonymous]

Mine was uneven growth, so I can't really say how fast it goes. He was in a 4 for a month, but a 5 for almost 4 months. Then it evened out a bit. But I probably do spend about $60 every 2 or 3 months. He only gets one pair of shoes unless I get to the outlets. We do Striderite.

[Anonymous]

I do Payless, they grow out of the shoes before they wear them out.

[Anonymous]

You can save $40 of that by buying cheaper shoes. You can make them last 50% longer by buying them a bit bigger. There is no dowiside to buying the shoes bigger unless the child's heels slip in and out of the back of the shoe, and that's definitely too large. Otherwise, bigger is fine.

[Anonymous]

Well, some kids have really wide or hard-to-fit feet, so I understand not having options other than the $50 pair of shoes. We can't go to Target, payless, etc. because they just don't fit!

OP - to answer your question - I think it depends on the kid and also the age. From 12-18 months their feet grow REALLY fast. However, they tend to grow more in the summer and less in the winter (for my 2 kids, at least - the shoe fitter corroborated this theory as well.)

By about age 2, they don't grow as fast. And by age 4, you may get a whole year in one size shoe! Buying 1/2 size too big is OK and will help. In fact, if you're having them fit at a good shoe store, they often recommend a 1/2 size big just so that your kids don't end up with shoes too small.

I recommend going to Ramer's or Shoe Train if you haven't already. They really know kid's feet.

[Anonymous]

ramer's may know feet, but it's super expensive. once we discovered lands end, we've bought all my sons shoes there. great quality, good variety, colors, decent price, wash well, plus they have sales a lot. my son loves picking new colors when it's time for new shoes. they make them in wide and regular.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Well, some kids have really wide or hard-to-fit feet, so I understand not having options other than the $50 pair of shoes. We can't go to Target, payless, etc. because they just don't fit!

OP - to answer your question - I think it depends on the kid and also the age. From 12-18 months their feet grow REALLY fast. However, they tend to grow more in the summer and less in the winter (for my 2 kids, at least - the shoe fitter corroborated this theory as well.)

By about age 2, they don't grow as fast. And by age 4, you may get a whole year in one size shoe! Buying 1/2 size too big is OK and will help. In fact, if you're having them fit at a good shoe store, they often recommend a 1/2 size big just so that your kids don't end up with shoes too small.

I recommend going to Ramer's or Shoe Train if you haven't already. They really know kid's feet.

My 20 month old is size 9ww. Double wide. He goes up a shoe size very month or so. I NEVER spend $50 on shoes and his feet are very hard to fit. Stride Rite and Nordstrom both have sales. Stride Rite has an outlet. Anything you can find at Nordstrom you can find at Amazon.com for half the price. Zappos.com sells wide children's shoes as well, and there are always sales. If you take the time to look for a better price on a particular shoe you will find it. Shoe Train and Ramer's are not the only place to buy shoes for hard to fit feet.

If you find a shoe you like and know the size you need go to the manufacturer's website. You don't have to buy it at the mall.

[Anonymous]

DS went from a size four to a seven in four weeks. He was about a year and a half at that point. He is now four and wears a 9.5/10 depending on the shoe.

[Anonymous]

Payless has wide widths, so unless your kid has a super wide foot, those should fit. I usually buy them when they have the buy one get one half off sales, so I wind up paying $12-$15 per pair. I find the quality to be just fine.

[Anonymous]

I wait for sales from Lands End, LL Bean and Ollie shoes and buy future shoes. My son is 2 and it seems that he's a shoe size for about 6 months and from that estimation, I buy accordingly for the upcoming seasons. I will buy a shoe 1/2 size larger, if it's fall/winter shoes.

I found that both Lands End and LLBean have great end of season sales-not only shoes, but t-shirts, shorts, pants, winter gear, etc. The Lands End at Sears Landmark Mall is having a 50% off already marked down winter items-I bought my husband a great winter coat for $17. They have lots of toddler clothes left!