Children's runners

Lemonposset

My 5 year old needs new runners. He's always worn Clarks which can look a bit orthopaedic but it never bothered him. Now however he wants 'cool' runners, like his friends. I was going to just bring him to Elvery's or Lifestyle and get him a pair that he liked but reading up on kid's shoes on the internet has me a bit wary. A lot of articles state those runners are miniatures of adult designs, and are too structured for a still developing foot.

Am I reading too much into it?! At what age can a kid just wear a pair of runners from Dunnes or wherever, i.e. not Clarks? Anyone have any suggestions for alternative brands? Personally I find the Clarks selection can be pretty dull, especially the 'boy' stock, it's either navy or brown or black with a dinosaur/truck/airplane stitched on the side so I don't blame him for wanting something more interesting.

Millem

My 3 year old wears geox. I find them great but they are expensive. They are having a good sale at the mo also look on amazon. My son has wide feet so I would never put dunnes etc on him.
Some of his friends wear new balance.

jlm29

I got geox for my son for school as well. I tend to buy something a bit sturdier for school (I can't remember if las years were geox or clarks, but I think it was geox). He was delighted with the geox though- there must be an ad for them on children's tv, because he actually started telling total strangers in the shop that they should buy geox to be able to run faster!
He does have a pair of nikes on the go usually too, for outside of school, and they're also a bit lighter, so he's been wearing them for the summer.

mirrorwall14

My lad inherited my wide feet and is a h fit. I haven't put him in runners yet coz I'm worried. Currently in startrite. I inherited bunions from my dad so I want him in the best shoes possible in the hope he doesn't get them (having said that my parents did the same and I never wore heels but just had the OP at 32 due to pain so may not make any difference)

shesty

Clarkes have another range at the moment...the name eludes me, it's kind of a sports range for kids..... my girl has their pink runners and they look like mini-Nikes.Not that she cares (she's 3) but she picked them out herself.Have a look around again in one of their shops if you're not comfortable buying the other ones.They were displayed as bigger kids shoes but they had them in smaller sizes too.They are very similar to what you would buy in the likes of Lifestyle etc.(the downside of having girls.....we tend to have to buy shoes and runners!!)

gumbo1

Anybody got any feed back on sketchers? Was looking at getting them for my little fella, he's nearly 16 months and is always on his feet! I had a look at them and they're very light and the sole is quite flexible.

jlm29

gumbo1 wrote: »

Anybody got any feed back on sketchers? Was looking at getting them for my little fella, he's nearly 16 months and is always on his feet! I had a look at them and they're very light and the sole is quite flexible.

If steer clear for a child that small. There's no support in them. The first pair of clarks I bought my little boy were really really light

goldlocks10

Buy the children super fit. Great runners great quality and hard wearing. Hard to find in shops down south.

Lemonposset

Thanks so much for all of your suggestions. I really liked the idea of the ones you mentioned Shesty as Clarkes have never let me down in terms of functionality and durability. So off we went today to have a look and they have some very funky looking football-style runners, exactly like he wanted. What did he pick? Oh a pair of black more traditional Clarks-style shoes with a dinosaur stitched on the side. Why do I bother! ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

jlm29

Lemonposset wrote: »

Thanks so much for all of your suggestions. I really liked the idea of the ones you mentioned Shesty as Clarkes have never let me down in terms of functionality and durability. So off we went today to have a look and they have some very funky looking football-style runners, exactly like he wanted. What did he pick? Oh a pair of black more traditional Clarks-style shoes with a dinosaur stitched on the side. Why do I bother! ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Haha, kids, eh!!! Glad you got sorted!

shesty

Lemonposset.....that's hilarious!Glad you found them!

Moonbeam

My kids with wide feet wore Geox they were recommended and later the physio commented how good they are.
My narrow footed child wears Clarks shoes,this year we went down to the Clarks outlet and I was able to kit 2 of them out for school and the boys runners were gorgeous.
Startrite have been a disaster here and I could never wear them either.
For school runners once they have support most of the big brands are fine, the last few years I got the girls Nike runners for school,they are pretty cheap and have good support.(20-30 euro)

lukesmom

I've tried them all but wouldn't buy anything other than Nike. My kids fins them so comfy.