first shoes

scarepanda

Ok, my LO isn't walking yet, but she's right on the brink of it. I know she won't need proper first shoes for a while yet till she's sturdy walking etc. But is there anything that I can put on her in the mean time for when we are out and about? Are pre walkers worth it? How 'safe' are they for tiny feet? Do they hinder walking? Any brands that are recommended/not recommended? Or are we better off getting the soft soled shoes in the likes of Penney's/Dunnes?

The main reason I'm asking is because shes a busy body and always wants to be on the move. Letting her crawl when we are out and about isn't always appropriate and if given the choice she will usually choose for us to hold her hands so she can walk. But she never has proper grip etc if she has socks or tights on and I worry that her feet will get cold or wet.

Anne_cordelia

I personally don't like pre-walkers. I'd go for soft soles moccasins like Shobees or Liliput.

shesty

Kept mine in shoebees as long as possible but yes, around 13 months I got prewalkers.They are literally just to provide a sole for outdoors.As the weather is getting wetter amd cooler, you could just put them on for outdoors and leave her in her socks otherwise.Unfortunately my pair were at that age over the summer months and both wanted to be out in the garden all the time.Shoebees are great for indoors, but provide no protection against a wet ground and literally can get destroyed by one crawl across the garden, as the leather rips to pieces-and I just felt they were too expensive to be replacing them every other week.So Clarkes prewalkers were my solution.

Digs

My pair both walked properly at 11 months so I didn't really get pre walkers for either of them. Both had the Clarks first shoes, they're very soft soled and soft leather material, my 14 month olds were €36 a few months ago I think. Even now still I don't really put shoes on her in the house even though she racing about the place, just outdoors as she wants to be out of the buggy constantly!

scarepanda

Thanks everyone! I only want them for when when we are out and about with her. When we're at home there's no issue with her as she's usually in her bare feet wandering around the house and she's managing brilliantly so far - she knows how to fall down without hurting herself! And also when we are at home there's no issues with her crawling around.

It's just when we are out. She won't stay in the buggy for too long and she will not stay in our arms if we are carrying her and its not always feasible to let her crawl. The only thing she will stay in without any issues is the carrier, but I'm the only one that wears it and I can't use it for the time being.

I like the look of the Lilliputi and shoobees. Does anyone know of any shops that sell them? She's gone 12 months but in 6-9mth clothes so Iv no idea what size she would be.

shesty

Shoobees just come in 6-12 mth and 12-18 month sizes, they're not made in shoe sizes.I don't know the lilliputti ones, so can't comment on them.I got ours in mothercare but there are versions of them available in a few shops I believe.

rainbow kirby

My little lad is 17 months and has only in the last week started walking properly - he had a pair of Clarks pre-walkers before that but we think he was fitted into a pair that were too small on him. We moved him from size 4 Clarks to size 5.5 Nike Frees and walking literally happened in the space of a few days.

scarepanda

I'd imagine she's in the 6-12 month size. How did you find their fit compared to the size clothes your girls were wearing at the time? I'll be in Galway in the next week so I might pop in that far and see if mothercare have them in stock. I don't want to go buying them online incase they don't fit and i wouldn't think she'll be in them very long as she's on the brink of walking. She can do it, just needs to build up the confidence.

Thanks for all the advice!

shesty

They're very generous to be honest Scarepanda.They are literally soft leather bootees, they aren't tight to their feet.If your sole purpose is for use outside, I actually wouldn't recommend them because they have no real sole on them, just a layer of soft leather material....they get destroyed within minutes out on footpaths and provide no protection against damp or wet ground.They are around 20-25eur a pair, hence my decision to go for prewalkers.My first child had three pairs of shoebees, when she start cruising, and literally ripped holes in them with one or two little ventures in the garden.They are really indoor only shoes.
Our second was a shoe destroyer....she had shoebees briefly but wanted to be out with no.1 in the garden.She got prewalkers at 13 mths.