Okay, so Rosie has just turned 15 months old and over the past month has really taken off with her walking. She can do over 40 steps before falling over and confidently toddles everywhere. Up until now she has never had shoes, not even those little pre-shoes, she has been in bare feet inside and out!

This weekend I want to get her feet measured and buy her first shoes. I have brought all her Sisters shoes form Start Rite and this is her modelling her first pair:

Poppy 14 months with 1st pair of shoes





I thought they were gorgeous, exactly how I envisioned little girls shoes to be (maybe because I had them growing up too)! I was planning on buying Rosie a similar pair this weekend.


Now I am confused as I have been told I should not buy this sort of shoe or I could damage my little ones bones…what?


Of course I didn’t take just one persons view, I then looked it up on the internet and was horrified to find so much conflicting advice.  


Here are just a few of the things I have read:

  •  soft shoes are the next best thing to being barefoot
  • Soft shoes do not offer the support your child’s feet need
  • Your child’s feet do not need support or padding
  • Wearing hard shoes can damage ligaments and possibly break bones
  • Hard shoes will only damage a child’s feet if they are ill-fitting ie. if too narrow or too short and therefore putting  pressure on the growing bones of a their little feet 

Aaaaaahhhhhh Could someone please tell me whether I should be putting her in soft or hard shoes?




This weather is not going to last and my little one needs to be able to walk outside. I have kept her barefoot for 15 months but the time has come, this little girl needs a pair of shoes.




Karen x