Tips for Buying the Best Toddler Shoes

Tips for Buying the Best Toddler Shoes:
When your toddler becomes mobile, protecting his or her feet requires Mom and Dad know a thing or two about buying the best toddler shoes.

Here is some advice from the experts on navigating the baby shoe market:

Hard soled vs. soft: Just like adult shoes, toddler shoes with soles that are too soft can cause slips and falls. "You want a shoe with a little bit of a sole, to minimize accidents," Cox says. "Usually, a leather or rubber sole will help provide the traction your toddler needs."
Sneakers vs. boots: "Sneakers are good because they generally don't constrain the foot and allow for proper development," says Steven G. Tillett, DPM, a foot and ankle specialist in Portland, Ore. Also, sneakers are usually constructed out of canvas and pliable leather, allowing the shoe to mold to a child's foot for a good fit, he explains.

Cheap vs. expensive: "For young children who are just learning to walk, inexpensive shoes are OK," Cox says. The key is not so much cost -- it's that the shoe fits.

Open-toed vs. closed: "Open-toed shoes don't offer a lot of foot protection for a child just learning to walk, so closed-toed shoes are generally better," Cox says. And the same goes for shoes like Crocs -- kids can easily trip on these types of shoes if they're just learning to walk and not entirely stable, so hold off on these until around age 2 or later, Cox says.

New vs. used: Although it might be tempting to use hand-me-down shoes from friends or family to save a few bucks, this is one area that requires you buy new. "Kids' shoes mold to their feet," Cox says. "If you use a hand-me-down pair of shoes, you are forcing your child's foot into a shoe that has already molded to the shape of someone else's foot, which means your toddler could end up with blisters."

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