Soft-Soled Baby Shoes Are Best for Those Sweet Little Feet

When shopping for shoes for your baby, it's best to skip any that have hard soles on the bottom. As cute as they may be and as sturdy as they may look, they are not good for your baby's growing feet.

Honestly, babies don't need shoes. Once your toddler begins to walk (usually around their first birthday) shoes may be necessary when leaving the house. Before this time, they are only worn as an accessory or in cold climates, to help keep their feet warm. Infant's feet are growing and developing and need to be free to flex at any time, not crammed into a hard shoe that will restrict movement. Barefoot is best but if you must put shoes on your little one there are a variety of soft-soled, baby-friendly shoes on the market today.

A favorite brand is Robeez baby shoes. Robeez are well made out of soft leather and come in an assortment of prints. They are sized to fit for several months, even with rapid growing footsies. They will keep your baby's feet covered and warm and protected by rough surfaces if they do crawl or walk somewhere shoes are desired. The downfall to Robeez is the high price tag; at around $35 per pair they can be pricey if you want to outfit your baby in them thru toddler hood. They are well made though and last a long time so it wouldn't be too much to expect them to be worn with subsequent babies. They also have a high resale value so it's possible to get a big chunk back when your little one outgrows them and put the money towards a new pair. There are currently over 70 designs available and they are absolutely adorable. You will be happy with them if you decide to purchase them as they are flexible, durable, and do not fall off your baby's feet even with all the kicking they may do.

Another popular brand of soft-soled baby shoes is shooshoos. They come in an adorable assortment of prints and colors and are made from all non-toxic dyes, stretchy soft 100% Nappa leather, have an all cotton inner lining and elasticized ankles so they are easy to take on and off yet they also can't be kicked to the floor by your baby. The price is a little less then Robeez at about $25 per pair.

One of my favorite brands of baby shoes are called Pedipeds. There motto is that they are "the next best thing to bare feet". They are made with two layers of soft high quality leather and a foam cushion for additional comfort. They are hand stitched around the edges for air flow and superior quality. Pedipeds are easy to put on and take off with soft Velcro closure. These are also recommended for older toddlers who are walking well and will be outside as the bottom is soft and flexible but still provides enough protection from hard surfaces. Pedipeds come in an assortment of 30 styles and cost an average of about $27 per pair.

If the above brands seem too expensive for your baby's growing feet that's understandable and luckily department stores are selling "knock-off" versions for much cheaper. Target sells a similar to Robeez soft-soled shoe for $12. The quality is a little less, the leather thinner but they do the job and in reality your baby will grow out of them in a couple of months so they are worth trying. I've seen similar at wal-mart as well and I'm sure there are even more similar styles out there if you look around before purchasing. The important thing is to remember that they should be as natural feeling as possible for your baby and allow freedom of movement and flexing of those little developing feet.