Shoes for children with thick feet

[snickerplum]

My son's feet seem to be growing thicker instead of longer. I usually buy Saltwater sandals, but the size he needed length wise were to tight. So we headed to Stride Rite, they measured him, the wide didn't fit, so we ordered the xw and his foot wouldn't even go in all the way. Where can I find shoes that will fit his thick foot?

[Tammi K]

I don't know what to suggest but I feel your pain.  My youngest was the same way.   Fortunately, he grew and his foot changed shape and isn't quite so hard to fit.  It's still a 'beefy, muscular foot' as declared by a boot fitter ( do you have any idea how much custom ice skate boots cost?) but at least now it fits in a standard shoe. 

 

Are there sandals with adjustable straps over the toe area?  Land's End usually has a nice kid's selection.  Good luck.

[gingersmom]

My 16 your old has had fat feet since birth.

 

He lives in new balance sneakers (only brand he can fit his foot into).

 

We have yet to find dress shoes that are wide enough and comfortable)

 

ETA: Crocs also run wide

Edited April 24, 2016 by gingersmom

[MercyA]

Definitely New Balance sneakers in extra wide. Also, you can order Plae shoes that come with different lengths of velcro.

[Kim in Appalachia]

My dd's feet are like this, and it's even worse for girls. :(

 

For boys, New Balance or Brooks, you can get XXW. (4E).  They have been great for my son.  Dress shoes are a nightmare, mostly because I don't want to pay $$$ for shoes when I know his feet aren't done growing.  But you can get shoes on Zappos that are 4E as well.  Search by size not style.  

 

 

[LucyStoner]

My son's feet seem to be growing thicker instead of longer. I usually buy Saltwater sandals, but the size he needed length wise were to tight. So we headed to Stride Rite, they measured him, the wide didn't fit, so we ordered the xw and his foot wouldn't even go in all the way. Where can I find shoes that will fit his thick foot?

Stride Rite used to have a xxw IIRC.

 

Keen shoes (the shoes more than the sandals) tend to be wide. I have very wide feet and I can wear them, as can my similarly large/wide footed sons.

Edited April 24, 2016 by LucyStoner

[SamanthaBea]

I call my son's feet "stuffed pork chop feet," because aren't just wide, they are thick! When he was little, I bought him Stride Rite XXW shoes in whatever style would accommodate his foot. At the time, they told me that he would eventually grow out of it and not need such a wide shoe. That's why they didn't carry XXW shoes in bigger sizes. Well, he didn't outgrow it! Then, I bought all sorts of adjustable fisherman sandals, which sort of worked (Keen was one of the brands). He also went through a long Croc phase. Now, as a teenager, all he can wear are New Balance in 4E width. He tried the 6E, and while they were more comfortable in the toe box, the heel was also wide, so his foot kept slipping. Only certain styles will work even in New Balance 4E. Shopping is an absolute nightmare. Anything that is made for his type of foot looks like it belongs on a man 80 years old! 

[Sara in AZ]

My son has blocky feet like that and it has always been a huge pain to keep him in shoes.

 

I've had luck with cheaper tennis shoes and sandals from places like WalMart and Payless. They seem to have sizes that are wide enough and stretchy enough to jam his foot into, although sometimes I still have to go up a size or two and deal with the extra length. They're poorly made, of course, and don't last that long. But usually he's ready for a bigger size by then!

 

Luckily, we live in the desert, so a large part of the year he can get away with crocs and flip flops.

 

Finding nice, black dress shoes for church has been the hardest. Luckily, now that he's in men's sizes it's getting a little easier, but I always dread it when he inevitably grows out of his shoes.

 

Good luck!!

[Farrar]

Not all Stride Rites are created equal. When my kids had xxw feet when they were little, the mall Stride Rite was useless, but the little locally owned one was golden. They were experts and knew exactly which brands would work. I don't know what we would have done without them. Anyway, not an option for all people, but I'd see if you can find a better children's shoe store. I can't imagine our little shoe store would have turned us away - they would have found a shoe that fit or ordered one. Last year when the kids got to adult shoe sizes, they gave us their little handwritten shoe size cards for keepsakes.

 

Also good news, my kids, at least, grew into their freakishly wide feet.

[need2read]

My son has always had large, wide feet and we have had the best results with New Balance, Keen and Crocs. Crocs even makes shoes that look like normal shoes now so it's not just the ugly clog style ones.

 

 

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[zoobie]

Some Geoxx are really wide

New Balance

Stride Rite XXW fisherman sandals

Crocs

[Stacia]

My dd's feet were (are) very thick top to bottom (not wide side-to-side). When she was young, Elefanten shoes were the best! It's a European brand & I could find them at a local kids' shoe store that carried lots of specialty brands. They were some of the only shoes I could find that fit her comfortably.

[fraidycat]

My DS has this problem, too. Sausage feet. They are not wide, they are THICK. Extra wide is useless when the circulation is being cut off because the shoe is too tight across the top of the foot. Ask me how I know! Poor kid got his sausage feet and cankles from my Dad, but I too, have a very tall lisfranc joint and super high arch so can't wear most shoes without the top of my foot going numb, IF I can get my foot into it (no Sperry Topsiders for these puppies).

 

As an example, when DS was a baby - his feet did not fit into any Robeez slippers. They were too narrow and short sole to top. I had to order another brand that I can't recall right now.

 

Luckily (??) for DS and my feet, I'm kind of crunchy so we go for minimal/mimick barefoot, no heel shoes as much as possible. Our "everyday" shoes are these:

 

http://www.softstarshoes.com/adult-shoes/runamoc/adult-moc3-runamoc-black.html

 

And for rainy days (few), he has a pair of flat soled Skechers from Costco that get the job done when necessary. They kind of look like a skater shoe.

[Alessandra]

This may be too obvious to say, but are you looking at lace up shoes, as opposed to Velcro closing ones. We found the lace up had more sizing flexibility.

[jenn-]

I call my son's feet "stuffed pork chop feet," because aren't just wide, they are thick! When he was little, I bought him Stride Rite XXW shoes in whatever style would accommodate his foot. At the time, they told me that he would eventually grow out of it and not need such a wide shoe. That's why they didn't carry XXW shoes in bigger sizes. Well, he didn't outgrow it! Then, I bought all sorts of adjustable fisherman sandals, which sort of worked (Keen was one of the brands). He also went through a long Croc phase. Now, as a teenager, all he can wear are New Balance in 4E width. He tried the 6E, and while they were more comfortable in the toe box, the heel was also wide, so his foot kept slipping. Only certain styles will work even in New Balance 4E. Shopping is an absolute nightmare. Anything that is made for his type of foot looks like it belongs on a man 80 years old!

This site might help out a little bit if you've never seen it. I have a wide toe box and a narrow heel so I wear my shoes laced like the slipping heel style. That allows me to buy the width I need and not have heel slippage.

 

I have two boys with high insteps. I am glad they are making it up to men's sizes where there are more wide width shoes available. I am going to try one of the other alternate lacing methods on the one that still complains.

 

https://thecolorrun.com/running-shoe-lacing-techniques/

[domestic_engineer]

See Kai Run or Pediped ?!?!

I know they are good for wider feet, but I don't know HOW wide or HOW thick.

 

You can usually find them on zappos (definitely free return shipping) or amazon (free return shipping with the right sellers).

[Katy]

 If you're shopping online it helps to search for the term "High volume."

 

Tsukihoshi Kids is a decent brand.

 

Thin leather sandals that stretch easily or lace up shoes (change the laces to longer ones) are also good choices generally. 

[snickerplum]

I really appreciate everyone's suggestions! I'm looking into them. In the meantime, he's stuck with a pair of flip flops (that he really likes, fortunately).

[Melissa in Australia]

try buying shoes to fit over AFO's just about impossible. Poor twin 1 has to wear shoos 4 sizes too big just to get them over the plastic. and gumboots are just about impossible they are so large that I am surprised he can walk at all. He has practically no ankle movement so cannot tip foot down to slide them in .

[MercyA]

Reported Spammy McSpammerson