My readers know I love shoes. I love shoe shopping. I get that from my mom.
There is one caveat to that. Shoe shopping for Michael. Michael has enormous feet. I take that back. Michael had ginormous feet. When he was born the doctor said two thing, it's a boy, and he has a golden retriever feet. You know how golden retriever puppies have these huge feet that they grow into? That was Michael as a baby, all hands and feet.
Not only does he have huge feet, they are, extra, EXTRA WIDE. We have to go to a children's specialty shoe store to find him shoes. It takes, I kid you not, hours, to find shoes that fit him. I can't walk into Payless or Target, or even Stride Rite, and get this kid shoes. They don't carry shoes wide enough.
There is ONE kids specialty shoe store in the Washington DC area. People drive from Virginia and DC into Maryland to go there. I went there as a kid. The owner remembers me. I have avoided it for the past two weeks because I figured it would be a madhouse the two weeks before school started, but I knew Michael desperately needed new sneakers. I went the first day of school after preschool let out. My mom decided to be a trooper and come along for the torture.
2:00. Public school was not out yet. It had, I kid you not, a 3 HOUR WAIT. For children's shoes. We left. We tried Nordstrom. The first guy who fit Michael told me he was an 11. I was like, he is not an 11, he is wearing an 11 EXTRA WIDE RIGHT NOW. What did his feet shrink? He looked at me, he fit him again, "nope, ma'am he's an 11." I asked for the manager.
The manager fit him. "He is a 12 extra wide. We don't carry extra wide kids shoes. Sorry. But he can't wear these sneakers much longer."
Good stuff.
On Tuesday I left work, and called the shoe store. 2 hour wait. Well, I guess that's better than 3.
I took Michael to the playground and called about an hour later. The wait was down to 45 minutes. We drove like a bat out of hell and only ended up waiting about 15 minutes. Michael is yes, a 12 extra wide. It took about 30 minutes to find sneakers that were wide enough, even in an extra wide. He tried on a light up pair and recovered better than I thought he would when they didn't fit. (Hint to the shoe guy: Don't show the 4 year old with hard to fit feet light up sneakers. They cry when they don't fit.) But, I told him that the pair we bought make him run faster and jump higher and every morning he races me to school to show me how fast he can run.
The Great Shoe Debacle isn't over yet. The may not make boots wide enough. He may be playing in the snow in sneakers. Stay tuned!
And yes, I know I can order from Zappos. The issue is that an extra wide shoe is simply not wide enough. The shoe does not exist.
One time I took Michael shoe shopping and after being in the store for three owners Ed, the owner of the store walked over to me and said, "I don't think I have a pair of shoes that will fit this child." I cried. Good times.
This is why I no longer ask how much the shoes are when they fit him. I don't care. Thank g-d for my mom who picks up the tab. Because I have a feeling the choice will soon be college or shoes for this child.
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And I thought buying shoes for Logan was hard… at least I can go to Stride Rite most of the time.
I used to work in a Stride Rite and we regularly fit kids with extra extra wide feet. Do they not have them anymore? We didn’t stock much but I used to special order all kinds of stuff. Do they not do that anymore?
Sorry, after living for years with a women’s size 4.5 foot, I truly sympathize. It sucks. Sorry you, and poor Michael, have to go through that.
My sister goes through the same thing with her 4 year old son. Thank goodness both my kids have standard size shoes, being as I am the cheapest person alive.
Wow, that’s amazing. I feel for you having to wait for hours just to get fitted.
Oh, that is so sad about the light up shoes. My daughter is the opposite and has pretty small feet. At almost 6 she is just getting into size 10. I’m glad you got him sneakers but hope you find him boots. Good luck!
Holy cow, that’s crazy. I would cry too. Has the doctor ever said if his feet will narrow out eventually?
They do make extra wide childrens shoes. I was a shoe store at Lakeforest last week and saw a mother with a son, little older than Michael and all her boys were getting extra wide shoes. I’m not a huge fan of that store in particular, but email me if you want the info.
I know which shoe store you’re talking about. I personally don’t believe it’s worth the hype — my kids were poorly fitted there one time, and I won’t go back. But I know many who do, hence the 3 hour wait.
I’m a HUGE fan of the Shoebox in Lakeforest Mall. Tina is the owner — call to find out when she’ll be there. She’s amazing. My son had major sensory issues when he was little, and he wouldn’t let anyone touch him. Tina would fit J while he was sitting in the stroller, kicking and screaming, with all the patience in the world. Now, many years later, he gives her a big hug every time he goes in there. He also wears an extra wide, and they always have a good selection for him. (We’ve always had great success with New Balance.)
Of course, my “tween” daughter who has a very narrow foot — now THAT’s a challenge — ’cause you have the attitude problem to deal with, too!
dude, that is rough. and no fun for you or him. doesn’t get the cool light up ones. sad. i guess let’s be glad he isn’t a girl. it would be much worse. boys can get away with only having one pair of shoes. not girls so much.
hours to get fitted? terrible.
I have a 17 month old that doesn’t fit into the 18-24 month shoes I got for him either- he is going to be a big boy!
Wow. That makes my simple little trips to Target sound really easy. A three-hour wait time? I’ve never even heard of that.
I also tell my kids that new shoes make them run fast. It works every time.
Shoe Train!
Bless Ed, the best shoe-fitting guy in the D.C. area. My son Ari cannot get shoes anywhere except from Ed. I would marry him, but he is a man and so am I and Marlyland domestic law is still not there yet.
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