Have you ever wondered what are the best shoes for you baby or toddler as they discover the world and start to walk? I bet you have and so have I, I have gone through as many as 10 pairs of shoes for my little 15-month old toddler Mia. Not because she walks so much that she wears them out, I mean most of the 10 pairs of shoes I have for her are still wearable and literally brand new. As a mum, I find it very difficult to find what is the best sort of shoe for little Mia as her feet are still growing and developing. I found that first I started off with some toddler Winter warmers, the ones that are a woolly boot but don’t have much of a sole to them. This was okay at the start then I found that they didn’t provide much of a support. Ballet style flats look great and after all I just wanted my little one to look like her mum but these shoes aren’t really useless for growing feet and a bit too restrictive especially if you have to do up the buckles every time. The podiatrist advised me against it no matter how strong my temptation was as it could “do more harm than good at this age.”
So next I tried other shoes, including hard sole zip up boots, to a pair of runners to crocs. But what I found with all these shoes were that the boots were too cumbersome and heavy for my growing toddler, and I even tried a pair of toddler Nikes with Velcro straps. I have to admit the Velcro straps did make it easier when I had to put on the shoes and it was definitely light enough but it was still a bit bulky for her to trot around comfortably in. With runners, the end of the shoe also comes in which restricts Mia when her feet are still growing so I was still in need of a shoe and a couple months ago just by chance I bumped into a girlfriend of mine who started taking her son to the same childcare centre as Mia and I noticed that her son Riley was wearing some strange looking shoes like Ronald McDonald. Yes! Ronald McDonald the clown. So I couldn’t resist my curiosity and so had to ask the question. What I found was these shoes were called Attpas shoes. That very night I did a bit of searching and digging on where I can get these shoes and sure enough you can get them through attipas.com.au. These shoes were released in 2011 after 7 years of research and development. They say these shoes are a Walking Science, based on the research they’ve done with Toddlers walking and now they’re internationally patented. I was sold right there and then, I quickly ordered up 2 pairs of Attipas Shoes for Mia a size 4.5 and another 5.5 just in case they were that good.
I have to say here is my take on it so for the past 2 months:
Convenience
They are easy slip on shoes, pretty much like a sock but have a sole lightweight sole base attached to them which makes them fairly easy to slip on and stay on and it is all machine washable. The sole is also no slip which is definitely what you need for little toddlers that fall over 20 times a day.
Breathability
They have tiny holes at the bottom so that heat can escape and cool down the feet. So if you don’t want musky smelling shoes from all the sweat. Then this definitely helps, the only down side of it is that they aren’t really an outdoor type of shoe if you are expecting rain and a few puddles, because it is sock like then it will soak pretty quickly and having those tiny holes means puddles are a no-no.
Shape
Going to the Ronald McDonald look, I now understand why these shoes are shaped in such a way. Just to support the growing nature of Mia’s feet. Naturally our feet grow in a way where our heel part is narrow and gradually gets wider towards our toes. So therefore the shoes are made exactly the same shape to support the growth of toddler feet so it doesn’t restrict the growth in any way. So shape is great and beside which toddler doesn’t want to have shoes that look like Ronald.
Weight
These shoes are the lightest shoes I’ve ever come across for toddlers, just like feather weight. I was surprised to feel how light they were when they arrived in the mail. Simply because these shoes are half sock like it makes them very light weight and the soles are not bulky but just a thin layer. So having these shoes on makes them look like they are walking naturally without any shoes.
So overall, I recommend theses shoes to any parents out there who are looking for some great shoes to assist their little toddler walk for the first time. Although they may not be everyday walking shoes and may not be the best on gravel surfaces or dirt but the fact is when your toddler is learning to walk for the first time it most likely will be on very flat surfaces where the terrain is quite even which makes these Attipas shoes ideal for a first walker.