# extra wide chubby baby/toddler feet = ALWAYS needing wide?



## knowerofnada (Dec 4, 2006)

Ok, I realize I've posted alot about this. But it's really been on my mind. Sorry









Does anone have an older child who wore wide or extra-wide baby/toddler shoes, but no longer needs them?

I don't want my DD to have to deal with having to find wide shoes her whole life. I am hoping that her wide chubby feet will eventually be of normal size. Not that it matters THAT much, but it is somehwat of a pain to find the wide shoes. Nobody else in my family wears wide shoes, including my 2 year old.

On a sidenote, I'm an OT and my PT colleagues were all exchanging looks today when I was moaning about her wide feet and having a time with shoes. They started suggesting I get her evaluated for PT SOLEY based on that. And actually, she is having an early intervention assessment this weekend because of low muscle tone issues, abd when I said that, they seemed to all be thinking SOMETHING, although they would never say what. What in the world?? Since when are wide feet indicative of a phsyical condition? es anyone know anymore detail? They remained very elusive and I could not getting anything more straightforward out of them.....I am so perplexed at this. I can't find anything online, either...


----------



## Semi_Crunchy (Jul 1, 2007)

I don't usually pop in over here but I was researching something for a friend and your thread caught my eye. I don't have kids yet but am basing my answer on the fact that I work for Stride Rite for 5 years. Something I noticed is that A LOT of lil ones start off with wide to extra wide feet. We sold more of those than we did regular widths. Now I realize that since the company specializes in different widths that a lot of our customers were coming in because wide widths are hard to find. But I dealt with hundreds of families in my 5 years and most of them are repeat customers that I got to know very well. And not all obviously but a lot of the kids tend to grow out of it. Their feet/bones are still forming the first couple of years and I think a lot of what makes their feet chubby is the extra cartilage to protect their feet until they are formed. I had some kids go from extra wide baby/toddler feet to eventually having narrow feet. So try not to worry too much about it (easier said than done I know!).


----------



## Kellie_MO4 (Jan 14, 2006)

I do think most chubby babes will have chubby feet, and as they thin out and grow their feet will, as well...


----------



## tatermom (Jun 11, 2005)

DS1 had super wide feet and now he is normal, possibly needing a wide depending on the style of the shoe. DS2 has super wide feet right now and I'm sure his will narrow with age somewhat as well. I wouldn't worry if I were you!


----------



## ~Katie~ (Mar 18, 2007)

My 14 month DS has huge feet, size 7 XXW. I think its pretty common for toddlers to have chubby feet as others have said, all of the shoe salespeople I've spoken with seem to agree that wide feet are a part of baby/toddlerhood. You may find better luck having her custom fitted for shoes, we buy shoes from Soft Star because it takes a lot of the hassle out of finding shoes that fit. I've never heard of wide feet being indicative of a problem.


----------



## vrclay (Jun 12, 2007)

I had fat feet as a baby, toddler, child and now as an adult. Not sure that's what you want to hear.

I had to buy my little guy wide shoes that cost a small fortune and I called my mom as I left the store. We both got a good laugh about me having a fat footed kid. The good news is there are LOTS more options now and easier ways to find wide shoes. We love Jumping Jacks. We were lucky to find some summer sandal like shoes at a very good price.


----------



## notneb (Aug 31, 2006)

It depends on the baby. We're anticipating that DS will continue to have wide feet because both DH and I have wide feet, but I've known several kids whose feet were wide when they were chunky babies/toddlers who have average or narrow feet now that they are older.


----------



## kirstenb (Oct 4, 2007)

DS wears a 6XW. I am hoping that they will thin out as he gets older because I agree that it can be hard (and expensive!) to find shoes that fit properly. Both DH and I have normal width feet hopefully he will take after us! No one has ever mentioned that he should be evaluated for PT based on his foot size though...


----------



## lolar2 (Nov 8, 2005)

I've had wide feet my whole life. When I wore size 7 shoes (preteen) and smaller, I was able to find shoes that fit in Taiwan and China-- I assume a Chinatown would work too-- because I guess Chinese shoes tend to be wider. Now that I wear size 9 as an adult, I can't really get Chinese shoes but I haven't had a whole lot of trouble. Nordstrom always has shoes that fit me. And Reebok athletic shoes work well for wide feet. My shoes cost more than average but it's just something I plan for.

DS has wide feet too, at least for now, so I just always buy him Stride-Rite shoes because I know they will fit. My mom was always trying to take me around to stores to find shoes that were more of a bargain, or something, and it always ended up with me either in tears from not finding anything or getting blisters from wearing badly-fitting shoes. I would have been better off with fewer shoes that fit properly.

I get DS's Stride-Rite shoes a few sizes up, in wide, off of ebay, to save a little money. You may just have to accept that your DD will require somewhat more expensive shoes. Consider it a medical expense to prevent blisters.

If you want fancier shoes, Capezio dance stores often have fancier-looking girls' shoes in different widths.


----------



## readytobedone (Apr 6, 2007)

DD is 18 months and wearing a 6.5 wide. the worker at stride rite told me wide shoes are very common in toddlers and it doesn't mean she'll always need them.


----------



## katheek77 (Mar 13, 2007)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *knowerofnada* 
Ok, I realize I've posted alot about this. But it's really been on my mind. Sorry









Does anone have an older child who wore wide or extra-wide baby/toddler shoes, but no longer needs them?

I don't want my DD to have to deal with having to find wide shoes her whole life. I am hoping that her wide chubby feet will eventually be of normal size. Not that it matters THAT much, but it is somehwat of a pain to find the wide shoes. Nobody else in my family wears wide shoes, including my 2 year old.

On a sidenote, I'm an OT and my PT colleagues were all exchanging looks today when I was moaning about her wide feet and having a time with shoes. They started suggesting I get her evaluated for PT SOLEY based on that. And actually, she is having an early intervention assessment this weekend because of low muscle tone issues, abd when I said that, they seemed to all be thinking SOMETHING, although they would never say what. What in the world?? Since when are wide feet indicative of a phsyical condition? es anyone know anymore detail? They remained very elusive and I could not getting anything more straightforward out of them.....I am so perplexed at this. I can't find anything online, either...


I had REALLY wide feet as a child until I hit about 5/6. As in, my mom had to have my shoes special-ordered. Then I went through a bit of a growth spurt/slimming down, and I didn't need wide shoes after that. I now wear regular size shoes.

I know nothing about the wide feet/PT connection. I didn't have any problems, but, I know anecdote doesn't equal data.


----------



## megababymomma (Apr 12, 2007)

My DS is still in WW shoes, but is only 17 mos so we'll see how that goes... BUT I had chubby WW baby feet and by the time I got to be a kid I was in narrow shoes. Didn't need wide again until a lot of weight gain and pregnancy.


----------



## artgoddess (Jun 29, 2004)

My son had to wear the double X wide shoes and now at almost 5 is just in wides. When I was a kids I wore wide shoes. Probably until I was...oh... 8? but by the time I was in Jr high and really cared about what kind of shoes I wore I was fine in regular women's shoes.


----------



## ShwarmaQueen (Mar 28, 2008)

I wore Striderite WW as a baby and still have wide feet, and YES, it is a HUGE PITA to find shoes that fit! But, then again my own mother and father both had WW feet.

DD didn't wear WW as a baby or now (wears a 10 M), thankfully I think she got DH's genes there. If neither you nor your DH have WW feet, I don't think you have anything to worry about!


----------

