My wife dragged me into clarks on sunday to but our kid their first shoes. I nearly baulked at the £30 we had to shell out for them.

I have seen shoes in Next and mother care at 1/2 the price, ae they really worth the extra expence???

The thing with cheaper shoes, is that they often tend to be made from plastic or man made materials rather than Leather. I would always check what they are made of before buying!!

As for Clarks, they are more expensive, but they tend to be better quality and you get the different widths which are tailored for your kids feet. I personally think the extra cost is worth it

I would swear by Clarks shoes, well for kids anyway, I wouldnt buy them for myself, as thats where my dad gets his shoes from

As for the kids, you want to do the best for them, and having correctly fitting shoes is a must, as incorrectly fitting shoes could lead to growth problems or deformaties of the feet.

Clarks staff are trained in how to measure a kids feet correctly and will give you the correct shoe size, and also the correct width fitting.

I do however get where you are coming from on the price, but in the long run I would rather spend an extra £10 pounds every couple of months for the peace of mind.

We have spent more on shoes for my 2 year old in the last year than I think my wife has, and that is a challenge!!

Whilst I am no expert when it comes to shoes, I am guessing that at an age when feet are growing so fast, getting the best fit and durability out of a shoe is very important. So, we have always had one pair of Clarks I must admit, getting them properly fitted etc. That said, however, we bought some from Asda for about £5 recently (kept losing the one pair and when in a rush needed the 'spare' and but for the lack of flashing heel seem fine.

In the summer we got some 'surfer-type slips-ons' which are easy to pop on for about £5 and he liked them as well.

But his favourite shoes which he wears everywhere that he can get away with are his 'Thomas the tank engine' slippers. Again, just £5 from somewhere, but a good solid rubber base. Not sure if it is the subject matter on them or the quality but if he is anything to go by, the extra £25 we could have spent on clarks would be better spent on Chocolate!!! Especially as they can grow so quickly.

I think Clarke sare worth it but we lways wait for the sales or an offer. Also because they grow so quickly do not rule out looking at nearly new sales.
You can shell out good money for a pair of shoes that just don't fit in four months time. I also think what are they wearing them for. By that I mean if they are going to be running around outside a lot then they must be durable,fit and be comfortable. If they are going to be inside and are just for pottering around then something a bit more flimsy will suffice.
Going into winter don't forget wellies. They are pretty cheap,very durable and the kids love em with all the funky designs on them etc.

Enjoy the sales!!

I think the most important thing is.... .do they still do Clark's Commando's? and do you still get a funky badge when you buy your shoes? If not then I will be very disappointed