Only to keep their socks from slipping off.

My six-month-old twin boys have never worn shoes. At home, my husband and I keep the boys barefoot, and we put socks on them when we go out, although they've gone to daycare before without socks. I have a coworker with a seven-month-old girl who buys her baby shoes constantly - the kid has sneakers, formal shoes, and a pair of baby flip flops. This coworker is horrified that DH and I haven't got a shoe wardrobe going for our boys. What's your opinion? Do our non-walking little guys need shoes, or are the socks sufficient until they start walking?

The only reason for an infant to wear shoes is to keep the socks on, I think. That, and baby Chuck Taylors are ridiculously cute. There's absolutely no need for baby shoes.

our tinyness didn't own shoes till she was 8 months, and they were a gift! ditto with the socks being sufficient.

Yep. I didn't buy shoes for Max until he was a decent walker. Ok I put him in Robies when he started walking but those are just glorified slippers really.

My 7.5 month old doesn't wear shoes. He's had shoes, as gifts. When it's cold, I put socks on him. When it's hot, barefoot is fine with me. I've heard some comments when we're strolling around the grocery store, but I don't care. There's no reason for him to have shoes. Now, once he's walking and standing, I'll buy him some Robeez to shuffle around in. I love those things. My 2nd daughter wore them forever. Yes, they're like slippers, but they protect the tootsies without making it hard to walk.

Shoes are completely unnecessary, and even after babies start taking first steps, at home they're better off in bare feet. I only used a bootie/slipper type thing in the winter over socks to keep everything toastie.

I've been tempted by the Robeez and the baby Chuck Taylors...now I've got a good excuse to buy some Robeez in a couple of months!

Our baby wears little bootie/slipper things that should like what Ruth's talking about.

I've always heard that shoes aren't good for baby feet. Occasional wear - because those teensy Chucks are SO cute- is supposedly fine. Early walkers do better barefoot, or so I've been told.

"sound like what Ruth's talking about." Oops.

I think baby shoes are more decorative than functional. I didn't like them b/c they always fell off- so no shoes for my daughter 'till she walked. When it was warm, she was barefoot- even walking. I probably did something bad/permanent to her feet by not making her wear shoes in the summer. Hopefully she has good health insurance when she grows up. sigh.

I've been wondering the same thing recently, since littleshoes is starting to toddle, but decided to wait until he's a little more sure on his feet.

I think they're purely decorative although if you live somewhere cold then they're better than just socks but again you can go with a warm slipper.

Some people are shoe people and some people aren't. I think the people who have lots of baby shoes do it because they're shoe people.

I've heard that baby shoes actually slow down kids on learning to walk. The flexi sole ones like Robeez or Isabooties are supposed to be ok, but hard soles are a big no-no. We didn't buy shoes until we left Texas for the Frigid North in December.

Big O only wore shoes when she was walking in some place other than our house.

We never bothered with socks because they stayed on feet for five seconds. Eventually we bought each girl a pair of Robeez "crib shoes" and lined boots. Gotta say, the boots were awesome when it was cold because we could skip socks and they were so easy to get on & off. Robeez are machine washable, too.

We didn't buy shoes until they were walking for a while. FYI: Stride Rite has toddler shoes in stages - for crawling, cruising but still crawling, and walking.

We inherited our friend's baby shoes and there were DOZENS of pairs. Wasted on us!

I'm with the crowd -- totally unnecessary until they are walking and need to protect their feet.

We found that Baby Gap socks were the best at staying on, and bought them in quantity at the outlets.

we got told that shoes will force feet to develop "wrong". and they also cut down on vital sensitivity (like learning how to roll the foot to find your balance etc). We were told to only use socks, booties, anything soft fabric. No hard leather soles or anything.

Our bub wears socks that have rubber polka dots on the soles to help with grip on a slippery floor, and keep feet warm, but don't inhibit her foot growth or sensitivity.

There are something like 250 bones in the human body (as an adult that is) and i think that more of a quarter of them are located in the feet. Worth taking care of them, i reckon. the feet on a baby grow so fast that any "undue" pressure can cause deformity.

First shoes are required when baby is actually walking, not when crawling or coasting. And should fit around the heel firmly, if they're sandals, get ones with straps. Don't get slip ons, no good for developing feet.

You probably already know this, but don't get second-hand shoes ever. And get the best quality you can afford, even though they'll outgrow them quickly. Cos you spend something like 1/3 of your life on your feet, they need to be up to the task. Strong foundations build strong houses, and all that.

PS the lady buying all those shoes for her little girl may as well be foot-binding her. She is NOT doing her any favours. (But then it's pretty common for women to put fashion before comfort and even safety and often sanity.) I feel kind of sorry for her daughter. One can only hope she isn't permanently damaged by it. (Although the woman sounds obsessed, so the chance of natural unhindered growth is slim.)

No second hand shoes ever! Sorry to "yell" but it can really mess your kid feet up. The first kid to wear the shoes shapes them to their feet. Then second kid comes along and the shoes warp their feet. Not like horrible mutant feet but enough to cause problems.

My MIL still doesn't get this. She gets shoes for all her grandkids at yard sales. I just throw them out when we get home.

our little guy wears shoes when we go out. mostly because my aunt got some fancy-ass ones designed by a podiatrist (why? i dunno. they're 0-6 months, so no walking there) and i would feel bad not using them. i have found, however, that they protect his feet from getting bumped or smushed on the subway (since he's always in the moby with his feet hanging out).

Slippers and the like are handy for little kids, and both my kids wore a sorta soft mukluck thing over their feet in the winter (it's Canada) but until they're walking outdoors, shoes on babies are decorative or protective.

Personally, I'm not totally convinced that shoes warp your feet or that not wearing shoes gives extra benefits either. Everyone has to learn to do some walking with barefeet, and some with footwear.

MttM - boy #2 is wearing boy #1's shoes all the time. So far his feet don't seem warped. If I paid $50 for the stride rights then I'm getting more than one use out of them. He wears his brother's old underpants too.

I wouldn't buy them off garage sales though - we keep our warping in the family.

I bought a cute pair of Mary Janes that my daughter wore for a few minutes to get some portraits done. Other than that, no shoes until she was walking outside of the house.