How To Pick The Right Shoes For Your Toddler

This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of Stride Rite for IZEA. All opinions are 100% mine.

Let’s face it…three-year-olds are not concerned with things like how they look when they head off to preschool. They’re too busy running, playing, and being super heroes or princesses to care about much else. Us moms, on the other hand, want our little ones to be comfortable, cute, and we want shoes that last.

So, the key is to find the perfect mix of totally styling, while also being crazy comfortable…and let’s not forget super durable. Because I have been there, and I know how difficult shoe shopping for a toddler can be, I bring you all my knowledge when it comes to picking the right shoes for your toddler.

The first thing you will want to do is, you will want to give your toddler lots of ice cream. You want them to be really alert for this, because it’s a big deal!

Once you’ve got your toddler properly sugar’d up. You will want to give him a big selection to choose from.

The other day I took my nephew to Target to look for new shoes, and when I saw the Stride Rite display, I was flooded with childhood memories. Stride Rite were the only shoes I wore. My biggest memory, I think, was getting to pick out the new pair each year for school. Seeing the display with their new Surprize by Stride Rite (available for the first time only at Target,…they can be purchased at all US Target locations and online at Target.com, fyi) made me want to build similar memories for my nephew (Surprize for boys). (and if you have a girl Surprize for girls has you covered, there, too!)

Just like when I was a kid, the selection was amazing. These shoes have a generous fit and all memory foam footbeds, ensuring great comfort for my nephew. He’s three, so we looked at a few different styles. The shoes have very flexible outsoles allowing for an agile, natural step and growth. Which is perfect since he grows an inch spontaneously every time I close my eyes. These were his favorites, and the ones we brought home. My favorite part on them are the rubber toes to insure durability…even when he’s pretending to be indestructible. Thing about shopping for shoes (or anything else) for kiddo’s is to remember they have their own style. What I love about these shoes is that he got to pick out the pair he loved best, and I know they fit him perfectly, look adorably cute on him, and even when he decides he’s a super hero I know these shoes are going to last.

So there it is…my big secret: start with ice cream, finish with letting them have some decision in what they wear. Because, after all, isn’t parenting all about helping them make their own decisions in the end, anyway? And with these Surprize by Stride Rite shoes I knew no matter which ones he picked, we were both going home happy. Which Surprize shoes would your toddler have picked? Let me know! Shop Surprize by Stride Rite (I love the cute little smiley-faced bottoms So Much!)