Shoes, shoes, shoes.

My family loves shoes. Can you guess my daughter’s first word? Shoe. She is still a shoe lover.

Back to school is quickly approaching and like most parents, I usually use back to school as a time to buy my kids new shoes. I don’t usually go over the top like some. I don’t buy an entire wardrobe for each kid, but they do each get school supplies (depending on age), a new outfit for the first day and a new pair of shoes.

I’m a fan of quality shoes. Some people may think that it’s not worth spending the money on, but the better quality the shoe, the more likely it is to last. Since my daughter is a shoe lover she often begs for cheap fashion shoes… quantity not quality in this case. And when I do give in, she always wears them out within weeks of wearing them. So one $15 pair of shoes that only last about a month before they really start looking shabby doesn’t make much sense to me. I’d rather splurge on the shoes that my kids wear every day and this way they will fit well and they will last!

We headed over to the Geox at Yorkdale here in Toronto and we weren’t disappointed — what a great selection of children’s shoes. I love the quality, they are breathable, comfortable and quite stylish! My kids aren’t required to wear a uniform to school, so while Geox has a great selection of uniform shoes we didn’t spend any time in that section.

Geox at Yorkdale Mall in Toronto has a huge kids section.

Geox’s latest collection includes seven stages designed to fit your little one’s growing feet from ages Newborn to Nine years plus! (You can read more about this new collection here. I love the removable (and washable) insole that allows you to check for fit and growth of your child’s foot. The insole is made of a “memory” material that helps it keep its original shape and I love that it’s made to fight bacteria — say goodbye to smelly shoes.

Patiently waiting to try on shoes.

For starters, I think I’ve been buying my kids the wrong size shoes. Jasbir, store manager of this location, quickly taught me how to fit my kids for shoes. First thing is to measure both feet! One may be bigger than the other, as is the case with one of my kids, so you should always buy for the bigger foot. It’s important to leave space to grow — something that I’ve never really done. There must be space in the front (wiggle room!) and you must be able to fit one finger in the back of the shoe. Do all of this while your child is standing to ensure a perfect fit.

Tip: If you crisscross the laces on your child’s shoes you get a tighter fit!

They really had so many choices for my kids. My six year old wanted shoes with laces. She’s quite proud of her shoe tying skills. My nine year old on the other hand wanted Velcro. While he can tie his shoes, it just takes way too much precious time and he much prefers the quicker option. More time for playing.

The chosen ones.

Our Geox shoe shopping experience was a great one. The manager who helped us every step of the way was very nice and wonderful with my kids. She spoke directly to them, asked them questions and treated them as valued customers. She didn’t mind that my daughter tried on four pairs and that my son was extremely uninterested and only cared about Velcro. I think their favourite part was the gift with purchase. I mean what kid doesn’t like getting a gift? They each got to choose a “Beat Voice” bracelet. Basically a colourful silicone bracelet that records sounds and lights up when you speak into the microphone. They LOVED it! (I think more than the shoes!)

Stylin’

Are you ready for back to school? What is on your must-have back to school shopping list?

Geox provided my children’s shoes for this experience. All opinions are my own.