‘Brought to you by Clarks’
My kid is funny, when she’s at school she wants to be on holidays, but after just a few weeks of Summer holidays, she can’t wait to get back to school again! Emma had a great Prep year and is so keen to be a big grade 1 girl. As a parent I sent her off to school at the start of last year with a little trepidation, would she cope with all the demands expected of her? Well she did more than that, she thrived!
The one thing that did not survive were her school shoes! Stupidly I made the mistake of buying a cheap pair off the rack, they looked pretty robust but boy was I wrong. Emma is a super active kid and she absolutely destroyed them, in fact, she managed to wear out a pair of school shoes and a pair of sports shoes last year before she grew out of them. My skimping at the start of the year and then having to fork out for 3 pairs of shoes, actually cost me more than investing in a quality pair of Clarks school shoes from the beginning. Rookie error, I won’t make that same mistake again.
So this year we are getting off on the right foot and heading to school in a properly fitted pair of Clarks shoes. With over 170 years of caring for kids growing feet, they’re the experts in making shoes that are ‘school proof’ and will stand up to anything Emma can throw at them.
I’ve asked Emma what style of shoe she’d prefer to wear this year – after all, kids spend around 30 hours a week in their school shoes so it’s not only important that they are comfortable, kids should feel happy and confident wearing them too.
Emma’s school shoe requirements:
Velcro fastening
Shoe laces are still a bit tricky for Emma so Velcro straps make everyone’s life easier. She is very self reliant and it’s important for her to be able to dress independently in the mornings. If Velcro straps means we are out the door quicker in the mornings, I’m all for it.
Sporty
With sports activities and PE about 2-3 days a week, as well as lots of hard core play at recess and lunchtime, Emma found it more comfortable to wear runners to school every day. I must admit that constantly changing timetables meant that she would occasionally wear the wrong shoes to school so in the end it’s just better to go for a sports shoe option.
My school shoe requirements:
Correct fit
Clarks provide the ‘PERFECT FIT’. Clarks specialist trained fitters carry out a 10 step check, to find the one perfect fit for your child.
Durable and easy to clean
Emma literally tore her shoes to shreds last year so this year’s school shoes need to be tough.
So which shoe did we chose? Drum roll please…
Ventura - An all-purpose leather school shoe with Velcro-straps and a removable innersole so that as your child’s feet grow the shoe will too.
They meet all our requirements with the added bonus that I won’t have to buy both school shoes and sports shoes this year. Emma’s school allows white running shoes as a uniform option, so it’s a win win.
It also means that she can comfortably and safely play, run, jump and skip without the limitations of inferior footwear – and that’s the most important thing to me.
To see the full range of Clarks School shoes visit their website www.clarks.com.au or get fitted at your local stockist.
It’ll be interesting to see how the white goes. I guess it’s just a case of soap and water and a bit of white polish. I’m a Clarks girl too. My Mum and Dad gave my daughter a voucher to one of the local Clarks outlets (in Perth) when she was about two I think (she’s now four and about to start kindy) that gives a free pair after you buy a certain amount of pairs … I think five pairs??? Which is a pretty good deal really. Another blog I follow has done a little project on how different shoes last each year. You might have heard of Be A Fun Mum? The latest link is here (https://beafunmum.com/2016/01/how-long-does-school-shoes-last/). I recall last years was very similar in the end product as well. It seems it’s well worth spending more. i bought a pair of slip-ons at Kmart for my daughter just before Christmas and they lasted less than a week!!!!
Yes, hopefully the white should scrub up ok. I’ve been known to throw sneakers in the washing machine and they come up looking as good as new, but I’m not sure you can wash these in the machine because they are leather. I usually use a nail brush and soapy water in that case. Kelly’s blog is great. Thanks for the post link.
My parents instilled in me the necessity of having children’s shoes properly fitted. My kids are grown now and I am a grandma but when my kids were in school I always bought Clarks shoes for school.iI was a single mom with four kids but I tried never to scrimp on shoes. Clarks experts always knew how to fit the shoes and as you found out it is cheaper in the long run to pay a bit more,
Looking forward to seeing how these hold up.