Passing shoes on to siblings - very bad idea?

[Sanne Panne]

My daughters are two years apart and both born in the same month so passing clothes on is a no-brainer. I do the same with wellies as they don't get worn that often. Any "proper" shoes like all-season walking shoes I buy new for the little one.

We found this fantastic pair of Umi Sport (Gecko) sandals in the loft today. The soles still look perfect but our eldest did walk on them an entire summer. I'm so tempted to let the little one wear them rather than buy a new pair... is this a very bad idea? They both have the same width size. Could a summer on these sandals be bad for her back/feet?

[Mrs TP]

Let her try them and see if she finds them comfortable or not.

[womanofdulwich]

if they are open toed and sling backs then def ok.

[Sanne Panne]

They seem perfectly comfortable, she ran half a mile in them today and isn't two years old yet. They're mostly open toe - small strap over the middle bit to protect middle toes while climbing.

[womanofdulwich]

will be absolutely fine then.

[echo]

I do, although I also worry..

[Ann]

I agree. My understanding was that day time shoes( esp leather) would mold to the child's growing feet and those moldings could potentially affect another child's growing foot.

Sanne Penne and those of you with very young children - they get more expensive as they get bigger! Please economize when you can.

Would also like to add that Barrett's shoe shop is a local gem that has been with us for very long time and gets little mention on this forum. I for one have happy memories of shoe fittings in that shop.

[Mrs TP]

Leather is not an intelligent entity and will not stop molding just because it has been passed to another child. If shoes are going to mold to a child's foot surely they would continue to mold to a different foot, albeit from a different starting point and perhaps not as pliable as time goes on but if they are in a fit state to look like they would take the wear and tear of another then they probably have a bit of molding left in them.

[etta166]

I have happy memories of being the only one of my siblings (other than oldest) to get new shoes as I have v. narrow feet and all the others have v. wide feet.

I think that if the size and width are the same then it's OK to pass shoes down if they still have use left in them.