10 Best Squeaky Shoes for Toddlers Reviewed in 2024 | WalkJogRun (2024)

In a Hurry? Editors choice:

Test Winner: Mooshu Stella

Table of contents

In Depth Review Top 10

• Standout Picks
• Criteria Used for Evaluation
• Our Favorites
• Sources

• Wee Girls Lexi Silver
• Dark Brown Cowboy Boot
• Mooshu Stella
• Oaisnit High Top
• Ella Unicorn Mary Jane
• HLT Fisherman Loafer
• Little Mae's Mary Jane
• Ikiki On/Off Switch
• Sofia Sassy Sequin
• Little Mae's Boutique Navy

Shopping for shoes for a toddler who is just learning how to walk is a bit different from shopping for shoes for adults. If an adult shoe is uncomfortable, tight, or causing pain – it’s not a big deal. Sure, it’s not pleasant, and we would all love to have cloud-like comfortable shoes, but we either endure it, fix it with band-aids, cushion inserts or long break-in periods, or discard them altogether.

But when it comes to children whose feet are still growing and are just beginning to understand the concept of heel to toe walking – a bad pair of shoes can be detrimental to progress. So what are some of the important factors to consider when buying shoes for children?

Fastening System

Go for shoes that have laces, velcro, or any other fastening system because these prevent too much movement in the shoe. Try to avoid backless or slip-on shoes, as your child can easily take them off, or simply lose them throughout the course of the day.

Velcro is easy, no muss no fuss. You can get the shoes on quickly and don’t have to bother retying shoelaces all day. However, your kid is smart and will probably figure out how to unfasten the velcro and remove their shoes, and it will most likely happen at the worst possible moment.

Therefore, you might actually want to go with laces, so that it’s a bit more complicated to take the shoes off. You should ensure that the laces are long enough that you can make a double knot.

Materials

Look for soft leather or canvas materials. Not only are they more durable than synthetic materials – and thus saving you money in the long run – they are also lightweight and breathable. They won’t unnecessarily restrict your child’s foot – the leather especially is a supple material that adapts and conforms to the shape of the foot with time and allows the foot to develop naturally. They will also promote a healthy climate and won’t cause unpleasant odors of the feet. Your kid’s feet will be dry and cool, without any blisters or discomfort.

Arguably the most important part of the shoe, we have several ways to determine whether the sole of the shoe is good enough for a walking beginner:

Flexibility

The sole should be thick and sturdy enough to protect the feet from pain and injury and actually provide some insulation from the ground, but also flexible enough to move with the foot during walking. The American Academy of Pediatrics warns that stiff or compressive footwear may cause deformity, loss of mobility, and weakness.

The best way to check if the shoe is flexible enough is to bend it. If it bends in the toe, somewhat – meaning not too much – then it’s perfect. Another test you can do is to twist the shoe. A child’s shoe should have a rigid middle area, meaning that it shouldn’t twist in the middle.

Texture

Look for patterned or textured soles. These will give your child enough traction and prevent slipping on smooth surfaces. The best material for the sole would be non-slip rubber.

While it may be cute and charming, try to avoid heels on children’s shoes. They are particularly bad for proper foot development and for learning the mechanics of walking. You should stick to flat shoes and even soles.

In order to match the natural shape of the foot – as children usually have wider feet – the front of the shoe should be wider than the heel. The shoe should also have a solid heel counter (the part of the shoe that wraps around the heel). When you press on both sides of it, it shouldn’t collapse. The heel counter should fit snugly around your child’s foot. Padded toplines provide additional comfort to the heel and ankle.

Lastly, check for excessive wear of the heel as your child walks. Uneven heel wear can be an indication of a foot problem that should be checked by an orthopedist or pedorthist.

Toe area: Toes of your little one should have enough wiggle room. There should be about half an inch space from their big toe to the top of the shoe. Also consider choosing closed-toed shoes over open-toed ones, because open toes don’t offer a lot of protection to someone who’s just learning how to walk.

If you’ve decided to get a pair of shoes with squeakers for your child, knowing how to ensure that squeakers work properly can make life considerably easier. These parts are small mechanisms that work by creating noise every time air passes through them – with each of your child’s steps, there’s airflow through the mechanism, meaning that it will create the noise that we all know as squeaking.

However, there are certain circ*mstances under which the squeaker on the shoe may stop working. First and foremost, it is possible that there’s no noise coming from them because your child is not taking their steps properly. Some manufacturers put the squeakers in the heel area of the shoe to only encourage proper, heel to toe walking. This means that if your kid walks on their tippy-toes, their shoes won’t be making any noises.

It’s also possible that the squeaker is damaged, and that’s why it’s not performing as it should. If your child has been wearing their favorite shoes in sand or water, you can be positive the squeakers are done for. Luckily, this is easy to repair on most models that have replaceable squeakers. You can purchase a pack of the mechanisms online for a cheap price and replace the broken ones found in your kids' shoes. Note that not all squeakers will make the same noise, so it is best to replace the mechanisms on both shoes.

To assess each of the products on our list for durability, we not only read through thousands of customer reviews on our recommended products, but we also looked for some of the hallmarks of quality construction. From brand name reputation to their initial smell out of the box, there are a few ways of identifying a well-built, made-to-last product.

The Details

A zipper that doesn’t zip or snaps? Poor threading technique? A smelly, chemical residue on the shoe when you open the box? All these details were looked for and evaluated when assigning a score for durability.

Materials

Certain materials last longer than others, even if that comes at the expense of a higher score in the “comfort” criterion. Materials that are synthetic, thicker and firmer tend to score higher on durability.

Product Purpose

A shoe made for running and high-impact sports will not likely last as long as a good pair of general activity shoes and that’s okay. Being aware of the shoe’s purpose is critical for you as a reader and for us as a reviewer.

Although shoes that will last longer score higher on this criterion, you might also see high scores to shoes with a more limited durability, if that product was specifically designed for certain purposes that involve high-impact and high-stress motions. We take into account the type of shoes you are trying to purchase when assigning scores to shoes in this criterion.

Brand Name

A product is a promise made, but a brand is a promise kept. A brand name is often a signal of quality and consistency in construction and durability from product to product. Although there are always exceptions to this rule, quite often brands that perform continue to perform. Brand names on our list tend to score higher in the durability score.

The final word on durability is that a higher score on this metric means the product will last longer than its competitors, given similar shoe purpose, type, age and usage. Again, it never hurts to read some customer reviews before hitting the “buy” button.

• Standout Picks
• Criteria Used for Evaluation
• Our Favorites
• Sources

• Wee Girls Lexi Silver
• Dark Brown Cowboy Boot
• Mooshu Stella
• Oaisnit High Top
• Ella Unicorn Mary Jane
• HLT Fisherman Loafer
• Little Mae's Mary Jane
• Ikiki On/Off Switch
• Sofia Sassy Sequin
• Little Mae's Boutique Navy