my not-so-stylish son

Nate doesn't like to wear shoes, which I think is completely normal for babies and toddlers who haven't yet worn them. He has 2 pairs of house-shoe style slippers (one pair with monkey heads on them, the others are what I call "old man slippers"). They are soft and warm, and he doesn't mind them, but he does like taking them off. I put them on him when we go out on cold days.

Then we started going to the park on warm days. He loves being outside, but we live in an apartment, and there's really nowhere for him to play outside here. There's a tiny patch of dirt at the foot of our stairs where he plays, but that's it. On nice days, we will take him out to one of two places: a park with a nice long walking trail where we can push him in his stroller or a park with swing sets for kids in the shade. He loves climbing on things, but just isn't steady enough to do it on his own. His favorite activities are the swing and the slide, especially if it's a slide for smaller children because he can go down it on his own and not fall over.

His second favorite activity is playing in the mulch under the swing set. The first day, we just didn't let him get down on the ground. He was in socks only that day. The next time, I put the old man slippers on him. They were better than nothing, but kind of ridiculous for playing outside. Plus, being fuzzy, I think they still have tiny pieces of mulch stuck to them.

Nate has a really cute pair of Converse All-Star style shoes, which would be more appropriate, but he doesn't like them yet. They are kind of stiff on the bottom, and he isn't used to wearing shoes yet. They're still a bit big, so I figure I have time to get him used to wearing shoes before he outgrows them.

Every time we go to the mall, we cruise the shoe stores. I try shoes on him, he screams, I take them off, and we go home. I started thinking he may only tolerate crib shoes (the ones with very soft flexible soles), which rarely come in a size 5, but then one day, we found sandals.
He didn't make a fuss at all when I put them on his feet. He even walked around the store in them for a while. He seemed to not mind them at all. They were on sale for $10, so we absolutely bought them! They are now his "playing outside shoes."

I'm afraid to try them on him without socks. At the store, he was wearing socks. In my mind, if I put them on him without socks, the straps will bother his feet, and he will suddenly begin hating them. He is stubborn enough to remember how he hates them even if I try to put them on him with socks the next time. Then, we will be right back where we started, playing in the park in socks or old man slippers, and I will never again get shoes on those feet. Maybe that's a little irrational, but I'm still not ready to break the magic of the socks with sandals.
Let's go play outside!

QOTW: You know what? When the doors close, just say "go." Better.

Comments

  1. Socks with sandals is stylish for old men, too! ;-)

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  2. Cool! A 14 month-old Old Man.
    Hey, when I'm with HIM, can I wear socks with MY sandals, too?

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  3. Nate has style all his own. Don't be saying my grandson doesn't have style. It just isn't for everyone.

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  4. Quote from Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me

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