Baby needs a new pair of shoes!
January 24, 2009
Okay Internets, I need your help. My 2.5-year-old Percy, who has an Autism Spectrum Disorder, has outgrown his shoes. His FAVORITE shoes. The ONLY shoes he will let us place on his feet. And I CAN’T find any more ANYWHERE!
The shoes of which I write were purchased at ToysRUs. Until recently they were not only a toy store but also a Kids’RUs and sold older childrens’ clothing. I had great luck with finding clothes and ESPECIALLY shoes there. They had these great canvas velcro shoes by Koala Kids that looked adorable, held up great, and were even okay for places like church. I would buy one pair for play & one for, well, NOT play. And the price was AWESOME… under $10, and sometimes on sale for $5. I have been buying those shoes for YEARS and both Thomas and Percy have had them in several sizes. It’s no wonder Percy thinks that THEY are what shoes are supposed to be! But alas, ToysRUs has since stopped selling all but BABY clothing items. When I found out I was officially bummed. Now that this problem has begun I am beyond bummed, I am DISTRAUGHT! WE NEED THOSE SHOES!
I tried to google them and could not find anyone who carried these specific Koala Kids shoes. I looked up Koala Kids and even Koala Baby and couldn’t even find a website for the company. I called the 800 number for ToysRUs to see if they possibly still carried them online, no luck. They didn’t even know how to put me in touch with the Koala people. The operator suggested I try KoalaKids.com, but that was also a dead-end. I looked at similar types of shoes online, even Keds, but none were close enough to the Beloved. Plus they were all around $30!!!! So sorry, I am not spending THIRTY BUCKS on shoes for my rapidly growing preschooler!
Some of you who are unfamiliar with Autism may at this point be saying to yourself, “Just MAKE him wear the new shoes. He has to learn how to adapt and do what he is told.” I wish it were that easy. One of the characteristics of Autism is rigid behavior and EXTREME resistance to change. The Autism Symptoms Checklist states that “Children with Autism tend to prefer established behavior patterns and a set environment.” And my Percy wants his shoes!
I have unsuccessfully tried to bribe him with CARS shoes, and even THOMAS THE TANK ENGINE shoes. I have tried to get his DADDY to put different shoes on him, and even Daddy couldn’t do it (he LOVES his Daddy!). Nothing works. Young Percy will kick and cry and scream and squirm and carry on in every effort to resist the offending footwear. And if, by sheer force, we do manage to place said shoes upon his feet, he will cry nonstop until we take them off. Many a time we have sighed and given up, placing the worn out, tiny blue shoes back upon his cramped toeses. And Percy will laugh out loud in absolute JOY. My baby is SO HAPPY when we put the RIGHT shoes on his feet.
And so, dear Internets, I turn to you for help. WHAT AM I GOING TO DO??? We are running out of time, and his shoes are running out of space! And treads! If any of you know how I can contact the Koala Kids corporation, or a company that carries their brand, I would be SO incredibly grateful. OR if you happen upon some shoes that are similar enough to the Beloved AND not ridiculously expensive.
I am also open to advice on how to encourage Percy that change is GOOD. Have any of you dealt with similar behavior? How did you handle it?
Come on, Internets, don’t let me down!
Entry Filed under: Autism Spectrum Disorders, Parenting, children, special needs. Tags: autism, blue canvas velcro shoes, children, Koala Kids, Parenting, resistance to change, special needs, Toys R Us.
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1.
lynnes | January 25, 2009 at 12:18 pm
G also gets stuck on shoes and will only wear one particular brand. I think because they’re very flexible and allow him to walk on his toes easily. His OT wants us to put him in heavy and stiff boots to force him to walk on his heels, and we’ve tried somewhat but it is such a struggle. I’m just not willing to take on that battle yet! I have G shop online with me and pick out the color and style he wants and then when the shoes arrive he’s excited to see what he picked out. Then he only wears those shoes until they get too small or fall apart – although I’ve finally convinced him to wear snowboots when necessary.
The only shoes I’ve found similar to Percy’s so far are Converse sneakers for $25. But I’ll keep looking!
2.
Goldie | January 25, 2009 at 2:25 pm
Lynne, sorry you have to struggle. Toe walking is tricky. A friend of mine had to put some sort of uncomfortable corrective device on her child’s feet because of toe walking. Over time it had caused the ligaments to shorten from lack of proper streching, so eventually the child could ONLY walk on her toes.
Thanks for keeping an eye out for our shoes. Had I known ahead of time about this change I would have TOTALLY stocked up! -sigh-
3.
mama mara | January 25, 2009 at 5:23 pm
I just checked eBay and saw a number of Koala shoes up for bid! Here’s a link to cut and paste:
http://shop.ebay.com/?_from=R40&_trksid=m38.l1313&_nkw=koala+shoes&_sacat=See-All-Categories
Good luck!
4.
LadyZ | January 25, 2009 at 5:30 pm
Hey there!! I haven;t ben by in so long, but finally had a bit of time and had had you on my mind for some time now. Things have been rather hectic on my end of the universe , but you are never that far from my thoughts.
well, as far as shoes go, here is what I have found for you:
1.These are a size 4T at ebay. they are used but in good condition and are a purple/blue
http://cgi.ebay.com/Purple-Koala-Kids-SZ-4-Toddler-Shoes-Corduroy_W0QQitemZ250360144409QQcmdZViewItemQQptZLH_DefaultDomain_0?hash=item250360144409&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14&_trkparms=72%3A1205%7C66%3A2%7C65%3A12%7C39%3A1%7C240%3A1318%7C301%3A1%7C293%3A1%7C294%3A50
2. these are size 5T brand new at ebay and are light blue:
http://cgi.ebay.com/NEW-Koala-Kids-Blue-Canvas-Shoes-Velcro-Size-5-Toddler_W0QQitemZ120366603654QQcmdZViewItemQQptZLH_DefaultDomain_0?hash=item120366603654&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14&_trkparms=72%3A1205%7C66%3A2%7C65%3A12%7C39%3A1%7C240%3A1318%7C301%3A0%7C293%3A1%7C294%3A50
3. There is also a similar pair of vans brand that are same color and style. (target.com)
4. another similar pair also at target.com
(I couldn’t add in the photos for you, so you will have to go and see them yourself!)
I cannot claim to have any experience with autism spectrum children, but I do have my share of special needs with my own two children, as you know .My suggestion if you cannot get exactly the same type of shoes for Percy …what about taking pictures of similar shoes, laying them all out and asking for his help in picking out his next shoes. Also include this in a celebration of sorts, as he is becoming such a big boy, which could include having some sort of ceremony for the old shoes to go “bye-bye”. I have found that if we look at things from a different angle and making it an event or special occasion, it all goes over much better. Hope this helps some.
LadyZ
5.
Tanya Savko | January 25, 2009 at 10:22 pm
Good luck in your shoe quest! I know how it is – you finally get them a pair that they’ll actually wear, and then they grow out of them.
I’ve got a blog award for you over at Teen Autism!
Best wishes.
6.
High Hopes | January 26, 2009 at 12:15 am
Goldie, What size would we be looking for here? I would be happy to have a look around up here. If I find some I will snap em up for you. Just let us know the size.
Have you googled Kiddie Cobbler? It used to be a kids shoe store. Try googling Payless shoes.
But I will have a look at our local shopping mall when I am out. Just let me know the size.
7.
Goldie | January 26, 2009 at 10:34 am
Thanks HH & Tanya!
And thanks again to Lynne for also looking. All my internet friends ROCK!
Lady Z, wow, that is awesome, I saw some shoes so much like his on ebay. Thank you so much for taking that time! Sadly his feet are already a size 9 (and he is currently squeezing into 8s)
So I need some 9s and would love some 10s and then I think they stop. This one doesn’t go to 11 (lol, who get’s the joke?)
8.
Boo Sr. | January 26, 2009 at 11:59 am
I think this would be the same problem, but I first saw those at Babies R Us– sounds like they’re paring down their selection, so if they did have them, they’d prob be too small. I’m planning to sell some clothes around here, so will keep an eye out at the consignment stores. And, I’ve found shoes I liked at K-mart– it’s Thom McCann brand– but don’t remember if I ever saw canvas ones.
9.
High Hopes | January 26, 2009 at 2:29 pm
Hey Goldie,
What if you introduced new shoes on shoe at a time, let him wear one of the beloved ones on one foot and the new on on the other. Let it settle for awhile and then tell him that the other shoe is missing its friend and that the new shoe really likes his toes and wants his other shoe friend to come and play.
10.
goodmum | January 26, 2009 at 7:17 pm
Bribes work wonders around here… just sayin’…
What about bribing him for every 5 minutes that he keeps a new pair on? This’ll get them broken in eventually and maybe they’ll become more comfortable?
The other thing I might try is buying two (obviously cheap) new pairs of shoes and when you’re going to bribe him to wear them for short periods at first, make a big deal out of letting him choose which pair to put on.
What we have done around here to wean Little Man off certain things is to say that once he goes X number of days without the old thing, he gets to buy X super cool thing that he really really wants…
11.
teeveebee | January 27, 2009 at 1:48 am
Oh Goldie,
I hope you find the shoes for your boy. I’ll keep my eyes open in my neck of the woods. I still think Payless might be your best bet. Have you tried Walmart? Keep us posted.
Blessings,
Terrie
12.
A Bishops Wife | January 27, 2009 at 7:08 am
We are so there!!!
My Noddy is the one who gives us the most problem. He says he wants the same type of shoes but bigger, yeah right.
I already know he will not let us throw the old ones away. Junior will want the Thomas shoes and they do not come in his size.
I am thinking of you and feel your pain.
13.
Osh | January 27, 2009 at 9:34 am
I have felt your pain~
14.
Brian R. | January 27, 2009 at 11:39 am
Bad news: Koala Kids products are manufactured by Geoffrey, Inc. Geoffrey, Inc. is the owner of Toys-R-Us, meaning the only place to get Koala Kids products is Toys (Babies, Kids) R-Us. Ack!
15.
Maddy | January 28, 2009 at 2:32 am
Mine had sandals with toes hanging way over the tips. Shoes! the bane of my life [and theirs come to think of it.]
Best wishes
16.
Goldie | January 28, 2009 at 1:08 pm
Thank you everyone for the encouraging words, sympathetic support, AND assistance! I am thrilled to report that we have found a solution to the shoe problem and now have 2 9s and 1 10 of quite similar shoes. (Although if you do happen upon the EXACT shoes I would be very interested!)
The story deserves a post all its own… coming soon!
And Brian, REALLY? *thunk* You would think the ToysRUs phone operator could have told me that! DUH!
17.
Boo Sr. | January 28, 2009 at 1:23 pm
Did you pick mine or the ones at Target? Glad you went ahead and got the next size, great way to plan ahead. It seems odd that Toys R Us would get rid of their own brand– guess they can make more moolah selling other people’s stuff. I know the regular TRU probably got rid of clothes to make room for toys and electronics. But, I liked the stuff they sold!
18.
High Hopes | January 28, 2009 at 2:56 pm
Thats great Goldie! My dd had a thing about a certain pair of striderite sneakers. Luckily they went up until the kid was about 5 years of age. They fit her well, she loved her sneakers and the best part was they had little bears on the bottom. She wouldn’t wear anything else and a few times I was fit to be tied over baby girl’s attitude towards her shoes.
She comes by it honestly though, I am a shoe horse, some people do the clothes thing, but for me it is shoes. So maybe Percy is a shoe guy.
19.
Boo Sr. | March 26, 2009 at 5:34 pm
Uh– was doing some shopping a few weeks ago, and they still seem to have the Koala Kids brand at the baby store, but may be too small (think I saw 7s and 8s, at least.) I also saw similar shoes in the kids department (hanging up) on a display at JC Penney’s, with the velcro strap.
20.
Yi | May 25, 2009 at 1:00 am
hi there:
Check your local Baby s R Us. they still carry Koala Baby shoes, I bought my daughter 3 pairs in pink, beige and purple. I am not sure where you live. We live in Indiana, Let me know if you have more questions
21.
Goldie | July 20, 2009 at 8:35 am
Thank you, Yi! It’s so strange- when I called the company the operator must have been clueless because she TOLD ME that they did not carry that brand anymore. Plus every time I had gone in there I couldn’t find that kind of shoe. I was so stressed! Now all of a sudden they have lots of Koala Baby shoes again. Go figure. I feel silly for freaking out so much, but I was MISINFORMED.
AND, yaay, he now is not as picky about his shoes and will wear different types… SOMETIMES.