Talk Amongst Yourselves: Squeaky Toddler Shoes

Yesterday at my son's soccer game, I heard a really fast, high-pitched squeaky noise coming from the other side of the bleachers.

It was a little preschool girl, wearing shoes that squeaked--on purpose.  One of my fellow soccer moms told me this is The New Thing in the toddler world:  shoes that squeak-squeak-squeak with every step, to make it easier to find your child.  (You can find examples of these shoes here and here.)

And while this particular peanut of a girl was absolutely adorable, and I'm sure her mother was absolutely lovely, her shoes nearly drove me ABSOLUTELY CRAZY. 

Squeak, squeak, squeak.

Now, I adore my children to the core of my being, but this does not mean I need to be audiotorially aware of every step they make. 

Have y'all seen these?  What do you think?  Is it a great kid safety tool, or one more thing to make a momma want to put her head through a wall?

Comments

[ThoughtfulMom]

I can assure you that if you ever hear a toddler with squeaky shoes in SuperTarget, that toddler does NOT belong to me. Those shoes drive me nuts. My toddler makes enough noise all by himself without me adding any sound to him.

[Katie]

As a mother of a 16 month old that likes to run off... he will NEVER have those shoes.

They are more annoying than heelys.

[Erica]

Well, while I'm sure they're made to prevent your toddler from sneaking around while their in their own home, I, for one, wouldn't buy them.

I kinda feel like it's an excuse for parents to not pay attention to their children. "Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't know they'd wandered off?" We're all a victim of this at one time or another, but I'm sure you know parents who rely on others to take of their children.

Anyway, some of those shoes allow you to remove the squeakers, but the warn you to put the squeaker out of reach because they are hazardous.

[NerdMom]

A stay at home mom didn't create this. It was either a man or someone who doesn't see their kid all the time. You know who I am talking about, those people who see their kids for such a short period of time that everything that could be baby-like and noisy is "just precious". They talk in baby talk the whole time they are around their kid. Ick. I have 4 kids, 2 of which are toddlers. I have no need for my last nerve to be jumped on over and over.

[Kristen @ We are THAT family]

I must confess, not only does my daughter have them, she WEARS them (gasp). The main reason I bought them was to encourage walking. She's 15 months old and needed a lure to walk. Now that she's walking, I can find her all over the house. I will probably take the squeakers out soon. My husband reminded me the other day that it's so cute when it's YOUR squeaker and NOT so cute when it's someone else's.

[Jeana]

I thought they were cute for about ten squeaks.

When my kids were toddlers, they wore those old fashioned white lace ups, with the lace holders that have bells in them. I thought those were adorable, but I'm sure it drove someone crazy.

[Bev]

A little boy at our church has some squeaky shoes. His parents got them for him because he learned to walk on his tip-toes and wouldn't walk any other way. The shoes encourage him to walk correctly. I think it's a great idea, if it's for that sort of thing. :)

Bev.

[Ann G]

Sounds like something someone created that DIDN'T have kids...that would drive anyone to insanity. I'm sure the idea was meant for good, but that it tooooo annoying to be beneficial.

[Darlene]

The shoes themselves are very cute. The squeakers...not so much. It would drive me insane, I'm fairly certain of that.
I agree with Thoughtful Mom, I don't need to ADD noise to my kids. They make plenty of it on their own!

[Emily]

NOOOOOOO! I thought heelies were annoying!

[Nancy]

Oh, we got behind a family with the little girl wearing these in our Wal Mart. I was only behind them a short while and was gritting my teeth! NO WAY I would ever have put those on my daughter.
Most.Annoying.Sound!

[Melanie]

That would make me nuts.

But, you could pair them with some corduroy pants and have your own band.

[Betsy]

Definitely "head through the wall" annoying. Not cute...just annoying!

[Lee]

Well, we have a friend whose kid has these and while they don't drive me crazy on her, I'd never buy my kid a pair. Cute for an afternoon, but not in my house.

[Stretch Mark Mama]

I'm sure those are straight off the boat from China...those (Super Annoying Shoes) are all the rage over there--esp among the Chinese Adoptive Crowd.

So of course I bought a pair.

And they're still in the "memory" box.

Where they belong.

[pam]

Thought they were cute when a friend of mine bought them for her adopted daughter when they brought her home from China. Seeing them in action, a whole different story.

I have enough noise in my life without adding more . . . on purpose.

[Straight Shooter]

AAArrrggghh!! It had to be a single, non-father type to come up with this and think we mommas would go gaa-gaa over them!

[Becca]

My daughter had a pair someone loaned to us when she was about 2. She wore them once, and I nearly went crazy......too bad, since they were cute shoes too! They attracted tons of attention out in public too. Annoying at best.

[Mrs. Pear]

Umm, those and the shoes with the wheels in them are officially forbidden in our house - I like being mostly sane and want to hold on to what little bit I have left! :-)

[Tara]

tee hee hee... my mom actually gave BOTH my sons a pair when they were toddlers. They also had little blinking lights in them. So not only could I SEE them blinking as they ran down the aisles at church (my husband is a minister and they liked to see daddy at the front) I could also HEAR them... squeak squeak... One of the elderly men in the congregation pulled me aside after the service and suggested I oil the squeaky shoes :)

[Heth]

Oh my gosh, I'm dying laughing at Melanie's comment. FUNNY!

[A&EMom]

Gosh, have I learned my lesson on "I would never..."

So. Barring medical necessity, I WOULD NEVER add that kind of crazy to my day. Ever.

[Mrs. Mordecai]

I saw them a couple of years ago and I was amazed that any mom would get them for her kid; how annoying . . . I can only guess that they came from a grandparent wanting payback.

[jessica]

I LOATHE them! I think they are kind of expensive, too, since their little feet grow so fast. I'll take Target shoes anyday.

[Karen]

i think they're cute. my mom used to put bells on our shoes when we were toddlers, said she knew that if the bells were silent that we were up to something.