People Have Stopped us on the Street Asking About These Shoes

This is a sponsored post in partnership with Stride Rite, but all opinions are my own.

You know that piece of clothing that your kid wants to wear everyday? It might be those animal pajama pants, that sparkly tutu, or the worn out superhero shirt. In our house the newest wearable addiction are these Phibian shoes from Stride Rite. My two sons each received a pair and they are now their go-to shoes for just about every occasion. I think they love them because they stand out and look fun. I kid you not, we literally have had strangers stop us on the street and ask us what kind of shoes these are.

It's funny what parents get excited about. You would assume anything made for kids should be machine washable. We can put a man on the moon but we can't make an entire car seat that you can just throw into a washing machine? Ok, enough ranting because these shoes are machine washable! The Phibians are hard to explain unless you have them right in front of you, but they are made of a breathable material that works as well inside a school gym as it does jumping in puddles in front of your house.

So these shoes stand out in a crowd, feel great, and can be thrown in the washing machine, but how do they hold up to actually doing the things that kids and families do? We spent an entire day testing these out in real family scenarios. Here is what happened.

When it's going to be hot day, and you see some puddles, you have to do some puddle jumping! We wouldn't let them do this in their normal tennis shoes, but since they were wearing the Phibians it was a no brainer. We knew their shoes would quickly dry so let them splash in the puddles to their heart's desire.

We also took them off the beaten path on a nature walk. Ok, with a two-year-old the word "walk" is a little strong. It was more like a half stroll that takes five times as long as you think it should. Still, the Phibians were comfortable and stayed snug on their feet. 

Next we visited a waterpark. On the way in my oldest exclaimed, "I never have to take these shoes off again!" Unless they are "six-year-old boy smell proof" he might have been a little over excited. Regardless, they worked amazingly well in the fountains, slides, and waterfalls.

Later we stopped to climb around an old train. If a kid can't climb in shoes, then what good are they? The kids loved the train and we loved that the Phibians were similar to tennis shoes so that our kids could be as active as they wanted to be. 

If you are going to pull your family around an amusement park on a blazing hot day, then you have to let them feel the cool breeze on a roller coaster. My son was thrilled that he could feel the wind whipping through his shoes as the coaster careened around the twists and turns. 

As you can clearly see, we put the Stride Rite Phibians to the ultimate day-long test. Not only that, but my boys pretty much wore them for the entire next week, including at school. With many schools requiring closed toed shoes, these are a great option. When the weather turns colder, your kids have the option of throwing some socks on, and they will be ready to head out the door. Since these come in many colors, including their new orange and purple, even the pickiest child can get a pair they will be happy with. I highly recommend that you head to your local Stride Rite store, or www.striderite.com, and pick up a pair right away!