School-Approved Shoes That Are As Easy As Crocs (But Aren’t Crocs)

When you think,Crocs but make it a shoe, a pair of Natives may be the most obvious choice. Both brands make shoes that are incredibly durable and a breeze to clean, have a wide footbed with lots of room for little toes, and come in a variety of fun and very kid-friendly colors and prints. Senior writerLiza Corsillois a huge fan of the brand’s Jefferson style for her 3.5-year-old son, who’s now on his third pair. “They’re the easiest shoes to put on and so comfortable he never tries to take them off,” she says, adding that they’re “much more stable and easy for him to run in compared with Crocs.” They’ve held up so well, “even after near-daily wear,” that Corsillo has been able to hand down all his old pairs.

While I can confirm that Jeffersons are a great toddler and little-kid shoe (my daughter also wore them for several years), keep in mind that kids’ feet change shape as they grow — and the Jefferson, which is made of nonconforming molded EVA, doesn’t. “Natives were great until her foot became more of a big kid’s foot,” says mom and third-grade teacher Claudia Titus, who notes that neither her 9-year-old daughter nor her entire crop of mostly 8-year-old students wears the brand anymore. So enjoy the style while you can, and pass those pairs on when you can’t anymore.

I haven’t tried this shoe, nor have I been able to get a firsthand account from anyone who has, but I’m including it nonetheless because it looks very promising (I say this as a former shoe designer). Like Crocs and Natives, they’re made from durable, washable (machine-washable, in fact!) EVA and come in a bunch of fun colors, including aglow-in-the-dark pair. They have a caged vamp for extra breathability, a footbed with molded arch support, and a grippy interior that the brand says helps prevent blisters. Unlike the Crocs, they’re an actual shoe. And unlike Natives, they’re cut low on the sides so there’s much more room for the foot to get in and move around — which makes me think they’d work for both little and bigger kids’ feet. I also think they look cool, even with a pair of socks.

“From the Crocs perspective, they are spiritually similar,” says senior editorJen Trolioof this pull-on Adidas style, which matches the Crocs’ cushiness (the Lite Racers have a foamy, bouncy EVA sole), durability, and, per Trolio, popularity — she knows a lot of kids who “swear by these shoes and want to wear only them.” Also like Crocs, they’re available in bothneutralsandsnazzy color combinations. The socklike engineered-mesh upper provides a fit that’s secure but not constricting. The elastic lacing is stretchy but also stationary, which is great for kids who don’t know how to (or want to) tie their shoes but not so much those who want areallytight fit.

Like theLite Racer, the Skechers Ultra Flex is another strictly pull-on style with a cushioned outsole, nonfunctional elastic lacing, and an allover engineered-mesh upper that stretches to fit but doesn’t stretch out. Trolio’s 8-year-old loves this style so much that she has repurchased them multiple times. “She’s picky about her shoes, and now she’s wearing the biggest size they come in,” Trolio says. “When she grows out of them, I’m going to have to start over again.” Luckily for Trolio, theUltra Flex 3.0 Rainbow Speedis a similar style with larger sizes. For something more neutral, theUltra Flex 3.0 Smooth Stepis available for both little- and big-kid feet.

Trolio boughta pink-and-purple pairof these easily adjustable New Balance sneakers when her daughter was in first grade, and they’re a favorite of senior writerLauren Ro’s oldest son. Ro likes them too, for functional if not fashionable purposes:They have a single flap that hooks on to a disc that can then be tightened to secure the shoe so kids can get them on and off quickly and easily all by themselves. They come in whole and half-sizes from little-kid size 10.5 through big-kid size 7.

DunksandBoroughsare popular with bigger kids, according to both my personal andprofessional parents’ circles, but Nike also makes reliable styles for kids who can’t (or don’t want to) tie their own laces. For her 6- and 3-year-old daughters, Anna Hewson says she has relied on theStar Runner 5“foryears. They’re so easy to put on, they come in fun colors, and they’re good solid shoes.” The kid-friendly features include elastic laces, an adjustable Velcro strap, and a reinforced toe, and Hewson says they make for great hand-me-downs.

Ro put Pedipeds on my radar when she mentioned buying pairs for both of her sons as they were just starting to walk, but the brand also has some very nice big-kid pairs that even the most discerning third-grader (probably) wouldn’t be embarrassed to wear. My personal favorite isthese Mookie Flexhigh-tops, specifically in white, which look like the cool vintage offspring of someLe Coq Sportifsand a pair ofPF Flyers. (The “Flex” tag means the style is for ages 2 and up, and sizes top out at US 4.5/EU 36.) As with all Pediped shoes, they’re designed to promote children’s foot health and are backed by the American Podiatric Medical Association.

The seemingly innocuous Vans Classic Slip-ons have an extra-high vamp, which means there’s less room for a foot to slip in and more effort needed to get them on. I happen to think Vans slip-ons look much better on kids than adults, which may be why I was never deterred by the extra seconds it took to corkscrew them onto my daughter’s feet when she was little. (Now she puts them on by herself without issue.) In fact, the comparatively small foot opening may actually be an advantage because I can get her new pairs a bit too big and still trust they’ll stay on. (To wit: She has been wearing the same hand-me-down pair for the past year despite going up two shoe sizes.) Yang is also a fan — her youngest son is currently wearing his older sister’s hand-me-down pair, and she notes that “the elastic gores work well for getting them on and keeping them on.”

The slip-ons are a hard pass for Ro, however, because despite the high vamp, she says, “they never stayed on my son’s feet, so he never wore them.” And while Trolio’s older daughter had no issues with herrainbow canvas pair, theglitteryversions she also wanted were a nonstarter. “They’re too plasticky to bend to the foot,” Trolio says, “and you’ll need to deal with a break-in period, which you may not want to do.” In short: Try before you buy. And if the slip-ons aren’t for you, Trolio recommends theSk8-Hi Zip high-top sneakers, while Yang also likesOld Skool V, a low-top style with Velcro closure.

“Solomon loves his Rothy’s!” Ro says of her 4-year-old son, who started wearing the brand’s Kids Strap Sneakerover the summerand dubbed them his “Sonic shoes” because of their Sonic the Hedgehog–blue hue. (He also thinks they make him go fast.) Ro has no complaints either. She has been impressed that the material feels nice and flexible but also sturdy, and she finds they run true-to-size.

As an experienced Rothy’s wearer myself (my daughter and I own several pairs between us), I fully agree with Ro’s assessment but with an asterisk — sizing is very inconsistent between styles for both kids and adults, so youmusttry before you buy. But once you find a pair that works, stick with it: The uppers are soft and malleable but somehow never lose their shape, the outsoles can take an absolute beating and still look brand-new, and the washability makes them even easier to wear for a long time and pass on once you’re done. Other Strategist parents agree afterhaving their kids test various pairs of Rothy’s.

Corsillo also loves this adorable Zara style, which she says has a “very roomy toe box” (as is expected for a barefoot-style shoe), plus Velcro closure and little heel tabs, both of which mean her son “can put them on and take them off by himself.”

Of all the kids’ styles Rothy’s makes, these basic black loafers are probably my least favorite — but my daughter loves them, and I love that she can wear them pretty much anywhere, with or without socks, and all it takes is one washing-machine cycle to make them look (and smell) like new. I have no qualms about her wearing these and herotherRothy’spairsinto the ground because I know they can all be revived. As with theKids Strap Sneakerabove, the only thing you really need to worry about is the inconsistent sizing, so I highly recommend doing some fit tests before you commit to a pair.

I quite literally had to pry these away from my daughter after realizing she has outgrown them so much her toes were getting squished. And whileIdon’t particularly love the style, there are three things I do like about them: First, they are durable, right down to the Velcro. My daughter’s pair was a hand-me-down, and it’s fair to say at least one child got plenty of mileage out of them before we did, yet the Velcro holds tight. Second, the flexible PVC upper is even easier to clean than Crocs. And third, as with all Melissa styles, they smell forever like strawberry candy.

If you’re a semi-regular Strategist reader, you’ve heard usgo on(and on,and on) about the grown-up Keen Newport H2. It’s a great style for kids, too, but both Corsillo and Kitchens prefer the Seacamp, which has a thinner and more flexible (but still just as grippy) outsole that makes it easier to get on and off and less likely to cause trips and falls. As to be expected from Keen, they’re also very durable — Corsillo got her son’s pair at a consignment shop and they held up through the summer too. As the weather cools, keep the adventure-hippie game strong by throwing on a pair of socks or swap them out for some equally gorpy little-kidJaspers.

The Jungle Moc is another favorite among Strategist adults, but Kitchens was inspired to buy a child-size pair after seeing them “styled with Mugwort Mugwort outfits like dresses and baggy pants on Jayne Goheen’s kids.” Luckily, her 4-year-old daughter loved them too. “She wore them all the time, called them her ‘Merrells,’” says Kitchens, who’s planning to buy another pair for this school year. “They’re super-sturdy, but I also just loved how cute the gorpy classic looks on little kids.” Just like their grown-up counterparts, the kids’ mocs have a durable leather upper with a double gore and a heel loop that makes them easy to slip on and take off, plus an anti-odor insole and a seemingly indestructible grippy rubber outsole. And while they’ll definitely hold up for second- (and third-)hand wear, even new pairs are very fairly priced at just $55.

The Venn diagram of Crocs and Dr. Martens may not be immediately apparent, but I’d argue the latter can be as easy to wear and pass down as the former, provided you buy the right pair. “The inner ankle zip was key to getting them on and off, and we never untied them,” Trolio says of her daughter’s lace-up pair, which is actually a better pick than aChelseastyle since little kids may not yet have the grip strength needed to yank their foot out of a tight double-gore boot. Trolio also notes that “the toes can get pretty gnarly and torn up depending on the style of leather,” so choose a colorway that’s easy to touch up (like basic black) if you’re concerned about resale value.

Alternatively, you can also just accept the fact that kids’ shoes are notoriously hard to keep pristine and trust that these Dr. Martens boots will hold up and look cool even when they’re irreparably scuffed. My daughter is currently the third (or possibly fourth) owner of a pair of pink patent Dr. Martens boots, and she couldn’t care less about the less than pristine finish. I also don’t care because they are in perfectly fine shape otherwise, and I’m always happy to avoid paying full retail price while her foot is still growing by the day.