“Kids and Crocs - Southtown Star” plus 1 more

Posted: 02 May 2010 02:01 AM PDT

Summer means backyard barbecues, swimming pools, ice cream ... and Crocs

BY HOWARD LUDWIG Stay-At-Home Dad

Many of the kids in my neighborhood wear uniforms to school. During the summer, they wear a uniform of a different sort - shorts, T-shirts and Crocs.

Crocs are flexible foam shoes often sold in bright colors. The plastic clogs are riddled with air holes. Wearers praise these quirky kicks for their comfort and convenience. Crocs slip on and off quickly, clean up easily and don't absorb foot odor.

Another equally vocal contingent despises the shoes for their fashion. A Facebook group called, "I don't care how comfortable Crocs are, you look like a dumbass" has 1.5 million members.

"They are the most visually insulting footwear of all time," writes one Facebook fan.

My 2- and 3-year-old sons don't have Facebook pages. They don't have much fashion sense either - just like the old man. In fact, Bubba's and Peter's idea of red-carpet fashion is Star Wars pajamas and Spider-Man underwear.

My boys love Crocs because most of their friends have them. And while my younger son sometimes struggles to use a fork, even he can take his Crocs on and off by himself. Their feet don't sweat in Crocs. And the shoes are perfect for playing in puddles or in the sandbox.

For all of these same reasons, I love Crocs, too - to hell with fashion.

Yet I questioned the safety of these shoes. They aren't sturdy. Perhaps parents of Croc-wearing tots are setting their children up for a lifetime of foot problems. Imagine a whole generation of flat-footed adults cursing their parents for outfitting them in foam resin clogs.

Marlene Reid said not to worry. She's the president-elect for the Illinois Podiatric Medical Association and believes Crocs are relatively safe, particularly when compared to other summer footwear.

"Crocs have certain components that we (podiatrists) look for in every shoe," said Reid, a Chicago resident.

Crocs feature a contoured arch and a heel cup. There's also ample room in the toe area, making the often-ridiculed shoe a viable option for folks with bunions and hammer toes. Finally, Crocs have flexible soles that bend as kids walk, Reid said.

It's worth noting that some parents opt for off-branded Crocs, or Crock-offs. These shoes are fine too, as long as they have the same characteristics listed here, Reid said.

Of course, Crocs are not athletic shoes. So don't send Junior to soccer practice wearing his slip-ons, but they're much better than flip-flops and other flat-bottomed, stiff-soled summer shoes. In fact, the shoemaker even sells a medical version of Crocs that features a deeper heel cup and other custom features, Reid said.

With that in mind, the boys and I headed to Lighthouse Place Premium Outlets in Michigan City, Ind. There's a Crocs outlet store there. The walls are lined with Crocs in more colors than you will find at Sherwin Williams.

Bubba picked out a pair of royal blue Crocs. Peter opted for bright red. If you are going to wear ugly shoes, might as well flaunt it.

HOWARD LUDWIG IS A FORMER SOUTHTOWNSTAR BUSINESS WRITER WHO TRADED IN HIS REPORTER'S NOTEBOOK FOR A DIAPER BAG, BECOMING A STAY-AT-HOME DAD.

Five Filters featured article: The Art of Looking Prime Ministerial - The 2010 UK General Election. Available tools: PDF Newspaper, Full Text RSS, Term Extraction.

Stop morning chaos - and save a few bucks - Minneapolis Star Tribune

Posted: 28 Apr 2010 01:33 PM PDT

If this sounds like you, please raise your hand: Alarm goes off; you hit snooze. Alarm goes off again; you hit snooze again and again until you realize you have 10 minutes to get up, get ready and get out the door. As you run out of your bedroom, screaming for others to wake up and hurry, you have one hand fumbling with the coffeemaker and another throwing food toward the dog, all while using a foot to open the refrigerator.

Meanwhile, the house is full of noise, chaos and confusion. Clothes are either missing or wrinkled. Shoes, keys and cell phones are also MIA. Drenched with anger, sweat and an overwhelming desire to switch lives with anyone else, you somehow get your spouse, kids and yourself up, fed, dressed, packed and out the door in the nick of time.

Stop the chaos:

Load up your easy chair. We've all heard that we're supposed to have one central place to store our keys, cell phones and purses, right? I need more than a little bowl or basket. I need to have my keys, phone, purse, two kids' backpacks, two kids' snack bags, two kids' lunch bags, my shoes and two kids' shoes to leave the house. After much trial and error, I have decided that a big chair works best. Luckily, a big chair is not an odd thing to have at your front door. It's large enough to store everyday items plus jackets, sweaters and umbrellas. It's kid-friendly and convenient -- the kids can even sit on the chair to put on their shoes.

So, pilfer a chair from another area in your house, pick one up at a Goodwill or yard sale, or just take the big comfy chair from your patio set. Instructions to your kids and spouse: Stop and toss all junk onto the chair. Easy. No more replacing lost keys and phones, searching for missing shoes, or losing your temper in the morning. The savings for not having to be frantic every morning? Immeasurable.

Five Filters featured article: The Art of Looking Prime Ministerial - The 2010 UK General Election. Available tools: PDF Newspaper, Full Text RSS, Term Extraction.

Kids Shoes

Sunday, May 2, 2010