Water Shoes for Youth

The good news is there are plenty of places to buy water shoes for youth and they come in a wide variety of styles and prices. The bad news is if you don't purchase them before Memorial Day, they can be very difficult to find.

Twenty years ago, parents arrived at the beach with their kids wearing basic bathing suits, carrying a towel and maybe a pail and shovel to make sandcastles. Today, taking children to the beach is much more involved. Due to increased awareness about sun damage, and a generally more protective mindset when it comes to parenting, an entire industry has emerged that caters to children's beach products.

Manufacturers make sunscreens with zinc oxide or titanium dioxide just for children. Catalogs sell protective umbrellas, tents, bathing suits and hats made with built in SPF. Water shoes are the perfect complement to body covering surf suits and wide-brimmed hats with protective neck flaps. There is absolutely no need for today's youth to suffer from hot sand or pavement, to get splinters from beach boardwalks or to cut their feet on sharp sea shells or sea glass.

• Floatability: Make sure the water shoe won't weigh a child down in the water.
• Comfort: Water shoes, like all shoes, need to fit well so as not to hinder a fun day at the beach.
• Quick drying material: Mesh and wicking fabrics dry out quickly without developing unpleasant odors.
• SPF protection: Some fabrics have SPF protection built in. Some shoes offer good sun protection because they cover the child's entire foot.
• Ease of putting on and taking off: Avoid tight-fitting slipper style water shoes that are a struggle to put on and take off.

Speedo sells a few different styles of water shoes for toddlers and kids. Speedo's shoes are made from quick drying jersey and mesh. Some of the styles have an easily adjustable bungee closure so little ones can put them on themselves. Speedos vary in price from $15 to $18 and come in slipper and sandal styles. The shoes come in basic black as well as bright blue and pink.

Lands End sells children's water shoes for approximately $30. The shoes come in a wide variety of bright, fun colors. They have stretchy shoe laces that allow the shoes to slip on easily. Mesh fabric helps the shoes drain and protects feet from sand and small rocks.

Retail giant Target sells Croc-style water shoes for as low as $8.

Ocean Minded is a California-based company that makes shoes and promotes the idea of protecting beaches and respecting the environment. They make flip flop style shoes that are okay for wearing on the beach but don't work for swimming.

Altrec sells quality water shoes for children from popular brand names such as Merrel, Keen and The North Face. The selection ranges in price from $28 up to $44. Altrec offers a variety of styles from slips-ons to sandals to athletic style water shoes.

The Keen slip-on shoe is also sold at GreatOutdoors.com. These shoes are made of stretch neoprene and have extra grip rubber soles to provide stability when walking on wet, slippery rocks. Customers rave about how easy these shoes are to put on and take off.

Online shoe giant Zappos carries a large collection of shoes for the beach. You can find them in the Surf category on the website. Even though there are plenty of surf shoes at Zappos, there actually aren't that many suitable for swimming.

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