Genuine question, not venting. My 3yo will literally scream and take them off immediately. We've tried:
He'll wear socks fine. Shoes specifically are the enemy. Do they outgrow this or am I dealing with a barefoot kid for the next 2 years lol
lol this is so real. I think at some point you just have to accept that your 3yo is gonna have strong opinions about foot prisons and let it go? He won't be barefoot at preschool forever.
lol the screaming when you try to put them on, then he's barefoot in the driveway two seconds later. Have you tried just... not engaging with the drama? Like literally ignore the tantrum and act like it's his loss if he wants cold feet
Yeah same, we gave up on shoes for a while during pandemic and honestly it was freeing. Once he started preschool and saw other kids wearing shoes, suddenly it was cool. Peer pressure actually worked in our favor for once lmao
Have you tried the "you don't get to leave until shoes are on" approach? Not threatening, just matter-of-fact. Took like 2 weeks of standing by the door but my son eventually realized shoes = going places he wants. Now it's automatic.
Going barefoot in the house is fine but the moment we head outside I just put them on and don't engage with the screaming. Like I acknowledge he's upset but we're not negotiating. It sucks for like 5 minutes then he forgets about it.
Same exact thing with my 2yo. He'll sit there and pick out the Lightning McQueen shoes, get all excited, then the second they're on his feet it's a full meltdown. We just gave up trying for short trips now, only force them for like daycare and grocery stores where he actually needs them.
Yeah we had this and honestly the only thing that helped was just time. By 4 he was fine with shoes. I know that's not helpful now but I promise you this phase doesn't last forever even though it feels eternal when you're in it.
The bribery is probably making it worse tbh. If he knows refusing = negotiation time, he's gonna keep refusing. We switched to treating shoes like "this is just what we do before we go out" with zero discussion and it took like 2 weeks of chaos but then it clicked
Do those velcro sandal things work any better? My daughter used to lose her mind over laces and buckles but straps she could manage. Might be a sensory thing with your guy.
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Mine did the exact same thing at that age. The "let him pick" thing backfired for us too - he'd choose the light-up ones and then act like they personally betrayed him. We eventually just stopped forcing it for casual days around the house and only made it non-negotiable for places like daycare or the doctor. He grew out of it by like 4.5
What kind of shoes are you trying? My daughter refused regular sneakers but will actually keep Crocs on because they're easy to get off (which sounds backwards but at least she's wearing SOMETHING). Might be a texture thing, not just stubbornness