Wide Back to School Shoes for Kids – Extra Deep, Round Toe-Box, Supportive and Durable!

March 22, 2023 Back to School Shoes Juan Valenzuela 0 - Comments

The start of a new school year means new school shoes for children, but it can be challenging and time-consuming to find supportive and durable back to school for children with wide feet. Have you been looking for a pair of wide back to school shoes for your child? Do you feel like you try a whole bunch of different styles but you always end up empty-handed? Let me show you a list of the best wide back to school shoes for kids.

Children with wide feet who wear shoes that are too narrow are more prone to developing issues that range from blisters to foot and leg pain. This is the reason why it’s so important that your children’s shoes fit just right.

Child developed a blister on his small toe from wearing narrow shoes.

Most parents make the common mistake of assuming that once they find a shoe that is labeled as wide (“W”) or extra wide (“XW”), that shoe style will automatically fit the shape of the child’s wide feet.

Key Features of Wide School Shoes for Kids

1️⃣ Extra Depth: This feature allows the child’s feet to fit deeper inside the shoes and prevent the top part of your kids’ feet from rubbing against the top part of the shoes. Deeper shoes also prevent the top part of your kids’ toes from rubbing against the top front part of the shoes.

2️⃣ Round Toe–Boxes: This feature helps prevent your kids’ toes from rubbing or overlapping against one another. Shoes that come with rounder toe-boxes also help prevent your kids’ small toes from rubbing against the side of the shoes.

The issue that parents face is identifying which shoe styles provide these 2 important features since shoes don’t come labeled as “extra deep” or with a “round toe-box”.

These two features help also guarantee that the shoes will fit your child’s high instep as well. Do you know what the instep of the foot is? The instep is the top part of the foot and when it’s high, it makes it more complicated to find shoes that fit. Take a look at the picture below to identify the foot of a child with a high instep. When children have high insteps, there is a lotto extra foot volume that needs to be fitted inside the shoes:

That is the reason why shoes with extra depth are so effective when fitting children with wide feet and high insteps.

My Take on Back to School Shoes

From my many years of experience from working at a specialized shoe store, one thing that I want you to keep in mind is that a higher-priced shoe doesn’t automatically translate into a better shoe. Most schools require their students to wear back to school shoes made out of leather or canvas, and the shoes might need to meet certain color requirements as well. In addition to meeting those requirements, your kids’ school shoes must fit perfectly to avoid foot problems.

Do You Have Absolute Certainty About Your Child’s Foot Size

I always encourage parents to take their children to their local fitting kids’ shoe store, but the problem is that most kids’ shoe stores have been closing For that reason, I created a virtual shoe fitting service that will help you retrieve your child’s shoe size from home. In that article I help parents determine their child’s exact foot length and whether the child has narrow, medium, wide, or extra wide feet. I also will be able to tell you whether your child has a high instep or not.

I only review shoes that I have previously fitted before since that is the only way for me to tell how well made the shoes are, the amount of support that they provide, and how they fit. Disclosure: Keep in mind that we may receive commissions when you click our links and make purchases.

Best Wide Back to School Shoes for Kids 

Please find below a selection of the best wide back to school shoes for kids. These shoes are available in medium (M), and wide (W) widths.

  • Order the shoe style Jace by Hush Puppies on Amazon
  • Available in medium and wide widths
  • Double velcro straps
  • Padded collar for comfort
  • Memory Foam foot bed for all-day comfort and support 
  • I suggest that you get this shoe a whole size larger than your child’s current foot size
  • Order the shoe style Claire by Stride Rite on Zappos
  • Available in medium, wide, and extra wide widths
  • 100% leather
  • Padded collar for comfort
  • Memory foam insole for enhanced comfort
  • I suggest that you get this shoe a whole size larger than your child’s current foot size
  • Order the shoe style Lanyard by Sperry on Amazon
  • Fits medium and wide feet
  • 100% leather
  • Cushioned insoles with additional padding at the heel
  • Lace up closure for secure fit
  • I suggest that you get this shoe a whole size larger than your child’s current foot size
  • Order the shoe style Jungle Moccasin by Merrell on Amazon
  • Fits medium and wide feet
  • 100% leather
  • Outsole has excellent grip
  • Air Cushion midsole allows long-wearing comfort
  • I suggest that you get this shoe a whole size larger than your child’s current foot size
  • Available in medium, wide, and extra wide widths
  • The ABZORB midsole absorbs impact through a combination of cushioning and compression resistance
  • Padded collar for comfort
  • Lace-up closure
  • I suggest that you get this shoe a whole size larger than your child’s current foot size
  • Order the shoe style Prodigy 5100 by School Issue on Amazon
  • Available in medium and wide widths
  • 100% leather
  • Padded collar for comfort
  • I suggest that you get this shoe a whole size larger than your child’s current foot size
  • Available in medium, wide, and extra wide widths
  • The ABZORB midsole absorbs impact through a combination of cushioning and compression resistance
  • Padded collar for comfort
  • Lace-up closure
  • I suggest that you get this shoe a whole size larger than your child’s current foot size
  • Order the shoe style Sr Murphy by Stride Rite on Amazon
  • Available in medium and wide widths
  • Lace-up closure
  • Premium leather with a padded heel collar
  • Memory-foam insole provides enhanced comfort 
  • I suggest that you get this shoe a whole size larger than your child’s current foot size
  • Order the shoe style Dirty Buck by Polo on Amazon
  • Fits medium or wide feet
  • 100% leather
  • Lace-up closure
  • Full welt stitching
  • I suggest that you get this shoe a whole size larger than your child’s current foot size
  • Available in medium, wide, and extra wide widths
  • The ABZORB midsole absorbs impact through a combination of cushioning and compression resistance
  • Padded collar for comfort
  • Velcro closure
  • I suggest that you get this shoe a whole size larger than your child’s current foot size
  • Available in medium, wide, and extra wide widths
  • The ABZORB midsole absorbs impact through a combination of cushioning and compression resistance
  • Padded collar for comfort
  • Velcro closure
  • I suggest that you get this shoe a whole size larger than your child’s current foot size
  • Available in medium, wide, and extra wide widths
  • The ABZORB midsole absorbs impact through a combination of cushioning and compression resistance
  • I suggest that you get this shoe a half size larger than your child’s current foot size
  • Order the shoe style Jace by Hush Puppies on Amazon
  • Available in medium and wide widths
  • 100% leather
  • Easy on-and-off with an oversized opening hook and loop closure
  • Lace up closure for secure fit
  • I suggest that you get this shoe a whole size larger than your child’s current foot size
  • Order the shoe style Hp-Reese Mary Jane by Hush Puppies on Amazon
  • Available in medium and wide widths
  • 100% leather
  • Outsole has excellent grip
  • Supportive outsole
  • I suggest that you get this shoe a whole size larger than your child’s current foot size
  • Available in medium and wide widths
  • The ABZORB midsole absorbs impact through a combination of cushioning and compression resistance
  • Synthetic and engineered mesh upper
  • Lace-up closure
  • I suggest that you get this shoe a whole size larger than your child’s current foot size
  • Order the shoe style Jungle Moc Moccasin by Merrell on Amazon
  • Available in medium and wide widths
  • 100% leather
  • Outsole has excellent grip
  • Air Cushion midsole allows long-wearing comfort
  • I suggest that you get this shoe a whole size larger than your child’s current foot size

All of the back to school shoes that I recommend are supportive and durable. Therefore, your children will typically outgrow the shoes before wearing them out.

Unsure About What Shoe Size You Should Order?

In each of the descriptions of the shoes, I indicate whether you need to order a half size or a whole size bigger than your child’s foot size to provide the correct amount of growing room.

We always want to provide children with a shoe size that is a half size longer than the size that they measure at the standard foot measuring scale (Brannock device) to allow for growing room. The issue is that shoes can fit short, long, narrow, wide, or true to size, and depending on how they fit you will need to adjust the size that you get for your child.

For example, if your child measures a foot size 5 but the shoes fit “short”, then you will have to provide your child with a shoe size 6 to allow for growing room. On the other hand, if the shoes fit “long”, then you will have to provide your child with the same shoe size 5 since the shoes already fit long.

Additional Resources for Children with Wide Feet

If you need a pair of wide kids’ sneakers, dress shoes, sandals, or boots you should refer to a different article that I wrote where I describe a variety of of shoe selection for kids with wide feet.

Are Any Other Shoe Choices Available?

Do not hesitate to contact me through the comments section or via email if you are unsure about how a particular shoe style fits, it’s highly likely that I have fitted it before and I will help you find it.

Have you found a particular back to school shoe style that has worked well for your child’s wide feet? Please share your findings below so other parents can benefit from your experiences.