How to muffle those squeaky toddler shoes

The idea seemed good at the time ("Squeaky shoes! How cute!"). *Sigh*. From Sara:

Those fun yet annoying shoes that are supposed to encourage new walkers by squeaking each time they take a step are easy to come by at resale shops (I wonder why??? :)  ) but I've found a couple of hacks to make them more bearable.  Since the squeak is basically an air valve on the side of the sole, it can be temporarily blocked with a piece of tape or permanently blocked with glue.  Take "permanently" lightly, though, because Miss J managed to figure out what was going on and pull the glue out of one of the valves.  However, this points to another hack -- the frequency of squeaks is cut in half if you block *one* of the shoe valves but not the other.  A nice compromise, we've found.

Related: Muffling noisy toys

Comments

[Lemon]

I love these shoes b/c I have two toddlers. I only let them wear the shoes when we all go to the museum, playground, etc. Because I'm outnumbered and both boys are constantly running and ducking out of sight, the sound of the shoes makes them much easier for me to find, even when they are out of sight.

[Annette]

Museum?! Children's museum, I hope. Otherwise, how incredibly rude!

[Wendy]

There's a company that makes them with removable squeakers! They are extremely well made and sturdy, yet flexible enough for those beginning walkers. I have a couple of pairs for my daughter and I love them:

http://www.littlesqueakyfeet.com/

[HandsFree]

Beginning walkers? I never thought of that use for these. My children didn't need any extra encouragement to walk... they were quite eager!

I always thought that these shoes were most useful for tracking down older toddlers who like to wander/run away!

Here's another link for removable-squeaker shoes:

Pipsqueaks at Avery's Place http://www.averysplace.com/pipsqueaks.htm
(courtesy of two reviews at Mamas Like http://mamaslike.com/cutest-squeak-shoes-squeak-ever/ )

[Kristen]

Or just. not. buy. them.

LOL.