I am comparing this brand to Stride Rite since my toddler has several pairs of shoes by Stride Rite.These shoes are adorable, but lost the look very quickly. The nose of the shoes is all scraped after several wears.Our Stride Rite shoes survived numerous trips to rain puddles and several washes and still look like new.I had previously ordered some Stride Rites in a Wide, after being fitted in store and not having anything I liked. These in the regular width fit perfectly. My son had been walking for several months, and these were his first pair of soled shoes. He had no problem at all walking in them.The opening of the shoe is someone small and has some elastic but is a little tight to pull and get on a toddlers foot. Once it's on it fits ok. They're really cute though so I go through the struggle of putting them on.We needed a waterproof pair of shoes to send with my 14 month old to daycare. I searched everywhere for a pair of boots in size 3 but couldn't find anything. Then I gave up and looked for a good solid pair of shoes that could stand up to his daycare's somewhat soggy backyard. These work great! While they're not good for jumping in puddles, they definitely keep his feet dry and seem to be super comfy for him. He has no trouble walking in them at all. Plus they're cute!This is a nice shoe for a walker. It's easy to put on and cute to look at. It is a little clunky and looks more brown than black, but still seems to match pretty much whatever we put him in.Sadly these are way too narrow for my boys foot. We have always been see Kai run wearers in our toddler family but these are tiny.We just got these and tried them on. Here are my initial thoughts: So cute! Good construction. Fit well. The laces are for looks. These are velcro closure which is great for fast wriggling toddlers and presumably older kiddos who can put their shoes on themselves. Very happy with the price from Amazon compared to comparable quality shoes available elsewhere. I'll update if needed after my son wears them a bit more but I think these are great.These were my sons' first pair of shoes and they have such a cute little boy style. I'm into the "nature themed" baby things, so the brown and green match with all his clothes. They are easy to put on him and take off. He's been wearing them for a couple of months and nothing on the shoes look like they are ripping, fading or coming apart, so I think they are good quality.