I got these for my eight year old son after his pediatrician recommended New Balance as having good arch support for kids with flat feet. (I think adding a store bought arch support insole has also helped with that problem, too.) The New Balance shoes are holding up well so far, and the color doesn't shoe dirt too much. My son loves that they have velcro and he doesn't have to worry about tying his shoelaces. The only reason I'm not giving them five stars is because the straps could stand to be longer, and one strap seems a bit shorter than the other so it feels tighter at the ankle.A great sneaker. Now that I've stopped buying cheap sneakers from Payless or Walmart, my children no longer complain about their feet hurting, and have stopped limping around; this sneaker did the trick. However, this sneaker runs small in width. We will be re-ordering in the same size, but in wide, or even extra wide. Had to order extra wide for my oldest, and wide for my youngest.My son loves shoes without laces and needs a wide shoe, so our options are limited. These were great at first, but there is a zig-zag stitch across some of the borders between materials (zoom in on the picture) and it started coming undone after less than 2 weeks. They looked sloppy but still held together for about 4 months. They now have holes. My son loved them while they lasted, but we bought a different style for the next pair. We have not had this problem with other New Balance styles.The strap closure is just a wee bit difficult to tighten enough to meet the velcro exactly. Not that big of a problem though. I was just happy to find some quality shoes without laces. I'm a teacher in a primary school and if I had a pennny for every time I've tied a child's shoe I'd be able to retire.These are really nice-looking shoes, so my son and I were very disappointed that they were much too narrow for his feet. He does not have a wide foot at all, and others shoes fit him fine in a medium width. If you order these, I recommend getting the wide width unless your child has very narrow feet.I'm now realizing that the reason this shoe is so cheap is because it doesn't work properly. I bought one of my twin sons an orange pair of New Balance Z-Straps at Sears, however, they did not have any in different color for my other twin son. I looked on Amazon and found this pair and was very pleased to find the same sneaker in a different color for a much cheaper price! Who would of thought that the orange pair (same size/width) would fit my son perfectly yet the red pair will not strap all the way across the shoe, the strap just BARELY touches the velcro. You would think that a WIDE WIDTH shoe would accommodate with a longer velcro strap. I have to help my son get these sneakers on every morning so the velcro doesn't come undone. Would not recommend this product.This is a larger size and different color but is identical to my son's smaller ones that have outlasted their first replacement. We decided to go back with what works. He destroys shoes and everything else unfortunately. New Balance has my respect for now. Great looking shoe and well built for a reasonable price. My son is happy and these are a safe bet. Shipping and service great. Thank you.My 6 year old is very hard on running shoes. I have found it better to buy a quality running shoe than cheap ones. These one's have already lasted him since September and they are not falling apart. The zip strip still works and they are solidly constructed. Thankful for a kids shoe that holds up to a kids doings.