Looking for children’s dance shoes can be quite a feat. You may not know the exact shoe size of your child as dance shoe sizes are often different from normal shoes sizes. A challenge in finding the right children’s dance shoes is the many brands offered. You’ll probably ask yourself what are the exact differences between brands? Is it really necessary to buy a brand that is more expensive? And does that make the shoe any better? Depending on who you talk to, the more expensive brand may not be better at all.

Here are 3 good tips to help you find children’s dance shoes:

Read online reviews
Reading reviews of products online is your best bet for finding the perfect brand, fit, or style of children’s dance shoes. You have the ability to hear directly from other mom’s who have bought a certain brand and if they would recommend it. Reviews are especially useful when you have a brand in mind and can type it in the search query of your favorite dance shoe online retailer and know for sure based on reviews listed for that shoe.

Ask you child’s dance teacher which brands are known to be better for each discipline
Go straight to the one who knows best – the dance teacher. Depending on the dance discipline your child is in (ballet, tap, jazz) there usually isn’t one brand that fits all. The dance teacher probably is knowledgeable about all types of dancing and can tell you, for example, which shoe brand would be better for tap and which would be better for ballet. If you use this method of going straught to the professional, you’ll surely find the right children’s dance shoes.

Be sure to get the brand that implies the most value or bang for your buck, not just which brand is on sale, because you might have to end up replacing it sooner than you’d like
Chances are, if you purchase dance shoes for your child, they are going to wear them out fairly quickly. That can vary depending on the brand. One brand of shoes may be more durable and will last a few seasons, which will leave you happy because you’ll save money in the long run. If you’re child is in ballet, the Capezio brand usually outlasts all other brands as they are known for their durability. For Jazz, you’d be better to go with Bloch for durability. Don’t simply pick a shoe based on the price, make sure you do your research on quality and comfort first. You’ll most likely in the end have to replace your child’s dance shoes because they’ll grow out of them just as quickly as regular shoes.