Yesterday’s news about some schools banning Crocs reminded me of a story I published on November 25, 2008. Following is the post I shared on my then-parenting blog, crazedparent. Links and text are original.
Crocs has been having a rough year: awful earnings and sales along with a plunging stock price. What can you expect when you have a pair of shoes selling for $26 at high-end stores and anyone can find a decent knock-off at Target for less than half the price?
And then there's the lawsuit. The company is being sued for $7 million dollars after a little girl's foot got mangled after her Crocs got stuck in an escalator.
I was a late adopter of Crocs. My friends had them. My kids' friends had them. But I resisted. I'm a big proponent of buying sturdy shoes that are ready for action. I relented one spring afternoon when Six (then Five) and I were out shopping for new shoes. He really wanted a pair of green Crocs. And then Q. had a cute little blue pair from his favorite Wallie. I will admit that those tiny Crocs on Q.'s feet made me fall in love with them. My kids can put them on all alone, and mama loves her little ones showing some clothes independence. Also? Once your kids wear Crocs, it's really difficult to get them to put on real shoes. (I've chatted with many a school mom about this.)
My guys wore them to the park, to the beach, and just about anywhere and everywhere they could. Because they just liked them. Safety concerns? I had none, other than the annoying little slivers the boys get from the wood chips on the playground. My dad, however, refused to let Six wear them when they were out. "Those pieces of crap are dangerous," he'd tell me.
Let's fast forward, shall we?
Q. wore another favorite pair of Crocs to the park over the weekend. He was on a metal seesaw when it came down on his foot and crushed his big toe. Wait. Crushed isn't accurate. It broke his big toe.
Had he been wearing his pair of Merrell mocs or other strong shoes, his toe probably would have been badly bruised. Instead, it's cut, bruised and busted because of that soft rubber that makes Crocs so comfortable. (Blurry photo = kid telling me to bug off his wretched toe.) It will take about two weeks to heal and his toe has to be taped the entire time.
I now fully understand and appreciate why so many parents refuse to let their kids wear Crocs. And it's fair to say my kids won't be sporting Crocs — or any open-toed sandals or shoes — when they are at the park or playing outside.
I'm not fully anti-Croc. I think there's a place for kids to wear them. Like at the pool. Or the beach (Kauai, 31 days and counting every second, oh tropical slice of heaven).
But I do hate it when my dad has to be right.
charlene prince birkeland 
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