My Picky Kid Finally Wears These Summer Shoes Without a Fight

Trying to find the right summer shoes for my kids has become one of life’s persistent questions. They need shoes they’ll wear, that match whatever they’re doing, and hopefully are not a huge pain for us to help them into.

That’s harder than it sounds. Our kids move constantly between the house, the yard, the woods, the creek, their bikes, and whatever other activity they find—sometimes approved, oftentimes not. Somewhere along the line, we mostly gave up on the idea of protecting shoes for school and designating others for outdoor play. The shoe battle was too exhausting. We started settling for any shoe our son would willingly put on, with bonus points if he could do it himself.

But there were limits. He loved his rain boots because they were fast and easy to put on, and they're great for mud, but they slipped on bike pedals, especially when wet. He loved the high tops we intended for school, but we hated when he decided to wear them into the creek. And the hardest battles came when he suddenly changed activities and the shoes that were fine became immediately inappropriate.

Then we found the KEEN Newport H2 sandal.

Keen

KEEN Kids' Newport H2 Sandals

Best Kids Water Sandal

$60.00

What We Love

• • Closed toe protects against rocks, roots, bike pedals, and playground stumbles
• • Works for water play, light hikes, camp, and everyday summer use
• • Grippy rubber outsole handles wet and uneven surfaces
• • Secure bungee-and-strap closure
• • Machine washable
• • Durable enough for hand-me-down use

Worth Knowing

• • Heavier and bulkier than minimalist sandals
• • Takes longer to dry than lighter water shoes
• • Can hold odor if worn wet and not dried fully
• • Younger toddlers may need help getting them on
• • Runs warmer than open sandals

Read Review →Check Price - REI

It is a water-ready sandal with much of the protection of a regular shoe, and that combination changed the summer shoe equation immediately. It was rugged enough for bike rides, playing in the woods and on rock piles, and long playground sessions. It handled the creek better than sneakers (and they’re machine-washable!), with enough toe protection for everything from kickball to the jump lines on our backyard pump track.

None of that would matter if he refused to wear them. Mercifully, he loves them. That may mean he tries to wear them to places where water sandals don’t match the preferred dress code, but I would rather negotiate over KEENs at dinner than watch nice shoes disappear into the creek.

This is not the perfect kids shoe. The Newport H2 is bulkier than a minimalist water shoe, slower to dry, and not as cushioned as a good sneaker. It also does not offer the same full-foot coverage as a traditional shoe. But parenting is mostly trade-offs, and this is one of the better ones we have found.

The Newport H2 does not win every category. But it’s a win for us because it is good enough in more situations than most kids shoes. For active kids who move from bikes to playgrounds to creeks without warning, that’s a big deal. It reduces shoe changes, dramatically reduces arguments, and gives us one less thing to micromanage.

If your kid is always outside and you want one pair of shoes that can handle most of what summer throws at them, the KEEN Newport H2 is the pair I would start with.