First, let me offer the following personal research before I rave about the cros cayman/classic. In my opinion Amazon.com is the best place to shop and to read reviews prior to purchasing, particularly when looking for the 'cons' in a particular product. I have found that my negative feedback about a particular style croc did not get published on the croc website, and I think that is grossly unfair to the consumer. That implies to me that they are more interested in selling their product than listening to consumer complaints and thus modifying or correcting/improving their product. What you may or may not know is that crocs are manufactured in several different countries including Italy, Mexico, Canada, and here in the US, and that sizes and material used between styles vary greatly.I have done a great deal of research about children's footwear, and unanimously pediatricians say "barefoot is best" because the bones in children's feet are soft and growing until they are 13, if I remember correctly. However,footwear is necessary to protect feet from the elements or from injury. When shopping for crocs or any other shoe for our granddaughter, the very first thing I do is to pick up the shoe and try to flex the sole. If it is 'stiff as a board' it will impact the way your child walks. I have personally tested this with our granddaughter, and this is what I found: With a soft, flexible sole she can walk normally in a striding motion, exercising the foot and leg, which is critical to muscle development in the foot and leg. With a hard, inflexible sole, she didn't walk normally--rather she picked up her feet and set them down in a 'clomping' gait. Not good. You won't go wrong with the crocs Cayman/Classic, imo. I purchased these crocs classics in pearl white for our 2 year old granddaughter, and she has worn these for everyday almost exclusively this summer--they are that good. What I love about the Crocs Cayman Classic is the soft, flexible material used, thus making it a soft, flexible shoe--particularly the sole--perfect for growing feet. Equally important are all the vents around the perimiter of the shoe, allowing adequate ventilation which is important in a shoe made of manmade materials. This shoe is easy to clean and still looks almost brand new. This particular croc 'runs large'. Our granddaughter wears an 8/9 in this style, but an 8/9 in a couple of the other styles was smaller. There are two other styles in crocs that you couldn't give me because of the material used, the inflexibility, and the lack of ventilation. I won't mention those here because I am critiquing the cayman classic. I contacted crocs to express my concern about the differences in material used and was told that the best solution was to visit a store that sells crocs and to personally examine them. That is my advice to you. If you aren't in proximity to anyone who sells crocs, I would order the crocs Cayman/Classic. I'm even ordering this style for winter wear. For any other croc style, I would order from a vendor who accepts returns.
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