Customer Reviews Friendly Shoes Kids Friendly Force (Little Kid/Big Kid)

Purchased these for my 11yr old who has Autism and he loves them. They are easy for him to put on/take off without having to worry about laces. He likes the feel of the memory foam insert and how light & breathable they are. 10/10 recommend these.

It has been a struggle to find shoes that fit my son’s AFOs. His braces make his foot extra wide and most shoe brands can’t accommodate that. We’ve had luck with Billys (still struggle to zip up right out of the box, they need breaking in), Skechers (have to rip out the glued in insole), and now these. These guys are light weight, super easy for his feet and AFOs to get into, have an easily removable insole, and zip up so easy my son could manage it himself the very first time. I put they are too wide in here, ONLY so parents of kids with AFOs will know they are wide enough for the braces. Only docking a star for style, but overall I’d give these a 9.5/10. If your child wears AFOs these are the best I’ve found!

Shoe was adorable but would not stay zipped and kept coming off during play.

Lightweight kids shoe, good zipper placement for brace/AFO users. But not quite wide/deep enough in the toe-box for some braces. Will be ordering one size up.

These shoes are so great with my son’s AFOs. Love that they are lightweight, look great and are functional! I wish they came in more colors.

If your kiddo uses SMOS - You must try these!! We have been using Tsukihoshi in model Kaz for 7 years but they only run up to 13 and now needed a bigger size. So the hunt started again for a shoe that will fit my son's SMOS model. I tried another model from that brand, but didn't work so I took it as a sign to try another brand. I used Zappos filter to find shoes that fitted orthotics and "The Friendly Shoes" grabbed my attention right away because the models were unisex (FINALLY! colors are colors, simple as that), they looked wide, the insole was removable and the zipper could make it easier to put on. I got the first pair yesterday, we tried them inside to see how kiddo felt and walked with them and used outside today to see if he will get red marks. No red marks (they don' put extra pressure on the SMO) so that means they are a keeper! I placed another order today for 2 more and since Zappos didn't have more colors in the number we needed, I reached out to the company and one of the owners replied to me right away and an hour later HE CALLED me to let me know the sizes and colors they had at the warehouse. They have a customer for life now! I will share a photo when in use too. They are cute, flexible (same as Tsukihoshi) and easy to put on (by parents or kiddo itself)

Amazing support! My little one is independently putting on shoes, they fit and wash well. My husband actually wants a pair. I think we've found a keeper. Thank You Friendly.

After removing the insoles, these were perfect for my child with AFOs. We like how easy the zipper is to use. With AFOs we ordered shoes two sizes larger. In the past, when trying on the correct size without AFOs these shoes were too loose on the feet and no way to tighten them. If your child wears AFOs I recommend trying these.

My son is in casts for 6 weeks on both feet. These are the only thing that worked for him. It’s been freezing and these protect his toes and feet. I ordered two sizes up from his normal and took out the insoles.

I had bought these shoes hoping they would fit my son who wears an AFO brace. They were not wide enough. I had to return them. Other than that, they seemed like a high quality, durable shoe.

I bought these shoes for my 4 year old. Love the shoe! Very comfy and the zipper on the inside of the foot is brilliant idea! Our kid was able to put his shies on and off with no problems.

My son has cerebral palsy and I have had trouble finding shoes to fit his feet. Theses are easy to put on and fit great!

Anyone considering this shoe needs to understand that the opening is much larger than a regular shoe. That's a great feature if you need it. For example, if you're wearing a brace or something around your ankle. But there is no way to close the opening or tighten it down. It seems well constructed, and my son loves the zipper concept, but it just wasn't right for us.

They fit his braces good. I just wished that you would get more shoes with wider widths. Very easy to zip up.

New favorite brand of shoes. My child has a difficult time finding sneakers comfortable and easy to wear. He absolutely loves these. So glad my coworker recommended these - I am going to order a pair for myself and a few more for my son. Definitely recommend !!!

I am a woman in my 50s with the feet of a second grader (kids' size 1), and buying shoes is a never-ending challenge. I learned about these Friendly shoes during a spina-bifida-association fashion show, and immediately bought a pair. For a person with tiny and unusually shaped feet, these were easy to get into and super comfy. Friendly seems to have cracked a challenge I've experienced with *some* styles from Billy Shoes (which I LOVE overall). That is, Friendly has added a tiny triangle of stretchy material at the top of the zipper, which provides just a little more flexibility for getting into the shoes and pulling the zipper closed. These Friendly Force shoes are not the best for walking up hills or on uneven ground, as their stretchiness makes my feet slide around a bit. Otherwise, they fit perfectly and are like slippers, in the comfort department.

I really wanted these to work for my son. He wears AFO’s and it’s so hard to find shoes. These would not fit with the AFO’s even two sizes bigger than his normal foot size.

My typically abled daughter loved the look of these shoes but I didn’t read the description carefully. Since they’re made for all abilities they’re really loose around the ankle and with no way to adjust the tightness it just didn’t work for us.

True to size, fit my kid with somewhat wide feet just fine, but he did not like the raised foam insides, so they are being returned.

My son loved these but they only lasted a few months (about 3) before they started falling apart. If you are looking for shoes to last, I don’t recommend these.

Have yet to find an AFO-friendly shoe that is ACTUALLY AFO-friendly. They need to have higher and wider in-steps to accommodate the AFO.

We absolutely loved these shoes to go over my sons smo’s. They fit great, he loves the memory foam insole, and they are fast to get on. BUT, he has only worn them 5 times and there are already threads pulling out! I’m worried they won’t last long. Has anyone else had this issue??

Got these for my daughter who loves blue and has a hard time finding blue shoes that aren’t too boyish. didn’t realize they were for all abilities. The zipper closure means they’re pretty loose with no way to tighten. Didn’t work for our needs.

Well I normally fit into a child’s 3 ( I’m 55 years old). The 3 were too big my foot slipped right out of the shoe. The size 2 was too small as my toe was all the way at the end of the shoe. The insole felt real cushiony and I was looking forward to getting these shoes as I have plantar fasciitis but they were just not meant to be. I was surprised that the zipper didn’t feel like it would be uncomfortable.

we have had these for 5 weeks. My son wears a brace one one leg and requires 2 different sizes for his feet. I love that I could purchase individual shoes in the sizes he needed. they have been comfortable and breathable this summer. however one shoe is already torn up- the bright green lining around the ankle has come undone. I wanted to love these but I’m not sure they hold up more than a month.