Our son is on the borderline between needing a regular and a wide shoe, so we typically buy the wide shoes so he has some room.  We purchased these velcro topsiders in a wide size, but they were so narrow that we could barely stuff his foot into the shoe.  I noticed on the side of the box that they sent us a GIRLS shoe, so perhaps that is the problem.  I'm not sure if girls shoes are narrower than boys shoes, or how to even specify on Amazon that you want a BOYS shoe.  The construction of the shoe appeared to be a very high quality, and extremely sturdy (yet flexible).  If it weren't for the fit issue, I'm sure we would have loved these shoes.