Stride Rite are the best shoes for toddler feet...soft, lightweight, and bend easy to little feet.  No red marks of her skin either.  Love these shoes!  And they wash great in the machine!  Got a pair of Nike's when her feet grew, and that was a waste of $30 dollars as her feet were red everytime I took her shoes off.  And they were heavy, she kept tripping.  Stride Rite are definately the way to go for toddler shoes!