Moon Shoes are all the rage and why wouldn't they be? The ubiquitous picture of the pony-tailed girl soaring across a white background, with no earth in site. I'm a thirty-something adult with no kids and it's enough to fire me up, so you know children are going to be desperate for them.
If you haven't seen Moon Shoes, think plastic shoe-box with a rubber band lid. Strap your kid's feet to the rubber bands and watch them bounce.
It may sound funny, but it looks like an awful lot of fun. Unfortunately, it also looks a little risky.
I wish I could give you a definitive answer as to whether or not to put these on the next birthday list, but after perusing every review at Amazon.com, the results are muddled.
There seems to be three schools of thought. Either ...
- They're the greatest toy since the Gameboy.
They're perfectly designed for ankle breaking.
They're useless because they can't be used to jump over the garage.
As far as warnings go, the only caution is the standard, "not suitable for children under 3 years of age because of small parts which could be swallowed."
Since there doesn't seem to be a definitive answer here, I guess common sense will have to prevail.
If your kid sprains his ankle watching Nickelodeon, you might want to pass on Moon shoes. If your kid is the next Hollywood stuntman, try them out with supervision. Pads and a helmet might not be the worst idea to start. No less than when they're riding their bikes or skateboards.
As for me, I worry a lot about my two youngest nephews' recklessness, so I tend to err on the side of caution.
Having said that, if we were standing in KB Toys and they pulled the "pleeeease Aunt Desi," nine year-old Patrick and seven year-old Noah would probably be hopping through the next family get-together while I worried if I'd done the right thing.
on Moon Shoes, or read reviews at Amazon.com.
