Review on New Balance Girls' 519V1 Athletic Running Shoes for Girls by Brianna Kamp

My 11 year old loves these shoes! She struggles with tying her shoelaces due to a sensory processing disorder with tactile defenses (most of the time it can be uncomfortable to use her hands, so she usually tries to avoid it if possible). The velcro definitely helps because it only needs to be done once - shoelaces are often untied during the day, but the velcro usually stays in place and doesn't need to be touched again until it's time to take off your shoes. Unfortunately it is difficult. Find Velcro shoes for big kids. Especially the more colorful "girly" styles. My child grew out of a big girl size 5 at just under 9 and was wearing a women's size 7 by the age of 10. She may wear a size 6 for larger children but they are usually only found in boy sizes, most brands stop those line for girls. Big Kid size 5 and Big Boy size 6 are still hard to come by and usually not very "colourful". Sure, shoemakers make adult shoes with velcro closures (generally intended for seniors), but they're mostly solid black or white and don't have anything cool or "style" about them. My teenager wants shoes that match her outfit - light blue, pink, purple etc. Luckily for big kids, New Balance is gender specific in sizes 5-7, they don't sell styles that are typically just for boys. All of their big kid shoes are simply marked "big kids". As I said, my 11 year old daughter wears a women's 7 and the New Balance for tall kids in a 6 fits her PERFECTLY. She usually wears standard width shoes from other brands, but New Balance is always too narrow for her, so she always needed her brand's width shoes. We bought accordingly and they worked great. If your child has narrow feet, a standard width will likely work. For everyone else, you may need "broad" or even very wide. These shoes are comfortable and I've even stolen them once or twice as I'm the same size as my daughter (actually I'm a women's size 7.5 but the large baby 6 width still fits me, just a little tighter , as they suit my daughter ). They seem to be of good quality, she has worn them a few times and they still look new. Big "victory" for us. Many thanks to New Balance for developing a wider range of Velcro shoes for "big kids"! They saved the day for my special needs daughter who just wants a cool and comfortable pair of shoes.