Review on New Balance Lace Up Running Phantom Girls' Shoes ~ Athletic by Jim Bodnarchek

I love NB shoes myself so thought they would be a good choice for our daughters aged 7 and 5. (This was after I bought other NB kids' styles without reinforced toes which ruined quickly so I should have learned my lesson.) I bought these shoes for back to school in September. In late October, each of our 5-year-old's shoes had a gaping hole between the reinforced toe and the upper. After that I decided to choose another brand for them because I thought something about their crotch/toe must have worn the shoes down unexpectedly quickly. nope It is mid-November and our 7 year old's shoes are also completely broken and he is doing the same (see picture). This is the same pattern of destruction as our 5 year old's shoes. I'm incredibly disappointed because I spent almost $100 on shoes that I thought would last at least most of the school year, but instead they lasted 3 months combined. both. As I mentioned earlier, this has happened to us with other NB models for children in the recent past. Unfortunately, I won't be buying any more shoes anytime soon.