Children's shoes are becoming harder and harder to find in op shops (thrift shops). I think this is partly because so many contemporary children's shoes are so poorly-made. Even brand new ones only last three or four months before falling aprt. But there is one type of children's shoe that is still being manufactured to exacting standards and in quality materials - tap shoes! I found these tap shoes in an op shop and removed the taps (they're merely screwed in). Now my daughter wears them to school. More to read on my second-hand-shopping blog.