Water Shoes????

If she is wearing them in the water they need to be shoes that will stay on her feet and have a rubber type bottom to prevent slipping. That will be important especially if she will be wearing them in a lake or creek. If she is going to be doing actual swimming and not just playing in the water they need to fit pretty snug. Otherwise they will just fall off of her feet and float away. If she is just going to wear them in the locker room and on the pool deck the Croc type of shoe will be fine.

It depends on where she will be swimming. If it's a pool, the jellies or crocs should be fine, if it's a lake or river where she'll be wearing the shoes in the water than you want something more durable and well fitting. We spend lots of time at the river, my son has fabric swim shoes that keep out rocks but will fit well enough that he won't trip or slip. Keens or tevas make great sandals that also are well fitting if you don't want the full shoe.

My first thought would be Crocs, as they dry very quickly and do not slip. I buy my kids Crocs each summer to use when we go to the pool.

Will she be wearing them in the water or just to go to the pool or lake? If she'll be using them in the water, you might want to stick with the fabric ones. Otherwise I'd go with Crocs.

For camp, where they may be climbing around rocks and such, and in the lake where there may be rocks/pebbles, we have found that the cloth type last longer and are more comfortable. TO get out any smell, we washed and then soaked in vinegar for a couple hours. worked great. I also buy a size up so they last all summer and still stay on.

Camp staffer here. Go with the kind with the fabric top that encloses the foot (so they can't fall off or get sucked off by surf, for instance) and the rubbery bottom.

By "jelly" do you mean Croc-type plastic? They may dry fast but they are going to be uncomfortable and eventually your child might decide to ditch them, which is unsafe for her. The fabric ones do take longer to dry and by the end of summer they do smell -- so that's when you throw them away. They are not built to last into another summer. That's why you can get them for $10-15 at any drugstore; they're better coverage than "jelly" but are also fine to use for one camp and then throw out.

I loathe Croc-style shoes for camp and in fact our camp bans them -- please check; your camp might ban them too.

Get the ones that you had last year. Wash them in a washing machine and add some bleach to the wash water. If it's a top loader start the water and let if fill almost all the way then add the bleach and let it wash like normal.

If it's a front loader then add the bleach to the additive section. Let it go in when it's time. It doesn't go in on the clothes and cause spots.

I wash my shoes that are fabric all the time. Then I let them air dry overnight. I love washing leather sandals too. As long as they don't fall apart in the washer they are fine. And they don't have bacteria growing in them anymore.

I have seen some that are like a sandal version of the fabric ones. Maybe that would be a good one to go for? They have the rubber sole. A toe cover, a heel, then a few straps over the foot to keep it on.

The only problem I have with crocs or the "jelly" ones is that they don't really stick to the feet too well. I guess it depends on what they are for... If they are just meant to be shower or pool shoes, I would go with crocs or jellies... But of they are going to be used in a lake, or un contained body of water I would want something that will STAY on the foot (like the fabric ones.) I remember going on a river hike during my summer camp as a kid, and several campers lost a shoe (or both) because they came off and floated away.

I'd go with fabric. I think jelly shoes are so uncomfortable when they get wet. The fabric water shoes are machine washable, so they shouldn't smell if you're cleaning them occasionally.

i've got a pair of the 'jelly' type water shoes but the brand is leisure ways, which i've never heard of otherwise. they are AMAZING. i can hike in them, wear them to the beach, and then walk a boardwalk or go shopping, and they are incredibly comfortable no matter what. they don't slip if i'm hiking over slippery rocks, dry in a flash, and they're even pink and adorable.
i wear 'em all summer long. i'll be so sad when they wear out. i'll never use fabric water shoes again.
khairete
S.