days out, tried and tested
Shopping with children is a different sport to shopping for them. Seven places are listed here: a proper children's shoe shop in Haarlem that measures feet, a kindermode boutique and a balloon and party shop in Zaandam, a baby webshop based in Zwaag, a workshop shop in Amsterdam, and Bataviastad at Lelystad, an outlet village with the Batavia Wharf shipyard next door — a rare afternoon that suits both of you. Two are in Zaandam and two in Lelystad, with one each in Zwaag, Haarlem and Amsterdam. Six are wheelchair accessible and two have a play area.
8 kids shopping in the Netherlands
Every town with something in this category has its own page. The number is what is listed there today.
Barends Children's Shoe Shop in Haarlem is the specialist listed here — a Dutch kinderschoenenwinkel measures both feet and checks the fit standing, which the chains generally do not. Independent shoe shops are common in smaller Dutch towns and are worth the trip for a first pair of walking shoes.
It works better than a shopping centre has any right to. The outlet village in Lelystad sits next to the Batavia Wharf, where historic ships are rebuilt and children can go aboard, and the whole site is flat, outdoors and easy with a buggy. Two of the seven listings here are on that site.
Six of the seven are tagged wheelchair accessible, and two have a play area to park an older child in while you queue. The outlet village and the larger shops are straightforward; small independent boutiques in older buildings can involve a step. Facilities on each listing are what the shop publishes.
