Children's Shoes- Spend or Save?

It is back to school time and since both my children will be heading off to school, they are in need of some fresh fall shoes.  We are fortunate to have an Olly shoes near us, where they actually scan your child's feet to give you their exact size including width.  Cole is so anti sneaker right now after spending the summer in loose sandals and Crocs, but since he will have Gym class three days a week he had better get used to wearing sneakers.  So there we were standing in Olly shoes where most of their sneakers cost about $50.

So do you believe and invest in higher priced footwear for you kids?  My children have somewhat average type feet and so I have never felt the need to invest in any special shoes.  Actually lots of what they wear are hand me downs, gently worn and carefully selected by our friends.  Now that Cole is getting older, I would not have a problem with him investing in some nice sneakers if only he could accept the fact that they are going to feel tight.  Since Cole could not make a decision, we got these really cute Adidas for Cecily instead for $20 at Kohl's.