On Saturday my wife, daughter, two granddaughters age 4 and 2, and I walked into the Stride Rite Shoe store in the mall. The two granddaughters needed new shoes. As we walked in, two other children age 1 and 3 bolted for the door like caged alley cats eying their chance for freedom. Their weary grandmother had turned her back for a moment to speak to the store clerk. Remembering that grand parenting is a team sport, I stepped into the path of the fleeing felines, stretched out my arms and growled. That slowed them down long enough for grandma to catch up.

Whoever owns the Stride Rite Shoe store is a marketing genius. They have managed to take the simple children’s canvas shoe made in China and transform it into an array of designs and colors complete with blinking lights built into the tread. The shoes were neatly arranged by theme—princess, superhero, cartoon character, etc. on brightly lit shelves around the room. They are sold for about a dollar per millimeter of shoe length and it is expected that children will outgrow their shoes in about four months.

What was most intriguing was to notice that almost every mother and child in the store was accompanied by a grandmother. When it came time for check out, it was grandma’s credit card that paid for the transaction. I remembered that my mother had done the same thing for our children when they were young. It is as if there is a Clause 53 in the unwritten grandparent’s rule book that says, “Grandparents shall buy all school shoes for young children.” Our daughter is about to add grandchild number five to the litter so it would be nice if we could unearth this secret rule book.