Personally I think 80$ is too much unless SD is actually putting something towards it.
Sure if she has pocket money or whatever and wants to put that towards something specific then fine, but otherwise Id be saying anything over 40-50$ is excessive for sneakers for a 10 year old. Particularly if past history is short life span!

Way to much money for shoes in my opinion. Especially since she will probably outgrow them before they wear out.

I think that's too much...her feet are still growing. If she has birthday money have her put some toward it. The earlier they learn to use their own money for things the better.

I would not sweat over this unless it is eating into your household budget. I don't know anything about these particular shoes and whether they are really better than the run-of-the-mill type but when I can afford it I always buy my kids the absolute best quality shoes because anything less is a false economy. Recently my DH for the first time bought my younger son the cheapest possible school shoes (he has always thought I was extravagant) and the sole was coming off them after a month. After that he bowed to my high standards!

I think it's normal.

As long as he isn't expecting you to foot the bill, it shouldn't matter. I never allowed a SO to have a say in how much I spent on my son. My money, my kid my choice.

My step-kids were required to pay anything over what it would have cost at Target if purchased somewhere else or a overpriced brand name even at Target. It was more to help them learn the value of a dollar then anything else. You can bet the items were never found on the bedroom floor if they were even purchased as most of the time they didn't have the money.

Not all people split their money into his/hers. My husband and I don't; and therefore, we consult with each other on almost all purchases outside of normal household expenses. We each get an "allowance" and he chose to spend $150 on SS for some shoes the week before Christmas last year. I raised kids, so it's not like I'd be treating him any differently than my own when I would have made them into a Christmas gift, or not purchased them. SS has zero appreciation for anything, and within three or four months was asking for a pair of $250 shoes. You have to draw the line somewhere, and it depends on YOUR budget or money situation. Personally, I think $50 is reasonable for kids' shoes.

When BM brought it to DH's attentions that SS was now wanting the $250 shoes, DH said how bad he felt because other kids probably have them and his poor son is going without. I'm thinking..... your son lives in one of the poorest communities in the state. If anything, he's the one making everyone else feel bad since he's probably the only one who gets most of the things he does.

I'm probably in the minority, but I believe not giving your children everything they want teaches them more about life, and gives them some humility. Every one of my children has said a variation of these words to me as adults, "Mom, you did a great job. I know it was hard, but I wouldn't change a thing. We had a great childhood."

My mom NEVER bought me "nice" shoes until my feet stopped growing. I got ballet flats and sneakers from walmart until I was old enough to buy myself nicer shoes. They were serviceable and worked just fine. And then with my first paycheck I went out and bought myself a pair of $300 boots (that I STILL wear), and learned to take extra good care of them (Italian Leather yes please!) and they have lasted me over 10 years at this point.

So yeah, $80 is overly expensive for sneakers for a ten year old.