How to Buy Clothes for Toddlers
Whether you are a parent of a toddler who is sensitive to certain fabrics on his skin or a friend looking to make a good impression on a parent, you will need to know what are the best clothes to buy for a toddler. People who aren't knowledgeable about children's clothes will usually select them based on appearance rather than quality, size and comfort. They also will not give thought to the parent's time, patience and concern for their child's safety when selecting clothing with excessive buttons, tricky zippers and distracting objects sewn on the fabric.
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Instructions
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Check the quality of the clothing. Is it soft, lightweight and durable? Children's clothes that are rough to the touch whether inside or outside will usually cause the child to whine or cry while wearing them. When examining the weight of the clothes, think about whether they would be light enough for an active child to run comfortably in. Select quality clothes that can handle frequent washes, spills and other things that may happen to the fabric. Most quality clothes are kept by the parent and passed on to a younger sibling.
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Look at the color and design of the items. Do they evoke happiness, peace, fun or love emotions? Sometimes people will buy children's clothing because it is on sale before thinking about how it may affect the children.
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Select clothing that is easy for the children to pull down or take off so that they can use the bathroom. Some items are one piece, while others come in two or more pieces. One piece clothing is not a good choice for a toilet trained toddler because they usually have to take the entire outfit off to use the toilet. Outfits with suspenders can be difficult for toddlers to manage as well. Pants that don't require a belt are your best choice.
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Avoid clothing that is cheap or poorly made such as 100 percent polyester fabric. Clothing made of this material collect lint balls within the first few washes. Be sure t-shirts are 100 percent cotton. If not, they will shrink. Notice the smell of some painted-on fabrics; the ink may cause problems, especially for allergy sufferers. Many of these types of clothes are found in discount stores, outlets, dollar stores and local flea markets (swap meets).
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Examine the clothing for loose buttons, gems and other objects sewn on that can be easily pulled off.
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Buy items one size up. This way the child will be able to wear the clothing a little longer. For example, if the child is two years old, typically most children wear a 2T; however, you may find 3T clothing which could also work.
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Tips & Warnings
Stay away from toddler clothes with dark images such as: skeletons, knives, bizarre symbols and gothic things that may scare the child or be offensive to others.
If you are buying for someone else's child, find out what the child likes and doesn't like. For instance, some children are afraid of certain animals that you might find friendly.
Most clothing for toddlers is sized for the average child. The sizes 2T, 3T and 4T are based on the average size of a two-, three- and four-year-old child. Besides a 2T size, a two-year-old can also wear 24 months, but they usually grow out of this size very quickly. If the child is one year old, his or her size would be 12 months.
Avoid clothing with long strings and fringes, a child can get caught on a door handle, choke or pass an open flame.
Stay away from clothes with glitter. This product is messy, especially after washing. Glitter usually shows up on the child's face, hands, furniture and on other clothes in the wash. The designs usually fade away very quickly.
Don't buy clothing with the following: many buttons, zippers with no strap at the top, bells or other objects sewn on the fabric. These can be a problem for both parent and child. Sometimes children will pull off buttons and other objects and attempt to eat them.
