To wonder if

Yes - that's why I wanted mine back - expensive and hoping for another baby - although that's looking a bit forlorn now !

I assume people might lend them out as they plan to have another child (or know of someone) who would also get use out of them. They are just being kind offering to lend them out to yourself in the first place. They could just store them for themselves and leave them sat in the loft until they want to use them.

So long as you know upfront what is a loan and what is for keeps, I can't see the problem. Just label them in the clothes tags to help you remember.

If you don't think you can remember who gives you want, then just decline the offer of the loan.

I normally arrange at the handover whether the clothes are to be given back or not. I don't normally want anything back, unless there is a particular thing that I am very sentimental about.
But then if I am likely to go all weepy about it, then I wouldnt pass it on in the first place.

Im surprised at you being asked for them back

whenever Im given hand-me-downs, people usually say "give them to charity if you dont need them/dont fit"

I never give them back - I usually hand them onto someone else or if reached end of life, give them to charity

I guess its different lending people decent / designer stuff - I always get Tescos/next

I usually check. Maybe I have a particularly good memory, but I usually have a pretty good idea of what came from where - and we do have clothes proferred from lots of directions.

I always make clear whether I'm lending or giving.

I suppose it depends on whether the clothes have been LENT or GIVEN ! I certainly felt I had lent mine - but I have been given hand me downs that I have then put into the charity skip.

Perjaps we shoudl all check the nature of the act to avoid the problenms ?? ie. ask at the time !

think it a bit unreasonable. if you give something to someone you cant ask for it back later. whats wrong with you giving them to the charity of your choice?

Wish I'd thought of that before I gave away some of our handmedowns. Who would have thought someone would be so sentimental about baby clothes that had been through 4 babies, 2 of which not her own? Still feel rotten.

Hmm Whenever I am given any hand me downs i state I give all my DD's clothes to the charity shop at the local childrens hospital is it ok if i do that with these when I'm done. I am maybe preempting them asking for them back but they can hardly argue with a childrens charity.

Why not ask her which charity she woul dlike them to go to tell her you will organize it yourself that way you can add other things to it. Maybe she will be happy with that?

I lent a friend a load of Boden & Gymboree baby clothes - I said at the time that I'd like them back when her dd had finished wearing them - anyway - I found out recently that she'd ebayed them ! I was very pissed off and will never lend her anything again !

The same girl - lent some maternity clothes to another friend who's dh dies suddenly when she was 3 mths preg - when that friend failed to return the clothes after her baby was born - my friend wrote her a stinky letter saying that she needed to send her a cheque for £100 as she had not returned the mat clothes.

Needless to say - I am no longer in close contact with this girl !

I think my personal view is that you should at least offer the clothes back to the lender befoer you eithet give them away or sell them on !

That's unreasonable- if she's given them to you then they're yours to do as you want with. After they've been used by two sets of children, they probably won't be fit to be passed on again anyway!

just put a dot in the tags, maybe with a red marker? I have friends who do this, don't see the prob.