To think they make kids clothes far to big

[WhyDoesItAlways]

I have a 3 year old DS and I struggle to get him trousers that actually fit him in both length and waist. Clothes for his age range fit perfectly in the length but literally fall off him at the waist. Smaller age clothes fit on the waist but are too short. I have some that you can tie up but he struggles to get them down to use the toilet which is not ideal when potty training.

I thought it was just that he's a skinny little boy but having spoken to some friends and many are having the same problem.

DS literally came home from nursery the other day wearing some of their spare clothes after messy play which I thought were long shorts but were actually 6-9 month trousers that whilst obviously not fitting as trousers for length were perfect round the waist.

Anybody got any recommendations for children's clothes that are slimmer in the waist?

UK clothes are vanity sized for overweight/obese kids unfortunately....

Finally! 🙌🏻🙌🏻 Whenever I would mention this, even in a shop, I’d get the dirtiest/strangest looks!
My son was still in 3-6 month shorts and 12-18 month trousers at aged 3 - they’re all so bloody long!
He’s six now and I ignore age and go by height with all of his clothes.

I have tall skinny kids.

H&M always a winner.
George slim fit school trousers.

Actually a lot of George stuff is good: adjustable waists and their boys skinny jeans are lovely and soft.

I'm off to try the recommendations of Zara and Vertbaudet, thanks to PPs who mentioned them. DD is wearing Primark trousers 2 years too "old" for her today to get the leg length - I reckon I've pulled the adjustable waist button things to tighten the waist by a good 6 inches. It's not the smoothest silhouette in the world but at least they're staying up!

Lands End leggings have always been quite good for long legs and small waists, if that's what your child needs. The polarn o pyret jersey trousers have been a good fit too (pricey but last forever and look like new despite a proper battering).

Look online for Spanish brands. They come much smaller. I buy these for DD2 who is micro sized.

Yes!!

I’ve had a terrible time trying to find school skirts and trousers for my 6 year old dd and 4 year old ds.

My ds has 3-4 year old school trousers that are still too big! I had to tighten them up as far as I could but they are still a bit too big.

My dd has to have 4-5 year old pinafores as I couldn’t find a skirt her size!! If I went with one that fitted around her waist, the length would have been ridiculous (3-4 years), yet the correct length can’t fit around her waist.

She really wanted to wear a skirt for school for year 2 but we’ve agreed to wait until she actually fits

Adjustable waists are the answer. Summer is great, my 11 year old is today wearing an age 6 pair of shorts, length and waist perfect - saves money too ! Winter and trousers are more of a pain

Next do slim.. just checking you do realise they waists are adjustable to fit all sizes ?

Yes, completely agree. Children’s sizes are huge so it proves very difficult to buy clothes for slim and tall children. I’m a size 14 and I’m sure I could fit in some age 11-12 clothes.
Zara very good and as a previous poster says, French clothes are cut slimmer.
Not all children are wide.

My DD is slightly above the 50% centile for weight, now 7.5yo and is today wearing a pair of 2-3yo trousers from jo jo mamam babe as long shorts but they fit perfectly at the waist!! (They actually look way better than they did at 2-3 on her!). So, yes, generally I agree OP. Even leggings yo be long enough for more than a nanosecond can be touch and go on whether waist will fit.

Haha. DS is in age 2/3 and they fit him snugly. He's only 14 months!

I guess they have to make them a standard size and you find which shops suit your kids' shapes.

Agree about French sizing; a good option for this in the UK is L.A. Redoute. Zara also good. And loving the summer for shorts. DS, 5 can easily fit into age 2-3. Also agree re: M&S school trousers in slim fit an age down, but with adjustable hem.

I've just checked DS trousers, some from H&M, Primark, Asda, Tesco and white company and none of them have the waist adjustor thing inside (I assume it's a bit of elastic with a button or something to stretch and hold it). I need to have a proper look next time I go shopping.

I've had a look at vertbaudet which looks great and heading over to Zara now to see what they've got.

@10brokengreenbottles, that is a great idea. I hadn't thought of that. I had been trying slim fit which aren't slim enough. Thank. You.

Age based sizing is ridiculous anyway. Look at the European size, which refers to the child's height in cm. Don't even bother looking at the age. If you have skinny children you just need to know the right shops. H&M has usually been brilliant for my skinny kids.

Also consider buying him leggings rather than joggers or jeans. They have a tighter fit but on a skinny child rarely look skin tight - they just look like normal trousers.

Yep, I've tried so many pait of school trousers on my 4 year old - have now found some M&S slim fit ones with adjustable waist but he'll still be in age 2-3. John Lewis are the worst - I always buy 1-2 years down in their stuff.

I have 3 boys and have the same issues. Even with the waists adjusted to the smallest settings they just hang off them. Ds1 is very slim so its understandable with him but ds2 is pretty much average sized for his age and still has the same issue, he is currently in long 2-3 shorts when he is nearly 7 years old.

Also T shirts are so baggy, my youngest is 3 and pretty average sized but today I had to get him a t shirt in age 12-18 months because any bigger was far too big and baggy.

Ds is very underweight. Clothes are a nightmare. The only trousers he can wear are m and s slim fit skinny trousers with the hems let down!

He is 9 and his age 2 - 3 underpants fit perfectly.

I think it is a case of shopping around to see where sells things that fit your child’s shape

I always find the supermarkets are particularly bad for selling massive clothes. Conversely the high end retailers such as Boden, Joules etc are far too small. If I buy for my skinny six year old I have to go up two sizes!

Those saying just use adjustable waists, my DS doesn't like a zip or button fly. He finds the elastic and button waist adjusters uncomfortable and much prefers an elasticated waistband. Which in most of his trousers don't have a drawstring.

It is a constant struggle. I alter many of dd’s Clothes.

We bought gap trousers/jeans for DD when sales were on .I ignored the age but they have really long legs so actually lasted a year while she shot up.They also have elastic in
M&S skirts for school(as someone else pinafores until she was 6.They did elastics waist and 2 lengths.
She 16 now,in adult 8-10 and we are adept at putting elastic in waist bands.

Yes, agreed.

The reality is that British clothing is made for fat kids. DD is 9 and we still struggle to get her leggings that are correct for both waist and leg length. Most of her friend are the same, they all go about in too-short leggings.

My ds has his father's build, tall and skinny but a lot of his height is in the torso (I've got a short torso and long legs and arms, so we hoped ds would be 'average' but no such luck!). He is now, aged 2.5 years, wearing two pairs of shorts that we've had for ages (one is 9-12 months and the other is 12-18 months) and trousers are so difficult with trying to potty train (they just fall down/off without a nappy on). Petit Bateau clothing (another French brand I believe) has been best for him, although it's so pricey (we got most second-hand) that I'll be looking at some of these other recommendations now! So cheers OP!

@CoffeeRunner - I totally agree with you. My skinny 10yo DD barely fits into age 13 clothes.

My theory is that they charge more for 'older kids' clothes, so they make the clothes smaller so you're forced to spend more money in buying bigger clothes. More money in their pockets.