To ask what you dress your toddlers in?

[PokeyFishFace]

My DD is 3 and she lives in trainers, joggers, t-shirts, hoodies & jumpers. Mainly because its easy to wash but also because i just cba dressing her in 'fancier' more 'girlie' stuff.

Whenever i see a toddler girl wearing a dress, skirt, tights etc, i just think it would be a pain to wash, a pain to get her dressed in it & that its a bit impractical for her age.

For context she spends half her time at nursery and the rest is spent with family, going to parks and being dragged round the shops...

DD had a couple of summer dresses that were like long t shirts so she could still run and climb in them. I always check shoes in the shop to make sure theyre not slippy on the bottom.
Now it's colder the wears joggers and jumpers.

@SleepingStandingUp the only time I've seen a boy restricted because of clothes was at a muddy playground with a sandpit and the mum wouldn't let him do anything because his trainers were brand new. What was the point in bringing him!

Mostly jeans/trousers and jumpers this time of year (DD aged 3). I like dressing her in dresses but only do that if I know we're going to an indoor venue without climbing opportunities! Also, with toilet training, I worry that tights will be a bit tricky for her.

Dd is 2 and wears tights, bloomers or leggings. Sometimes a dress but it’s a bit of a pain as it gets tangled in her legs when when goes up the stairs, they are quite steep and we have a lot of them.

She’s ok when there’s a proper banister, say at local museum but ours stops a bit short which makes it harder to do so she climbs up

My nearly 3 year old is adamant about choosing her own clothes. Some days that's leggings and a hoody, some days it's a dress, some days it's a tutu and Welly boots. Depends on how she feels. As long as she's dressed ok-ish for the weather I leave her to it.

Well I have boys but would definitely have reused their clothes for a girl. Our age 2-3 stuff is all loose fitting dungarees with short or long sleeved shirts or t-shirts underneath because my oldest wore that size from 18 months and was still in bulky cloth nappies until he was 21 months. I don't like waistbands really until they are fully out of nappies. I gave DS2, who is two, a few little pairs of chinos as well because he was already out of nappies by the time he wore that size and he looked a bit puzzled and told me they were Daddy's trousers! He does have joggers but they don't stay up as well as the dungarees or waistband trousers, so I think they annoy him.

If I had a girl, I'd also use lots of tights and stretchy t-shirt/knitted dresses, probably.

My 2 year old wears both leggings/joggers and t,shirt with jumper/cardi but actually her preference is a dress with leggings or tights underneath. I don't know if its because it's more comfortable and less restrictive for her, or because she likes the look better. They arent really 'pretty' dresses though they're long sleeve, soft, warm and dark colours.

It doesnt stop her doing anything. The only thing I felt dresses stopped my eldest doing was cycling and she is too young for that

My DD10 lived in trousers/dungarees etc when she was a toddler for ease. She didn't really do/still doesn't really like tights.

My DD’s definitely wore dresses at that age and they weren’t cold. I bought them the cord dresses from Boden or Jojo Maman and thick ribbed tights or leggings underneath. Dresses and tights don’t automatically = cold.

I know people say theres no difference wearing dresses to wearing joggers but I dont really get that argument when in the park. Surely joggers/ jeans are more robust and warm than tights?

DD refuses to wear trousers, so dresses it is. No idea why, I'm not particularly girly and I never comment on clothes being pretty etc. I mostly just need to get her dressed and out without a fight so I don't miss my train! But a t-shirt and knitted tights under a dress, plus a cardigan and warm coat etc, is pretty warm and practical. Never bother to iron them, never worry if they get muddy. She seems happy to climb, run and play football in dresses, so it doesn't stop her being active. She always has warm, waterproof boots on in cold weather (Geox are great if sadly expensive).

I have my son in tights for winter anyway because it's less draughty. Dresses could be bad if the parent won't let them play in them but a dress in itself doesn't have to be impractical. I used to go hillwalking in a jersey tunic dress over leggings all the time, including scrambling.

I don't get why little girls need different clothes to little boys. What is it about dresses that a 3yo girl benefits from that a boy wouldn't. It's weird to separate them arbitrarily.

If I could wear just leggings and jumpers without feeling the need to cover my arse, then I would!

My nearly 3yo has dressed herself and refused to wear anything but leggings and t-shirts for the last year. I have bought her super cute dresses and jumpsuits from Next, Boden etc and she refuses to wear them. On the rare occasions I’ve manhandled her into them (like wrestling an anaconda) she’s immediately run away and taken them off. Got a vairy posh wedding in March and dreading it!

I suspect this thread is about feeling superior to parents who dress their children to look pretty without regard to practicalities.

This.

3 yo boy, so less options, he wears joggers or jeans. All my friends with similar ages girls wear a variety of dresses with tights/leggings and trackies.

My 3 year old gets herself dressed and doesn't struggle with tights and dresses She picks what she wants to wear and doesn't find them impractical at all. Has no problem climbing anything at the park in a dress if that's what she has chosen that day.
Why would they be any harder to wash? I iron tops etc too not just dresses so it'd be the same workload even if I threw all her dresses out (which I wouldn't!)

When they’re crawling dresses are impractical luckily I didn’t buy too many far ahead before I knew this. But when they can do everything standing including stairs then there’s not much in it. I’ve got more dresses for when she’s three.

In winter- leggings, tops, tunics, pinafore dresses with tights.
In summer- bright coloured jersey dresses or shorts and t-shirts.

Dresses don’t have to be impractical or unsuitable for the weather. My DDs have thermal tights, corduroy pinafore dresses, proper wool cardigans in winter, with good boots. Leggings, or jeans, with long sleeved tops and cardigans and furry boots. In the summer thin cotton dresses are the best where we live as it is rather hot.

I have boys and girls...no more washing for either, or ironing.

The thing I abhor is girls not being able to play practically as they are dressed for example in pale pink shoes etc and told to not get dirty. I love mud on a tutu and doc martens and happy faces.

Seriously though can someone explain the difference between

Dresses
Tunics
Pinafores

?

Pinafores have a top under
Tunics are shorter than dresses- a long top really.

Mine loved dresses and my mum loved buying them so that's what they chose to wear, even at 2 my dd loved one dress in particular. They had casual stuff for outdoorsy activities but pinafore and jumper with woolly tights or leggings was the go to. My bugbear was and is thin leggings and tops that don't cover their bums because you can see their nappy through it

A tunic dress is like a long top. A pinafore has straps that fasten at the front.

My DD is in either long sleeve tops (at this time of year) or a dress (non-frilly!) and leggings. I hate tights so don't put her in them. There's no practical difference between a dress or a top and she can do what she wants in either. Also no difference in terms of dressing or changing her or washing (I don't iron!). If it's cold she has a bodysuit underneath and/or a cardigan.