Do clothing sizes matter

[egggrin]

DS is 27mo nearly 28mo in 2-3 y clothing

he was born big - over 9lb and was a chunky baby! Last year he was in 12-18/18-24 until he went into 2-3 for around his 2nd bday the week before I’d say

i just got him a sports top shorts and the top seemed a bit smaller fit like it wouldn’t last summer. My DH said it’s small on adults too (the ‘Dri-Fit’ style tops)

but im now thinking is he outgrowing 2-3 already? That needs to last him until 3+! He’s got his 2 year health check in May and I’m worried they’ll do the BmI thing I heard they can start doing BMI?

which I think is crazy for a 2yo, I had body issues growing up and I just hope my kids don’t have them it’d break my heart

But are clothes sizes just random? We put the top against a top of his tht was 2-3, it was the same length but the waist was so much smaller on the tried on one! And it’s only this brand where his usual size hasn’t seemed like it

The top size was off and your massively overthinking this.

He's 2 and is in 2-3 for all his other cloths, so clearly about average size. Even if he was above or below average size, it would mean nothing. My 7yo has bean a size or 2 above since he was a baby, he's currently in 9-10 and he's entirely healthy, tall & skinny.

no, it doesn't matter as long as he looks healthy

lots of different styles & brands of clothes fit differently even in kids clothes so just buy what fits or what looks nice. i buy bigger for an oversized/comfier fit usually so always size up
size up in "snuggle fit" pjs
i sized down in secondhand clothes (or clothes from my loft 😳) from the 90s as they had a baggy oversized thing going on

each kid has a different shape too which can be tricky eg stocky & short, slim waist but long legs and so on. not a problem just buy what fits and you get used to eyeballing stuff

My daughter gets weighed and measured every 3-6 months when ever she sees her paediatrician or dietician at the hospital.
She is 25th for weight and 1st for height and has never had her BMI measured or noted. I have raised it as it would put her as bordering on overweight. Her paediatrician is very happy with her weight and whilst her height is following a line he's happy with that too. They all say "she looks normal and in proportion" so I don't need to worry. They count normal as being within 2 full percentiles for height and weight which she just about is.

She's on a very restricted diet for many reasons. She's is 3y8m and is mostly in 18-24 months clothes but still fits in some 12-18 month old clothes! She was in newborn clothes until 10 weeks and 0-3 months until nearly 6 months. From what I can tell the sizing is based on a 50th percentile boy.

I wouldn't worry too much OP. Sounds like the sizing came up small on that particular top.

I'd only be concerned if he was growing out of 2-3 Yr cloths but was small for his age. Hight matters quite a lot.

My middle child’s favourite outfit one summer was a pair of age 12-18 months trousers and an adult womens size 10 TShirt (my t shirt)

The child was 7-8 years at the time and both items fit.

He has long legs I’d say height he’s average! I only started to put 2-3 tops on him as he’d be heading to that size so to save money
he fits 18/24 tops still

and last year I got him 12-18 tops just before he was 18mo then they still fit at 22mo -
he could jus have had an early growth spurt in the year

we keep active he walks to nursery (and goes a few days a week) and loves fruit and veg just in case anyone was wondering about our lifestyle

I think sizes are just a guide as to what "most" children that age can comfortably fit. There is no clothing police that come to check you are dressing your child in correctly sized clothes. Use clothes that fit, no matter the label.

My oldest is about to turn 8 yrs old and has just moved into 11 to 12 yr old clothes. She recently saw a Paediatrician who comment on her high centile for height and weight but was happy with them because the ratio was fine. The comments were mostly because the symptoms she has would be worrying if they were combined with faltering growth. My nearly 4 year old is in 6 to 7 year old clothes. They’re perfectly healthy and you can easily see their ribs when they’re naked. Long babies usually turn into tall children and then tall adults.

You're thinking about this too much. Put him in whatever clothes he fits in. It doesn't matter what the size says. My 2 and a half year old has a mix of 2-3 and 18-24.

If you are buying clothing by height and that doesn't match their age but the clothes fit in both width and length then I wouldn't be concerned. Such as a two year old the height and weight of a three year old. If the clothes are too long in order to not be tight then there may be an issue.

I always thought 2-3 meant for 2 year olds and then 3-4 was for 3 year olds (obviously taking in to account your child’s actual size)

There is massive variation between brands and even within brands.

The best way is to measure their height/length and to weigh them. They should be on a similar centile for both.

The age to age always confused me as the corresponding height given is average for the upper age. The size fit best when my (average height) child was at that height plus or minus six months, so 3-4 fit at around 3.5 to 4.5 . Six months growing into it, perfect fit, then six months growing out of it.

I think you’re really overthinking this to be honest! An age 2-3 doesn’t “need” to last him until he’s 3+. If that’s the case, when “should” he fit a 3-4? 🤔

Dress him in what’s comfortable, regardless of what’s on the label. Keep an eye on his centiles to check that he’s tracking similar for both. Feed him a balanced diet and give him lots of time to play and burn off energy and he’ll be fine 😊

He’s not going to get body issues over sizes in a label at 2 years old but seeing you stress over label sizes will certainly make it into something bigger in his mind as he grows.

Just buy him what fits. Kids are all different. DD is 1.5 years older than my best friends DS. When her boy was 6 months he was already bigger and heavier than my 2 year old. Both kids are happy and healthy now at 6 and 8 years old. The 6 year old is a head taller than my girl though 😄
Dont worry too much about the sizes, theres a huge normal range.

I agree you are overthinking. The sizes vary so much between brands anyway and within brands (eg I often find cardigans much larger than other clothes). My DD is tall and grows out of things by height before they get too tight around the waist. She is 21 months and has just outgrown a lot of the 18-24 month stuff but has already outgrown 2-3 years in Petit Bateau. She still has a few bits she fits from 12-18 as well. I like to buy stuff ahead in sales or 2nd hand (I would never pay full price for Petit Bateau!) but the random sizes makes it hard to know what size to buy.