What do we always find hard to find for our children????

[GREENY]

I am thinking of starting my own online business and wanted to get the thoughts of you mums everywhere!!
I have a DS who is 4 years old and I find it hard to get decent shoes without having to pay over the odds, though I think it would be ard to sell shoes online for children as they need to be measured properly?
Could I have anyones thoughts on what they find difficult to buy for their children

Thank you all

school uniform that you can only buy in 1 or 2 shops that has to have the school badge on but costs 3 times what it would cost to buy from Tescos without the badge

I have had a problem finding vests. Just a vest without the poppers and tights for baby boys.

Decent underwear. In central London I had a gard time geting thermal underwear.

I find it hard to get vests with poppers in decent colours. Yep, there is white, but it'd be great to have a nice selection of colours especially up to age two - when you want their middles warm and nappies held up! I find I'm sick of jazzy tops with mismatching jazzy bottoms. I usually want plain, simple and stylish!!

Tights - that aren't for legs the length of ladders.

Gillets - that aren't so skinny you can't shove a sweater under them.

Swimsuits for the under twos - resort to jojomamanbebe but they're a bit ££!

Slippers - sold out everywhere at the moment!

warm, practical clothes for girls that don't cost the earth - trying to buy dd a winter coat this year was hell, nothing but flimsy, sparkly things. Boys' stuff looks as though it's designed for practical use, girls just to look pretty.

So - coats, thick trousers, warm socks.

GentleOtter - John Lewis used to sell vests without poppers, imagine they still do.

Wow, great response! I agree with the vests I have trouble finding good size ones that don't shrink!!

And I also had a problem with swimsuits, I find you can only get them in summer and yes they were pricey

Great idea, I will look into decent underwear and hosiery I think, something thats a bit fun!!

Thank you all for your input, any more ideas welcome! If (or when) I start selling I will put my web site address on this site

grobag type sleeping bags with arms - our house is a fridge at night

Trousers.

DTD1 & 2 are tall and need age 4-5/5-6 waist and age 7-8/8-9 legs...so very hard. And teh adjustable waists are very uncomfortable for them.

DD3 is a shortarse...and I struggle to get her trousers to fit too.

I second trousers with adjustable waists. dd needs a belt to keep hers up, but can't undo it to go to the loo.

Yes - another here for adjustable waist trousers! And I love trousers (like adult combats) that you can roll up slightly and there is a hidden button or two attached to a piece of fabric. Means that trousers don't fall down when you try and roll them up and then they can also become clam-digger style shorts!

I'd like to see more lovely colours too - not harsh pinks and blue. It's always the expensive stuff that comes in nice shades. I'm also fed up of lots of prints, logos etc. Be so nice to see more plain stuff so you can mix and match without shattering your retinas every time you look at your DC!!

Interesting times to think about starting a business....hats off to you. What price points are you thinking about? Top end or lower? My thoughts are (for what they're worth - although I did a fashion degree and worked in the industry for 20 yrs) that the things we want tend to be available at the top end already. Just be nice to see them more easily available without the price tag Good Luck x

DD is almost 8, and I have difficulty finding appealing clothes to fit her. She is too big/tall for little children's clothes, but I don't want her dressing like someone from 'High School Musical' or Britney Spears/Paris Hilton/Peaches Geldof etc!

My vote would be appealing, good quality, age appropriate clothing for 7-11 year old girls.

What Earlybird said, I have a 7 and 9 yr old dd's and it's hard to buy tasteful clothes for them. Call me old fashioned but I don't want them looking like they live at the Playboy mansion.

Another vote for school coats that are a) long (bum covering), b) cosy and warm (with practicalities like elasticated sleeves so the wind doesn't shoot up them) c) easy for child to put on i.e. not those ridiculous 2-in-1 palavers and most of all, for girls, does not have a fur trim around the hood. It took me literally hours both on internet and real shops to find a coat for my dd this year because she can't stand the furry hoods and I don't like detachable hoods for her in case in rains in the middle of the school day and she's gone without it. Had to buy a boys one in the end.

Generally speaking I'd say reasonably priced, hard-wearing practical stuff is what's hard to find. And that includes things like lunch boxes and flasks/ drink bottles too.

If you can find things for girls in colours other than pink that would be brilliant, and I second the poster who doesn't like logos - I don't either

Shoes for dd1 who has very long, very narrow feet.

Ditto trousers for very tall, very slim girls.

Clothes for tall girls that aren't targetted at the pre-pubescent prostitute market.

Good quality, reasonably priced basics that haven't been made by a 12 year old in Bangladesh for tuppence and a bowl of gruel.

Narrow-fitting shoes would be a godsend. DD is only 2 but already her feet are way narrower than any of the shoes available. I can't help worrying about this.

Adjustable waist trousers would also be great, preferably not only jeans!

And why aren't there skirts with adjustable waists, too?

Coats that are warm, rain-proof and not pink to the point of nausea or logoed or obviously meant for a boy would be lovely, too.

Warm socks would be good, maybe something a bit woolly or at least acrylic which would be warmer than cotton.

Thanks for that Harpo and Greeny re vests.
The full body vest with poppers is a real pain when our ds has wet through and you have to strip him off completely.

elastic waist fleece trousers - quick to wash and dry when potty training!

Things for the season you are in - swimming costumes in the summer, gloves and hats in the winter, sandals in summer. Obviously you can get these things but the range is usually pretty depleted by the start of the season.

Yes. Good point Broken Record. We went to M&S yesterday to buy gloves and it was full of swimwear!

Exactly!

When my children were smaller I found shoes to be a pain as their foot size changed so much quicker - to get shoes for the coming season you had to guess what size their feet might be in three months time, and if you left it there was nothing left.

Bright colourful boys clothes would be my request - I don't want to dress my 3 yr old in colours that are either navy or mud. And I WILL NOT put him in camouflage. I want red, turquiose, orange, pink, etc and no logos (especially anything to do with 'cheeky monkeys', 'trouble', etc - shudder!!)

I'd add to the call for nice clothes for slightly older girls too - DD is nearly 6 and its getting harder.

Girls clothes that are not pale pink or lavender.
Ethically made clothes (even better, clothes made in the UK) that are not beige or alarmingly hippy
Clothes with really good information about the size (eg leg length for tights - lots of ones supposedly in dds size are much too short)

Tights for baby boys! Scandnavian friends living in the UK have to order them from Germany - they're completely de rigeur everywhere in Europe except here apparently and when you think about it, very practical and warm!