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The other day I asked a bunch of moms what their biggest problem was when buying clothes to fit their children. Boy, did I get an earful. Many of them had the following issues in common. Tips on how to deal with them are offered below.

Fit

While every child’s measurements are unique to them, most kids follow a particular growth pattern that is used as the basis of clothing design. If your child goes through a growth spurt or grows more quickly in one direction than another, then you very likely will run into fit problems from floods to baggy pants and clothes that just don’t fit right. Common problems include:

• Girth and length mismatches. Many parents will comment that pant legs are either too long or too short for their child’s waist size, while other claim that the waist is too loose or too tight for the length. In the end, these parents are all facing a similar problem – length and girth are not growing proportionally. The fix? If your child is slim and has long legs, look for slim sizing, adjustable waist pants, or longer-fit clothing; Gymboree, for example, offers baby sizes that have a longer inseam than their newborn sizes do. If your child has shorter legs than average or their waist is larger than average, buy clothing to fit their waist and adjust the hem, look for husky or plus sizing if available
• Long or short arms. Arm length is a problem for coats, fitted shirts, and other tops with long sleeves that should extend just beyond your child’s wrist. The fix? For longer arms, purchase tops with short sleeves or consider adding a cuff in a contrasting color to extend the length of long sleeves that aren’t long enough. For shorter arms, look for sleeves that can be rolled or pushed up comfortably, or which can easily be altered to be shorter.
• Labels don’t match age. This happens frequently. Sizes vary by brand and usually differ from standards. As well, kids grow at different rates, so that they are often bigger or smaller than the average child of their same age. The fix? In most situations, you will need to ignore the recommended age on the label and go strictly by size chart measurements. Have your child try clothing on if possible.
• Outfits and clothing sets don’t work. Kids will often wear different sizes on top and bottom if they have any of the issues discussed above. Your child may have super long legs, but be perfectly average in terms of their arm and chest measurements. If you buy an outfit to fit their upper body, it will run short in the legs. If you buy the outfit to fit their leg length, the outfit may be very loose everywhere else. The fix? Buy separates.

Design

Another common set of problems has to do with the styles that are available. A friend of mine, who has never sewn before, resorted to making pants for his baby to wear to a wedding this coming week when he couldn’t find any dressy clothes for little boys. He is not alone in his angst. Many parents are frustrated that they can’t find the styles that they want.

• Limited options for boys. There seem to be a lot of clothing options for girls these days, but parents looking for little boys clothes sometimes run into a wall. Sure, you can find a lot of cute everyday clothes, but dressy, classic, and contemporary options are harder to find. As one mother put it:

It’s hard to find conservative, nice looking little boys clothing that is free of stupid dinosaurs, trucks or cartoon characters.

• Too-adult options for girls. Too-tight, low-cut clothing for little girls is a frequent complaint . Many parents want their daughters to dress like little girls and not wear outfits that suggest anything more.
• Inappropriate designs. Finally, while dinosaurs or trucks may not be favorites, skulls and video game characters seem to be even less popular with moms. They are looking for designs that are age-appropriate, reflect their values, and which are fun and creative.

I don’t have fixes for these problems, but hope that clothing brands will come up with some innovative ways to help parents out. Or, if you are one of those parents who takes entrepreneurial action, maybe you will start up your own clothing labels to fix the problem.

What have you done to address these problems with your own children?