Question for parents of physically small older kids---

[JustMe]

Dd will be 9 soon. She is 48" tall (last time I measured her anyway) and weighs 54lbs. I have always bought clothes 1-2 sizes up when there are great sales and save them for when she gets to that size, but now I am wondering if maybe she will never get to some of the bigger sizes, as a child anyway. Today, I bought the great deal 3-in-1 jacket at TCP is size 10-12. I would have considered the 14, but is it possible she may never get there..or maybe not until she is a young adult and kids' styles would not be appropriate? I don't know how tall her birthparents are/were. Her doctor says she is following her own growth curve and expects her to be 5"1 or 5'2" as an adult (which is what I am :love5:), but I was overweight as a child so needed the bigger sizes for that reason.

[niccig]

I only buy one size ahead. DS is 7 and is 46" 45 lbs. there are always sales, so I only get what I know he will wear soon. Either it will never fit, or tastes will have changed. He is also starting to have his own opinion about clothes.

[Pennylane]

My dd just turned 10 and wears a size 7-8. Up until she turned 6, I bought ahead for her. Now I don't. Her doctor said she was growing at a normal rate and would probably be 5'4 (my height) when fully grown.

Ann

[crl]

I think it is hard to know. I was the shortest kid in my class until 5th grade. And skinny as a rail. By seventh grade I was 5th 6 inches tall and taller than most of my teachers. I grew just one more inch between 7th grade and high school graduation. My mom is 5th 4 inches tall and my dad is 6'2" so either short or tall was plausible.

Catherine

[wendmatt]

DD is skinny (9yo, 54" 54 lbs) and I have bought ahead and not been able to use it because the waist is still too big. It amazes me how wide they make stretchy pants! No amount of turning over the waistband makes them small enough. I wouldn't buy too much ahead, maybe tops on sale because they can be long and still fine, but you'll find a brand of pants that fit well and prob want to stick with them. I think a coat that's 10-12 is fine because it doesn't matter if that's a bit big.

[erosenst]

DD is almost 8, and is 49" tall. She's been totally on her curve since birth, and is likely to be 5'2".

I've always bought one size ahead with some success..and generally known when that hasn't been a good idea. (For example, while she never wore much Gymboree, I bought nothing ahead last year, knowing it would likely all be too young.)

We just were at an OshKosh outlet. There were some cute dresses there are a very reasonable price. I bought one two sizes ahead, knowing it may very well be donated. Conversely, we were at one of the few Zara stores that carry kids, and I bought a few shirts two sizes ahead thinking they would be pretty safe.

[AngelaS]

My 9.5 yo is about 53 inches and 58 lbs. She's still wearing some size 7 jeans but I'm starting to buy her 10s. She'll get there eventually. :). She's longer torsoed tho, so I'm buying her shirts a size or two ahead... I'm starting to buy her the small sized Aeropostale shirts because by the time she's 11 or 12 I know she'll rather be in those than in Gymboree. :)

[lmintzer]

I have two older, very small boys. I don't like to buy big in clothes or buy ahead, so this tends not to be a problem for me.

I wouldn't recommend buying more than one size up for your dd, as the older she gets, the more she'll want to have a say in what her clothes look like, what color, etc.

My older ds, age 10.5, is about 53" and 67 lbs. He wears a size 8 in a shirt (in Gap t-shirts that run roomy) and size 7 pants (Gap/Old Navy) or size 8 in other brands. He wears 10-12s in shirts that run smaller. His coat is an 8 from LL Bean, though it's last year's, and I'm sure he could wear the 10-12 as well.

My older ds, age 8, is about 48" tall 46 lbs. He's a little skinny mini. He can still wear Gap size 4-5 shirts (not the toddler but the little boy XS). In other brands, he typically wears a 6. Pants size, he's a 6. His winter coat is a 7 from Lands End, and it's definitely roomy this year.

Hope that helps.

[mytwosons]

I wouldn't recommend buying more than one size up for your dd, as the older she gets, the more she'll want to have a say in what her clothes look like, what color, etc.

:yeahthat: I stopped buying ahead when DS1 turned 7 because he refused to wear some things. I'm still able to find great deals on his clothes in his current size, though.

[JustMe]

Thanks so much everyone. I half thought I was crazy for thinking she might not get to wear the things size-wize, as when she was a preschooler I could not imagine her getting to the next size (it took so long), but eventually she did.

I will only buy one size bigger (actually more like 2, as there is not exact size for her...but basically I get the point).

As far as her wanting more input into what she wears, she already wants/needs to have input into what she wears, but she has stayed pretty consistent. I do always check with her before I put something away for her for later, and this seems to have worked for us so far. I know this can change/get more extreme when she is a teenager, but I would say for the next couple of years this will probably work for us.

Thanks!

[HIU8]

My DS is exactly the same size as your DD. He currently wears a 7 or 8 pants and same with shirts. He is 7. I honestly only buy up 1 size and only in coats now. I find that I really can't buy ahead anymore. DS has been in this size for almost a year now. Plus, his tastes are changing and I don't want to get stuck with stuff I bought that he will never wear.

[lalasmama]

I don't buy ahead until I can tell that a growth spurt is about to happen.... so occasionally I may buy one size ahead, but never more.

DD's wearing the same coat we bought (big) in preschool. It's not "fashionable" anymore, I don't like the style, but couldn't see paying to buy a new one when this one fit her fine. Likewise, we have bought her pants, and then her preference has changed (she liked the flair/boot cuts, now wants skinny). So, I've given up trying to buy ahead....

As a kid, my parents divorced, and my dad was MIA a fair amount of the time, most obviously, financially. We counted on hand-me-downs for my clothes. I was a pudgy one, and in juniors/misses by 5th grade. And, because of the hand-me-downs, I was hopelessly unfashionable... because people worried more about the sizes and less about what they were giving. I'm thankful that they provided me clothes.... but I *still* remember wearing cast-offs from old women, and I still am embarrassed to see pictures of me in those clothes. I don't want DD to feel like that, three seasons too late, two sizes off, just because I tried to save a few dollars.

Funny, in writing this, I had never considered my emotional feelings about dressing DD.... her bio-mom would dress her "big", and I just could never do it. Looking at it from the emotional side and my history, wow, it makes sense now!