Do's and Don't to Children's outdoor clothing

It never ceases to amaze me the short sightedness we have with regards to our children and their outdoor clothing.
From the parents who buy everything too big to guarantee that the clothing will "last/fit" for a long time to those who buy what fits perfectly right now or rely solely on hand me downs and consignment.

Now of course all of the advice below can always be thwarted by a child's ability to exceed our expectations growth wise.  They like to keep us on our toes.

Between my son and 11 years of working in child care I have come to learn a few things about out door clothing and children.

Shoes and boots... shoes and boots are the one item you don't want to be buying too big.  There several reasons for that and the biggest one being it's not good for the development of their feet.  It can do damage to their muscles and bone structure if they are wearing shoes that are too big.  The other big reason is because it is a safety hazard.  Children wearing shoes or boots that are too big are constantly tripping and falling when they walk, run and climb.
If your child is not walking, robreeze makes an awesome line of soft bottomed shoes/boots for outside time, mostly important for warmth.  Otherwise the little ones should be going without shoes until they start walking. Slippers and such for when you are out and about is fine.

Do buy boots and shoes with velcro fasteners.  They are easy for both parent/care giver and child to get on and off.
Do not buy boots or shoes with laces for young children.  Young children cannot tie their shoes.  Shoe laces also come untied easily and become a tripping hazard.
Do not buy boots or shoes with zippers.  WHY?  Because the zipper pulls break incredibly easily and then getting the shoe/boot done up becomes increasingly difficult.  OR the zipper will start splitting from the bottom now making the shoe/boots useless as the can no longer stay fastened and therefore fall off the foot.
Shoe/boots with pull strings for fasteners are okay for children who have the dexterity to do them up themselves.  They are okay for young children, but not so helpful in the preschool age when you are trying to foster independence and encourage putting on/taking off their own clothing.
Also used shoes and boots may be cheap, BUT consider this: Their are studies that have shown it is unhealthy for us (not just kids) to wear used foot wear because they don't offer the support our feet need (the support having been worn down by the previous owner) and because we have a unique foot print that we imprint into our shoes.
So yes, you can buy used shoes and boots but look at the inside of the shoe carefully.  If it looks well worn, chances are it's not going to be comfortable for your child and it will not have the support you child's foot needs.
If you do buy used also look at how worn the velcro is, pay attention to the soles, especially where they meet at the toe and heel.  And if you are buying tie ups, look for wear around the eyelets.
One thing I have learned, in young children, especially ones who drag their toes when they walk, buy hard toed or rubber tipped toed shoes (or boots) over material (cloth) toes.  You will get way longer use out of hard toed style shoe/boots and you won't find yourself having to replace a pair of shoes while you are out shopping because the kid stumbles, catches his toe on the edge of a sidewalk and rips the sole from the material of the shoe and now has what I call a "talking shoe." This happened only a mere two months after purchasing that pair of shoes.
Rubber boots -My only advice on rubber boots is to ensure a wide opening at the top for getting feet in.  The narrow ones, though nice looking are hard for younger children (especially the preschoolers) to put on by themselves.  Oh and don't buy thing rubber boots, they can puncture too easily.  And I love the boots that come with handles on the sides!!

Crocs.. are great for quick errands and the beach.  They are not great for outside play time.  They are loose fitting and can cause blisters, twisting and slipping when running.  They fall off too easily and they make your feet smell.  They are not a cheap replacement for summer sandals.

Flip Flops...  Just don't.  They aren't good for your feet.  They do not stay on.  You cannot run/jump/climb safely in them.  The ease of putting them on does not make up for their being incredibly unsafe for outside play.

Coats -  Coats is one of the items you can buy a little big.  A little big, not so big the child has to have the sleeves rolled up several times and the coat hem (unless it is designed that way) hangs to their knees.  A coat that big is drafty.  How is the coat keeping the child warm if it is so big that you could fit two of them inside?
On the other hand buying a jacket with no room to grow becomes increasingly frustrating as the season progresses and their sleeves are only reaching 3/4 of the way down their arms and the coat barely zips up.
In my experience, between my own son and 11 years of child care, about half a size bigger then the size the child is currently wearing is in the fall is best.  Unless you are looking at a one piece and then consider a full size depending on your child's body type --especially if they have long legs and long torso.  Otherwise you find yourself having to find a snow suit in February (not that I have personal experience or anything... sigh).

Snow pants/splash pants - This is also an item you can buy a bit big, but again not so big that the pants cover their boot/shoes.  If you get them too big it means your snow pants/splash pants will be damaged by your child walking on them.  They don't keep you warmer/dry if you are walking on them and saturating them with snow/water.  They also are a safety hazard as they make it near impossible to walk or run without falling and tripping.
Now some snow paints still may fry around the hems, that has to do with the type of material they are made out of.  The "slipperier" snow pants tend to fray faster/more often then the other kinds.
I prefer the snow pants with the straps over the ones that come to the waist, but that is really just my personal opinion.  I prefer the strapped ones to strapless because when playing in the snow, especially sledding, children are less apt to get snow down their pants or up their fronts.
Splash pants... don't buy wind breaker material splash pants.  They are a waste of money.  They do nothing to keep the child dry.  The only thing wind breaker material splash pants have going for them is that they will keep your child cleaner, but I reiterate, they do not keep the child dry.
Splash pants don't have to be lined.  Lined ones just keep a child warmer in the early wet spring weather and later fall weather.
Also you get what you pay for.  Cheap does in fact mean cheap etc in this instance.


One piece snow suits.... They have their place.  BUT if you have a long bodied and long legged child you will have to buy a full size bigger then they normally are if you want them to wear the suit through the entire winter.  They are excellent for babies and toddlers.  For preschoolers and older... for every day wear (keeping in mind that they are going outside at least twice a day) one pieces are impractical.  They are harder to get on by oneself.  If the weather is milder they can't be separated.
One pieces for infant/toddlers -- if they can walk and are in child care, the one piece cannot have attached material booties.
An infant/toddler who is walking and going outside MUST be wearing hard soled boots.  This is for safety on many levels.  Safety for making sure they don't cut their feet.  Safety in ensuring they don't get frostbite because material boots are not meant to keep your feet warm if you are walking on the snow.  Neither does the material keep your feet dry.  Children who are walking in one piece suits with material feet when playing outside fall down A LOT.  If you want a suit that has booties for travel in the car etc, then purchase the ones that either roll down over the feet (Columbia makes a good one) or detach from the feet (via snaps, velcro or zippers).  It gives the best of both worlds and means the child will have a more enjoyable outside experience when wearing the proper foot wear.  And it also means they won't be stuck sitting in a stroller or sled the entire outside time because they don't have proper foot wear.

Winter Hats -- you can buy hats a little bit big, but not so big that the thing never stays on their head and isn't constantly falling into their eyes all the time.  Hats are so easy to buy because you can try the thing on them before purchasing it with ease. Things to look for are how well it covers the ears, is there a clear front and back, is it snug enough that it's not going to fall off the child's head at the first hint of wind, is it warm enough?
What do I mean about warm enough?  Thin knitted hats are pretty useless at keeping the head warm if the wind and air can blow right through them.  A nice thick knitted hat, or lined knitted hat is better.  Aim for velcro fastening or snaps over ties especially in young children.

Mitts and gloves -- Mitts only please for the 5 and under age grouping!!  Mitts keep our hands warm better.  They are easier to put on then gloves.  There are two kinds of mitts the what I call "errand" mitts and the "outside play time" mitts.  Errand mitts are not waterproof.  They can be thin or thick and fleecy.  They generally only cover the hand and wrist.  These we typically purchase from the dollar store.  They are great for walking to the store, going in the car etc.  They are not good for playing outside.  Especially if your child is in child care and will be outside two hours of the day (typically an hour in the morning and an hour in the afternoon).  The outside play time mitts are waterproof.  They are the ones with then nylon outer shell etc.  This is the one item that I shocked myself by actually spending $40 on two pairs of mitts this winter.  Why?  Because they last the entire winter.  They keep the child's hands warm AND dry.  One pair has a zipper down the side from fingers to the cuff so that the hand and thumb can be put into place easily.  The other has a similar feature but using velcro instead.  The zipper pair goes slightly past the wrist and the velcro pair go all the way up to the child's elbow.  The velcro pair are excellent for when we go sledding and also because my son does not like his mitts coming untucked from his coat sleeves.  We bought a cheap zipper pair from the 'W' store last year and they did not hold up.  The zipper pull broke, they did not keep his hands nearly as warm or dry.  Thankfully his pair of good mitts from the year before still fit because they had been given to him a size too big.  And the "cheap" pair from the 'W' store was only $12.  The zipper mitts were $15 and the velcro mitts were $19 plus taxes.
Mitten clips... yes please!  Save yourself money and worry of losing the child's mitts.  Unsafe you say!  Not so, children's mitten clips are designed to release automatically if enough pull is applied to the mitt.

Sun Hats - really just make sure the hat fits the child's head well enough.  Depending on style, most children's hats are adjustable.  In young children try to find ones that fasten around the chin.  Most of them don't like to wear hats and having it fastened to them means you have about 30 seconds to a couple of minutes longer of keeping it on their head then without a fastening.

Sun glasses  Look at the age and temperament of the child and then decide if you are going to invest in a pair of sunglasses for them.  If they are so young they are just going to rip them off and throw them every moment they get, don't waste your time.  That being said, tempermanet plays a big part because some infants and toddlers will gladly wear them.  I suggest buying a cheap dollar store pair and see how your child responds.  Really don't start to force the issue till they are 3+

General advice about sizing
Pay attention to sizing differences from brand to brand and store to store.
I have found that George and Joe Fresh brands are typically smaller then say The Childrens Place and Bonnie Togs.  Though Zellers and Old Navy sit some where in the middle.  The Gap depends on the style and whether it is boys or girls... sometimes they are on the bigger end and other times they are on the smaller end.
Use the shoe sizing mats at the stores that offer them!  If you are not sure of your child's shoe size, trace and their foot on paper, measure and look it up on line OR go into some place like Kiddie Kobbler and get them to measure your child's foot.  A proper fitting shoe is key!